Movie Review “Billy: The Early Years”

This film chronicles the early life of evangelist Billy Graham through the eyes of a dying Charles Templeton. Charles Templeton co-founded Youth for Christ with Billy Graham. Templeton later renounced Christianity and actually published an agnostic apologetic.

This movie has an odd cast and director. Robby Benson directs. Martin Landau is an elderly Charles Templeton. Jennifer O’Neill (Summer of ’42) plays Templeton’s television interviewer. Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman) is Billy Graham’s mother. Armand Hammer’s grandson portrays Graham. Ice skating great, Scott Hamilton, makes a cameo appearance as a university professor.

The quality of the script and budget are better than an average “B” movie, but not quite up to “A” movie standards. Graham is portrayed in a fairly benevolent light. I’m not sure who the intended audience is. The message is not the usually overt evangelical dialogue of a low budget “Christian” movie (Facing the Giants), but not quite up to the standards of a mainstream Hollywood film.