Bridge to Silence

Marlee Matlin as a hearing-impaired actress facing family tragedy and estrangement. Marge: Lee Remick. Dan: Michael O’Keefe. Al: Josef Sommer. Mary: Candace Brecker. Amanda: Phyllis Frelich. Lisa: Allison Silva. Betty: Pat Hamilton. Sam: Cec Linder. John: Bob Hilterman. Gentleman Caller: Anthony Natale. Directed by Karen Arthur., Marlee Matlin plays a hearing impaired woman trying to rebuild her life following an automobile accident that killed her husband. She finds herself struggling with her mother over the fate of her young daughter., This made-for-TV film represented the first speaking role for hearing-impaired actress Marlee Matlin. A happy wife and mother, Matlin is grief-stricken when her husband is killed in a car accident. Still not fully recovered after several weeks, Matlin must rely on her mother Lee Remick to care for her young daughter. Matlin puts her life back together by joining a theatre troupe comprised of deaf actors, one of whose members is played by Phyllis Frelich, who originated the role in the Broadway version of Children of a Lesser God that Marlee Matlin played in the film version (and won an Academy Award in the process). The film’s climax is dictated by Lee Remick’s efforts to gain full legal custody of Matlin’s daughter. Bridge to Silence was first telecast April 9, 1989., A hard-of-hearing woman, widowed in an horrific car crash, attempts to rebuild her life, leading to conflict with her cold-hearted mother., Emotionally charged story of a hearing-impaired woman’s battle to retain custody of her child following a car accident in which her husband is killed. The distraught young widow has to cope not only with the aftermath of the tragedy but also with a custody battle started by her own mother.