Man, Woman and Child

Synopsis

Robert is contacted one day by a friend in France, who tells him that Nicole, a woman with whom Robert had had an affair years ago, has died - and Jean-Claude, the son Robert never knew he had, is now an orphan. That evening, Robert explains the situation to his wife, Sheila, and they agree to take in Jean-Claude for the summer holidays; however, they also agree to keep Jean-Claude's true identity a secret.

Later that summer, Sheila, a journalist, is tempted by the possibility of an affair with an author she has been interviewing. At the same time, Jessica and Paula discover Jean-Claude's true identity, through Davey Ackerman, Robert's friend's son. They refuse to speak to their parents.

As the Beckwiths are bringing Jean-Claude to the airport to return to France, he suddenly falls ill and is hospitalized. After surgery, during which the Beckwiths become closer again, he makes a full recovery.

At last, the whole family come to terms with Jean-Claude and would like him to live with them. However, Jean-Claude refuses politely, for he has to go to the school in France chosen by his mother years before.

Film adaptations

Erich Segal adapted his novel into a screenplay and the film was released into theaters in 1983. The film starred Martin Sheen as Robert Beckwith, Blythe Danner as Sheila Beckwith, Craig T. Nelson as Bernie Ackerman, David Hemmings as Gavin Wilson, and Maureen Anderman as Margo.

Balu Mahendra's 1982 Malayalam film Olangal was inspired by the novel. It featured Amol Palekar, Poornima Jayaram and Ambika in the lead roles.

Masoom, a 1983 Bollywood film directed by film maker Shekhar Kapur, was an adaptation of the novel featuring Bollywood actors Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Saeed Jaffery.

An Indonesian adaptation, directed by Sophan Sophiaan, was released in 1984. It starred Frans Tumbuan, Lenny Marlina, and Sandy Taroreh.