My Old Man was adapted from Ernest Hemingway's short story of the same name by Jerome Kass. Hemingway's story told of a down-on-his-luck horse trainer who is given a second chance at making something of his life by his son. This made-for-TV version changed the son to a daughter, played by Kristy McNichol; the "old man" was portrayed by Warren Oates. Eileen Brennan also stars as a waitress who acts as surrogate mother for McNichol--and who'd like to act as wife to Oates. Filmed at Saratoga Springs, New York, My Old Man premiered on December 7, 1979. An earlier, less sentimental theatrical-feature version of the same Hemingway tale was filmed in 1950 as Under My Skin, with John Garfield in the lead.