HOME FROM THE HILL participates in a tradition of Fifties melodrama that encompasses most of the work of Douglas Sirk for Universal Pictures.
Set in an unnamed Southern town, it focuses on patriarch Wade Hunnicutt (Robert Mitchum) trying to maintain his authority over wife Hannah (Eleanor Parker) and son Theron (George Hamilton). His moral authority has been undercut by his private life; he has been far from faithful and one of his affairs led to his producing an illegitimate child Rafe (George Peppard), who now works as Wade's full-time factotum. Vincente Minnelli's film centers on the conflicts within the family that inevitably lead to tragedy and reconciliation.
For historians of late Fifties and early Sixties social history, the film is a fascinating text. Wade embraces the patriarchal ideology in which men are inevitably perceived as breadwinners while their spouses stay at home and bring up the children. He is supported in this belief by Theron's erstwhile girlfriend Libby (Luana Patten), whose principal ambition consists of wanting to "settle down," have children and enjoy the confines of her newly-fitted kitchen.
Yet the film shows that belief being challenged by Theron, who begins by wanting to emulate his father's ideals of strength and masculinity (by hunting down a wild boar) and thereby escape what he perceives as the destructive feminizing influence of Hannah. In a traditional society any hint of feminine instincts automatically destroys a man's reputation. As the action unfolds, however, and Theron discovers the truth about his father, so his concepts of gender change; in the end he rebels and walks out of the house altogether. This kind of stand taken by the old against the young is traceable back to REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955).
Yet Minnelli suggests that such rebellions are in fact futile. It is better to maintain one's belief in the power of marriage and the family as the basis of social stability. This is precisely what Rafe believes in; hence his decision to marry Libby, even though Libby has become pregnant before marriage. Rafe is identified as the film's moral center; despite the disadvantages he experienced as a child (when his father refused to acknowledge his existence), he grows up to be a firm believer in marriage and legitimate children.
Shot in Cinemascope, HOME ON THE HILL makes considerable use of cinematic depth, especially in the way it photographs the characters talking to one another in over-stuffed rooms. There is a clever use of symbolism: when Wade talks about the future of his family to Hannah, Minnelli photographs Hannah next to one of Wade's hunting trophies hung on the wall, suggesting that she represents little more than another trophy to her husband. It is his self-interest and moral myopia that lie at the heart of the film's social conflicts.
With an operatic score (by Bronislau Kaper) underpinning many of the film's dramatic moments, HOME ON THE HILL is the kind of overblown melodrama that simply doesn't get made any more, with emotions worn on the sleeve and the actors playing their roles for all they are worth. The film might be long, but it is great fun to watch.
Set in an unnamed Southern town, it focuses on patriarch Wade Hunnicutt (Robert Mitchum) trying to maintain his authority over wife Hannah (Eleanor Parker) and son Theron (George Hamilton). His moral authority has been undercut by his private life; he has been far from faithful and one of his affairs led to his producing an illegitimate child Rafe (George Peppard), who now works as Wade's full-time factotum. Vincente Minnelli's film centers on the conflicts within the family that inevitably lead to tragedy and reconciliation.
For historians of late Fifties and early Sixties social history, the film is a fascinating text. Wade embraces the patriarchal ideology in which men are inevitably perceived as breadwinners while their spouses stay at home and bring up the children. He is supported in this belief by Theron's erstwhile girlfriend Libby (Luana Patten), whose principal ambition consists of wanting to "settle down," have children and enjoy the confines of her newly-fitted kitchen.
Yet the film shows that belief being challenged by Theron, who begins by wanting to emulate his father's ideals of strength and masculinity (by hunting down a wild boar) and thereby escape what he perceives as the destructive feminizing influence of Hannah. In a traditional society any hint of feminine instincts automatically destroys a man's reputation. As the action unfolds, however, and Theron discovers the truth about his father, so his concepts of gender change; in the end he rebels and walks out of the house altogether. This kind of stand taken by the old against the young is traceable back to REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955).
Yet Minnelli suggests that such rebellions are in fact futile. It is better to maintain one's belief in the power of marriage and the family as the basis of social stability. This is precisely what Rafe believes in; hence his decision to marry Libby, even though Libby has become pregnant before marriage. Rafe is identified as the film's moral center; despite the disadvantages he experienced as a child (when his father refused to acknowledge his existence), he grows up to be a firm believer in marriage and legitimate children.
Shot in Cinemascope, HOME ON THE HILL makes considerable use of cinematic depth, especially in the way it photographs the characters talking to one another in over-stuffed rooms. There is a clever use of symbolism: when Wade talks about the future of his family to Hannah, Minnelli photographs Hannah next to one of Wade's hunting trophies hung on the wall, suggesting that she represents little more than another trophy to her husband. It is his self-interest and moral myopia that lie at the heart of the film's social conflicts.
With an operatic score (by Bronislau Kaper) underpinning many of the film's dramatic moments, HOME ON THE HILL is the kind of overblown melodrama that simply doesn't get made any more, with emotions worn on the sleeve and the actors playing their roles for all they are worth. The film might be long, but it is great fun to watch.