The Grass Harp (1995)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Charles Matthau

Writers (WGA):

Truman Capote (novel)
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Love is a chain of love... as nature is a chain of life.

Plot:

After his mother's death, Collin Fenwick goes to live with his father's cousins, the wealthy, avaricious...

Plot Keywords:

Maid | Judge | Americana | Aunt | Voice Over Narration

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Piper Laurie	...	Dolly Talbo
Sissy Spacek	...	Verena Talbo
Walter Matthau	...	Judge Charlie Cool
Edward Furlong	...	Collin Fenwick
Nell Carter	...	Catherine Creek
Jack Lemmon	...	Dr. Morris Ritz
Mary Steenburgen	...	Sister Ida
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Riley Henderson
Joe Don Baker	...	Sheriff Junius Candle
Charles Durning	...	Reverend Buster
Roddy McDowall	...	Amos Legrand
Grayson Fricke	...	Young Collin
Scott Wilson	...	Eugene Fenwick
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Mrs. Buster
Mia Kirshner	...	Maude Riordan

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:PG | Australia:G | Spain:T | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Wetumpka, Alabama, USA

Company:

Charles Matthau-Jerry Tokofsky-John Davis Productions

Trivia:

The seventh pairing out of ten movies of comic actors and great friends Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

Quotes:

Tommy DeVito: [after Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy beat Billy Bates they start placing him on a couple of table cloths. Tommy turns to Henry] I didn't wanna get blood on your floor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Magic Time: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

WOODCHOPPER'S BALL

Superb gentle story

Directed by Walter Mathau's son Walter, this is a superb adaptation of on one of Truman Capote's best stories about how Southern misfits in the 1930's help each other survive. Both Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek, as the wealthy Talbo sisters, are perfectly cast and neither has ever been better. Walther Mathau, under his son's direction, in his most sympathetic roles, plays a retired judge. Every member of the spectacular cast is completely understandable: Jack Lemon and Mary Steenburgen are a pair of hilarious but unrelated con-artists. Nell Carter is the Talbo sister's very feisty cook, Joe Don Baker is the bumbling sheriff, Charles During the preacher, and Roddy McDowall is the gossipy barber. Look for Doris Roberts (Ray Romano's 'mom') as Mrs. Richards and for the director himself, Charles Mathau, as a barbershop regular.