A tour de force from Mickey Rooney as a retarded man with a heart of gold trying to survive the ugly, harsh world of New York. His performance tugs at the heart-strings but never sinks into mawkish sentimentality. It was a worthy winner of the Best Actor Award and led to a sequel, Bill On His Own, which was made in 1983, the year that the real Bill Sackter died. Corey Blechman's script is based on the true story of Bill's friendship with a documentary film-maker (played by Dennis Quaid) and how it led them both to a new awareness. `You've had a dozen different jobs - you're just not cut out for this world', Bill's abrasive social worker tells him. Rooney's moving portrait shows just how wrong she was and how Bill carved his own small niche in a harsh world. Inspiring film-making at it's best.

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