Two months ago, I mentioned that Hal Holbrook had been cast as Charles Templeton in Billy: The Early Years, a new biopic about Billy Graham — and, since Holbrook is in his 80s, I wondered whether this story might be told from the point of view of the older Templeton, who had lost his faith in his 40s and published a book about his loss of faith when he was 80.
Turns out I was right — though Holbrook has since been replaced by Martin Landau, who turns 77 next month. Today, CT Movies reported:
Billy Graham’s life story has been told a number through various media in a number of ways, but filmmaker Bill McKay wanted to tell it a little differently: From the perspective of a non-believer.
So, for Billy: The Early Years—tentatively slated for release this fall—McKay tells the evangelist’s story from the viewpoint of a dying Charles Templeton. As a young man, Templeton had been one of Graham’s friends and colleagues in Youth for Christ, only to later turn his back on his faith, becoming an agnostic.
Thus, as Salieri told Amadeus’ story, so does Templeton—played by Oscar winner Martin Landau—tell Graham’s, reminiscing from his deathbed.
“I wanted to tell Billy’s life through the prism and experience of an atheist,” said McKay, the film’s writer and producer. “I think we have a film that will make an impact.”
The article goes on to mention that the film will cover two major turning points in Graham’s life, the first being his commitment to Christ at a tent revival in 1934, and the second being the doubt that hit him when Templeton lost his faith a decade or two later:
The second bout with conflict involves Graham’s good friend Templeton, a relationship that began while they traveled together for Youth for Christ. After seeing the devastation of World War II abroad, Templeton—played as a young man by Kristoffer Polaha—questions God and his faith. After attending Princeton Theological Seminary in the late 1940s, Templeton eventually lost his faith and declared himself an agnostic.
“Billy was shaken by this,” said [co-producer Larry] Mortorff. “He questioned whether he should go back and be a dairy farmer and follow in his father’s footsteps, instead of his Father in heaven. He was right on the cusp of shrinking back on his calling. He was wrestling with God. But he came to an absolutely concrete understanding from God to take the Bible by faith.”
Near the end of the article, there is also this somewhat puzzling quote from McKay:
“I wrote this script because I wanted to introduce Jesus again through the experiences of an atheist who betrayed the gospel and betrayed Billy, who in the end understood the only path to freedom and peace, is through Jesus,” he said.
I’m not quite sure what to make of that last bit. It almost sounds like McKay is saying Templeton came back to the faith in the end — unless “who in the end understood” is supposed to refer to Graham. But I have never heard anything to suggest that Templeton did come back to the faith.
Templeton published the book Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith in 1995, at the age of 80, and he died of complications from Alzheimer’s in 2001, at the age of 86 — and while anything can happen in six years, I have no evidence that this particular thing did happen. I wouldn’t mind finding such evidence, though of course I take stories of such deathbed conversions with a grain of salt.
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