AllMovie

The title of the book, written by Dr. Robert McQueen, upon which this TV movie was based is the tragically on-target Larry: Case History of a Mistake. Frederic Forrest stars as Larry, who for 26 years was wrongly confined in a mental institution. Diagnosed as retarded, Larry is actually possessed of normal intelligence, as is belatedly discovered by the film's Dr. McQueen counterpart (Michael McGuire). The problem is now twofold: Larry must be taught to be self-sufficient by the hospital staff, and he must be prepared to enter society's mainstream. Filmed at an actual California facility for the mentally challenged, the fact-based Larry premiered April 23, 1974, as a GE Theater special.