Spencer's Mountain

Infobox_Film
name = Spencer's Mountain


imdb_id = 0057523
producer = Delmer Daves
director = Delmer Daves
writer = Earl Hamner (novel)
Delmer Daves (screenwriter)
starring = Henry Fonda
Maureen O'Hara
music = Max Steiner
cinematography = Charles Lawton
editing = David Wages
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = December 1, 1963
runtime = 118 min.
language = English

"Spencer'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.

Plot

The film centers on the trials and tribulations of the Spencers, a frontier family living in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming. As the patriarch of a large and growing family, Clay Spencer (Henry Fonda) 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.

Cast

* Henry Fonda as Clay Spencer
* Maureen O'Hara as Olivia Spencer
* James MacArthur as Clayboy Spencer
* Donald Crisp as Grandpa Spencer
* Wally Cox as Preacher Goodman
* Mimsy Farmer as Claris Coleman
* Virginia Gregg as Miss Parker
* Lillian Bronson as Grandma Spencer
* Whit Bissell as Dr. Campbell
* Hayden Rorke as Colonel Coleman
* Kathy Bennett as Minnie-Cora Cook
* Dub Taylor as Percy Cook
* Ken Mayer as Mr. John
* Susan Young as Shirley Spencer
* Gary Young as Matt Spencer
* Veronica Cartwright as Becky Spencer
* Kym Karath as Pattie-Cake Spencer

External links