Spencer's Mountain
Encyclopedia
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
. It was filmed in and around the town of Jackson and features the nearby Chapel of the Transfiguration. 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.
) is fiercely independent, yet dedicated to his family. While he resists the influence of religion, he struggles to remain faithful to his wife Olivia (Maureen O'Hara
), to allow his son (James MacArthur
) to attend college, and to build a new home for his family.
Maureen O'Hara's daughter Bronwyn FitzSimons has a cameo as the Dean's secretary
Delmer Daves
Delmer Daves was an American screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Born in San Francisco, Delmer Daves first pursued a career as a lawyer...
from a novel by Earl Hamner, Jr. The novel and film became the basis for the popular television series The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
, 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
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
's Grand Teton
Grand Teton
Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.- Geography :...
mountain range, as photographed by cinematographer Charles Lawton in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
. It was filmed in and around the town of Jackson and features the nearby Chapel of the Transfiguration. 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.
Plot
The film centers on the trials and tribulations of the Spencers, a family living in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming during the early 1960s. As the patriarch of a large and growing family, Clay Spencer (Henry FondaHenry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
) is fiercely independent, yet dedicated to his family. While he resists the influence of religion, he struggles to remain faithful to his wife Olivia (Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
), to allow his son (James MacArthur
James MacArthur
James Gordon MacArthur was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad Hawaii Five-O.-Early life:...
) to attend college, and to build a new home for his family.
Cast
- Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
as Clay Spencer - Maureen O'HaraMaureen O'HaraMaureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
as Mrs. Spencer - James MacArthurJames MacArthurJames Gordon MacArthur was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad Hawaii Five-O.-Early life:...
as Clayboy Spencer - Donald CrispDonald CrispDonald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
as Grandpa Spencer - Wally CoxWally CoxWallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
as Preacher Goodman - Mimsy FarmerMimsy FarmerMimsy Farmer is an American actress. Her nickname came from a line in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky; "All mimsy were the borogoves".-Career:...
as Claris Coleman - Virginia GreggVirginia GreggVirginia Gregg Burket was an American actress best known for her many roles in radio dramas.Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, Virginia Gregg was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta and businessman Edward William Gregg.-Radio:Gregg was a prolific radio actor, heard on such programs as The...
as Miss Parker - Lillian Bronson as Grandma Spencer
- Whit BissellWhit BissellWhitner Nutting Bissell , better known as Whit Bissell, was an American actor.-Early life:Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of prominent surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at...
as Dr. Campbell - Hayden RorkeHayden RorkeWilliam Henry Rorke was an American actor best known for playing Col. Dr. Alfred E. Bellows on the hit 1960s American sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Career:...
as Colonel Coleman - Kathy Bennett as Minnie-Cora Cook
- Dub TaylorDub TaylorWalter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
as Percy Cook - Ken Mayer as Mr. John
- Susan Young as Shirley Spencer
- Gary YoungGary YoungGary Young was the first drummer of the 1990s alternative rock band Pavement.-Early life:Gary Young was born in Mamaroneck, New York. His father worked in the plastics business.-Work with Pavement:...
as Matt Spencer - Veronica CartwrightVeronica CartwrightVeronica A. Cartwright is an English-born American actress who has worked mainly in American film and television. She is best known for her role of Lambert in Alien, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress....
as Becky Spencer - Kym KarathKym KarathKimberly "Kym" Karath is an American actress, best known for her role as Gretl in The Sound of Music.- Career :...
as Pattie-Cake Spencer - Mike Henry as a Spencer brother
- Victor FrenchVictor FrenchVictor Edwin French was an American actor and director.-Early career:Born in Santa Barbara, California,...
as a Spencer brother
Maureen O'Hara's daughter Bronwyn FitzSimons has a cameo as the Dean's secretary