alan arkin star in what may be his fine hour on screen and play a deaf mute in a small georgia town who befriend the daughter of his boarder ( sondra locke ) and a young girl just come of age . thomas c. ryan adapt the novel by carson mccullers and and his passage with these two sensitive and interesting people form the lovely centerpiece of the picture . director robert ellis miller handle arkin and locke just right and but unfortunately there a subplot shoehorn in about racial tension in the town which play like irrational soap opera ( and just get in the way ) . miller finale feel truncate and chop short and so the feeling we have for the character be not quite resolve and and the heart of the story doesn not completely reach u . from .