‘Sounder’ remake captures the power of the human spirit

“You measure a dog by how much sound he can make. A boy you measure by what he can do.”

That fatherly advice comes early in the new version of “Sounder,” a family drama about quiet dignity airing Sunday night at 7 on ABC’s “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

So how do you measure a remake?

Many viewers will fondly recall the classic theatrical version of “Sounder,” released in 1972. The saga of a boy who comes of age after his family is ripped apart featured powerful performances by Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield as the parents, and it was directed with a sure hand by Martin Ritt.

On its own terms, the intimate story proves to be a natural in the made-for-TV format as well.

The telefilm was directed by Kevin Hooks, who played the boy in the original. Bill Cain’s script, based on the book by William H. Armstrong, veers from the original in certain details, but the broad story remains the same.

In the Depression-era South, a desperate black sharecropper (Carl Lumbly), the head of a nameless family, is arrested for stealing a ham. In the ensuing scuffle, the family’s dog, a loyal and eager hunter called Sounder, is shot and wounded, vanishing into the woods. The mother (Suzzanne Douglas) and eldest son (Daniel Lee Robertson) are left to care for the family.

The boy’s optimism despite harsh conditions is rewarded when Sounder eventually hobbles home, then tested anew when he sets off in search of his father, who is sentenced to five years of labor at an undisclosed location. The boy encounters hostility from whites, but also the kindness of a black schoolteacher (Winfield in a new role).

Working with a fine cast, Hooks vividly evokes life in the hardscrabble South, telling the story gracefully despite the occasional unneeded camera trick.

A confrontation between the boy and a ruthless white jailer midway through the film underscores the bittersweet feeling that gives “Sounder” its power. Before the father is sentenced, the boy visits him in jail, bringing a chocolate cake baked with loving care by the mother. The jailer gleefully smashes it, proving only that things -- but not families -- can be easily shattered.