Spencer's Mountain is a 1963 family film
written, directed, and produced by Delmer Daves
from a novel by Earl Hamner, Jr.
The novel and film became the basis for the popular television series The Waltons,
which followed in 1972. Differing from both the film and novel,
The Waltons watered down many of the adult themes,
including alcoholism and infidelity.
Spencer's Mountain features the majestic scenery of
Wyoming's Grand Teton mountain range, as photographed by
cinematographer Charles Lawton in CinemaScope.
The novel and the series were set in the Virginia Appalachians,
but Hamner said in 1963 that Daves wanted more imposing
mountains to emphasize the characters' isolation
and struggles with their environment.
From the comments below, it's also obvious,
that this is an ordinary, sort of film
really held together, by the acting skills,
of Henry Fonda and Maureen.
User Reviews
QuoteSpencer's Mountain is a 1963 family film written, directed, and produced by Delmer Daves from a novel by Earl Hamner. The novel and film became the basis for the popular television series The Waltons, which followed in 1972. Differing from both the film and novel, The Waltons watered down many of the adult themes, including alcoholism and infidelity. Spencer's Mountain features the majestic scenery of Wyoming's Grand Teton mountain range, as photographed by cinematographer Charles Lawton in CinemaScope
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Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
Quote[My above comment is alluding to the overall blandness of the film. It isn't a BAD film, but it seems a bit too gosh-darn happy and perfect and unremarkable--sort of like the Stepford Wives meet The Waltons (the latter was the obvious movie version of Spencer's Mountain). And because of that it's so inoffensive and ordinary that I have no desire to see it again. The sad thing is the acting was pretty good (it's hard to go wrong with Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara) but the story just wasn't compelling. Overall, it's a time passer and that's about all. About the only thing that is interesting is watching a younger Jame McArthur ('Danno' from Hawaii 5-0--also the son of Helen Hayes) playing the role later played by Richard Thomas.