Spencer's Mountain (1963)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Earl Hamner Jr. (novel)
Delmer Daves (writer)

Release Date:

16 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

Clayboy's schoolteacher impresses upon Clayboy the following phrase, "The world steps aside to let a man pass, if he knows where he is going"

Plot:

Clay Spencer is a hard-working man who loves his wife and large family. He is respected by his neighbors and always ready to give them a helping hand...

Plot Keywords:

Minister | College | Mountain | Neighbor | Mother Daughter Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Clay Spencer
Maureen O'Hara	...	Olivia Spencer
James MacArthur	...	Clayboy Spencer
Donald Crisp	...	Grandpa Spencer
Wally Cox	...	Preacher Goodman
Mimsy Farmer	...	Claris Coleman
Virginia Gregg	...	Miss Parker
Lillian Bronson	...	Grandma Spencer
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Campbell
Hayden Rorke	...	Colonel Coleman
Kathy Bennett	...	Minnie-Cora Cook
Dub Taylor	...	Percy Cook
Hope Summers	...	Mother Ida
Ken Mayer	...	Mr. John

Runtime:

118 min | West Germany:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #20317) | Canada:G (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Maureen O'Hara's real-life daughter, Bronwyn FitzSimons, plays the part of the college dean's secretary.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the new house is burning in the final scenes, you can see the pipes for the fuel that ignites the fire.

Quotes:

Clay Spencer: I learned to cuss before I could walk.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Waltons: A Decade of the Waltons (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Now the Day is Over

Wonderful Family Movie

I had seen this movie in high school with a friend I grew up with and his family at a Drive-In, and it made such an impression on me at that time, probably because of the wholesomeness of the whole thing; I saw it several times thereafter, but, until recently had not viewed it for years; I bought the DVD version and watched it last night and it was just as I had remembered it, a family movie, the likes of which you will never see again.... I especially enjoyed the extras, including the premiere newsreel and interviews; the scenery is breathtaking especially on a large screen TV, and the story always keeps your interest...it is hard to explain, but to someone of my generation, they just don't make them like this anymore!! What a joy to see such actors as Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, Wally Cox, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Bronson, and Donald Crisp displaying their fine talents in this film... IT was interesting to see what a fine job James MacArthur did prior to Hawaii Five O, as he had done in several Disney pictures of the era....there is a very young Kim Karayth, who later went on to fame as the youngest sibling in The Sound Of Music and other family pictures, and Veronica Cartwright, who played on many television series and also in the Hitchcock thriller "The Birds." This was the heyday of family moviemaking...where did it all go??