An Early Frost

An Early Frost is a landmark 1985 TV movie, and the first major film, made for television or feature films, to deal with the topic of AIDS. It was first broadcast on the NBC television network on November 11, 1985. It was directed by John Erman, from the Emmy Awardwinning teleplay written by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, story by Sherman Yellen. Aidan Quinn starred as Michael Pierson, a Chicago attorney who goes home to break the news that he is homosexual and has AIDS to his parents, played by Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands.

Michaels father, Nick Gazzara, is a lumber company owner, and his wife, Kate Rowlands, is a former concert pianist, housewife, and grandmother. The couples daughter, Susan Sydney Walsh is married and has a child. Nick reacts angrily to the news, while Kate attempts to adapt to the situation. Nick initially refuses to speak to Michael for a day before breaking silence by saying, I never thought the day would come when youd be in front of me and I wouldnt know who you are. Susan, who is pregnant, refuses to see Michael, saying that she cant take that chance, and Nick explodes when Michael tries to kiss Kate. Kate remembers reading in a magazine article that AIDS is not transmitted through casual contact and tries to get the rest of the family to accept Michael Gena Rowlands also taped a public service announcement about AIDS transmission. Michael eventually winds up in the hospital after paramedics who are called to his parents house refuse to transport him to the hospital and meets a fellow patient named Victor John Glover, a flamboyant homosexual with AIDS. The film depicts Victors death and shows a nurse throwing Victors few possessions into a garbage bag because she fears that the items could be contaminated.The teleplay for the film by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman spent two years in development and underwent at least thirteen rewrites before the Standards and Practices division at the network accepted it for airing. ........

Source: Wikipedia