I first viewed this episode of The United States Steel Hour at the age of 14. I had previously read Daniel Keyes' original short story "Flowers For Algernon," and was quite moved, even at that age, by the ironic tragedy which befell the main character, Charlie Gordon. With that in mind, I was quite enthralled as the teleplay unfolded and I realized that it was, in fact, "Flowers..." While I don't recall after nearly 50 years all the production values of this TV drama, I DO recall the impact that it had upon me; It brought home a visualization of a powerful and tragic story that haunts me to this day: That of an unwitting soul who is borne to the heights, then cast back to the depths through no fault of his own. This episode would truly be a prime candidate for release on VHS or DVD.
The United States Steel Hour (TV Series)
The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon (1961)
User Reviews
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Once again, you saw it first on television!
planktonrules21 April 2018
Originally, this story was from a novel by Daniel Keyes. And, following this teleplay, there was a movie version of the story entitled "Charly"...for which Cliff Robertson received the Oscar for Best Actor. This sort of thing was not unusual in the 1950s and 60s, when many of the best films got their start on television...with live versions of great films like "Marty", "Days of Wine and Roses" and "12 Angry Men" appearing before the slicker Hollywood versions.
Charly (Cliff Robertson) is a nice guy but he's also intellectually disabled*. When a radical new approach to intelligence is developed, there's a chance Charly would be the subject...and the hope is that he'll go from extremely low functioning to a normal, higher functioning adult. Well, the surgery goes extremely well...and soon Charly isn't normal...he's actually brilliant. But, being a story on TV, you know things can't just end this way...there's got to be a catch!
There's very little not to like about this production. The acting is superb, the writing and direction are as well. The only negative is that it's quite sad...but so worth seeing in spite of this. And, you can by going to YouTube's UCLA Archive Channel....where it and seven other wonderful teleplays from "The US Steel Hour" are currently posted.
*Nowadays, words like intellectually challenged or mentally challenged would be used instead of retarded...which is used in this episode.
Charly (Cliff Robertson) is a nice guy but he's also intellectually disabled*. When a radical new approach to intelligence is developed, there's a chance Charly would be the subject...and the hope is that he'll go from extremely low functioning to a normal, higher functioning adult. Well, the surgery goes extremely well...and soon Charly isn't normal...he's actually brilliant. But, being a story on TV, you know things can't just end this way...there's got to be a catch!
There's very little not to like about this production. The acting is superb, the writing and direction are as well. The only negative is that it's quite sad...but so worth seeing in spite of this. And, you can by going to YouTube's UCLA Archive Channel....where it and seven other wonderful teleplays from "The US Steel Hour" are currently posted.
*Nowadays, words like intellectually challenged or mentally challenged would be used instead of retarded...which is used in this episode.
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