I'm watching the movie now and it's not just the crying Ricky does that impresses me. His overall performance was great. He's such a little man in this and doesn't sound wooden at all.
Some young kids sound very rehearsed and wooden when delivering their lines but Ricky really comes across naturally here.
The crying scenes are utterly gutting and I just teared up when he was begging his dad not to send him away. When he said "I won't eat much." it killed me.
He's so super cute too.

I knew nothing of this film or this 'kid' hes old enough to be my dad but i call him 'kid' lool.
I was watching 20 best child actors crying scenes on youtube a couple of the world famous good ones came up like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense (which until now was the best crying i'd ever seen).
Then this came on and i started welling up and actually started crying myself, i knew nothing of the film or situation (i take it his father dies, right?) but i was blown away by the faultless acting by Ricky who cant have been older than about 7. The fact that i can feel his pain through the computer screen says it all.
Haley is still the best kid actor of all time though
Books and movies are apples and oranges, there both delicious but dont taste the same (Steven King)

Kick ass champ!!!
My Sig: Nothing Here.

This message has been deleted.

This message has been deleted.

Watch original
http://us.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=4995990
Top 1000 Voter

It's called hamming it up and chewing up the scenery. I find it hard to believe people were actually moved by this amateur performance.

Best child acting was in the movie Ponette

After watching this film again I have to say Ricky's sobbing while hugging Annie at the end is so very real. Hell, I'm making those noises watching it. I don't know if onions were needed but damn, he ran with it and at such a young age so Oscar worthy.

Actors have their special tricks. Mary Tyler Moore had to cry in many scenes on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." How did she do it? She said she picked the best crier, Nanette Fabre, in her opinion, and copied every move!!

First time I've ever seen everyone agree on one topic on this site. Ricky Schroeder is simply amazing in this film. People are either too stupid or blind not to give this film credit in the context of what it accomplishes. It's a heart wrenching throw back film like Chaplin's "The Kid" but people perhaps don't make that association

I know I am in the minority but I dont think this is the best child acting by a long shot, he is totally overrated.
Best child acting is that girl from "My Girl" when Culkins character die, that scene is way sadder than any scene in this movie !

Right. They kept taunting him with his grandmother's death, but that wasn't enough so they rubbed onion into his eyes
I agree with the original post, though. We just saw this on TV the other day, and I knew it was good, but wow. Everybody just thinks of Ricky Schroeder on that silly TV show, but this is how he got the gig.

Interesting.
If it's useless information, chances are I already know it!

Onions and he had recently lost a grandparrent

He does cry in 2 more movies the earthlne when his friends about to die and I can't rember the other movie but it was after the champ he cry when they amost shoot his pet but he did the best in the Champ he was really good in that movie because he was really crying.

Does anyone know what, if anything, was done to make Rick Schroder cry as he did?
If it's useless information, chances are I already know it!

This message has been deleted.

Rick Schroder has definitely got to be one of the best child actors of all time. His performance in this film is sheer brilliance. I still can't believe this movie only has a 5.8/10 here on imdb. It deserves at least an 8!
"I'm the leading man. The leading man never dies." - Balthier, FFXII

It's great acting by Ricky he is great throughout the hole film I just about die in two parts one when Billy was going to jail and He was like "I'll learn to play cards anytime you want with ya and I won't eat that much" then Billy slaps him I die crying every time and at the end when when he's like "Wake him up please Jackie wake him up please someone wake him up' I ball every time every single time.

it was so heart-wrenching! i loved him so much in this movie!

I bawled my eyes out in this movie, still do every time I see it. When he says "Don't Cry Jackie" and when he yells "Wake him up, WAKE HIM".I about die!

This message has been deleted.