Touched by Love

Touched by Love (originally titled To Elvis, With Love) is a 1980 American film directed by Gus Trikonis, starring Diane Lane and Deborah Raffin.

First released to theaters in April 1980, the screenplay concerns a therapist who tries a novel approach with a girl named Karen who is dealing with cerebral palsy and depression. She encourages the teen-ager to write to her favorite singer, Elvis Presley. Karen eventually receives a reply, and they become pen pals. The interaction leads to an immediate improvement in her daily outlook. The movie was based on the book To Elvis, With Love by the real-life therapist, Lena Canada, in which she presented the correspondence as true.

Interestingly, Raffin was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress — Motion Picture Drama and a Razzie for Worst Actress for her performance. The film also received a second Razzie nomination for Hesper Anderson's screenplay.

Cast

 * Diane Lane as Karen Brown
 * Deborah Raffin as Lena Canada
 * Michael Learned as Dr. Bell
 * John Amos as Tony
 * Cristina Raines as Amy
 * Mary Wickes as Margaret
 * Clu Gulager as Don Fielder