Grand Teton quarryman and family patriarch carefully navigates issues of religion and education in order to eke out a brighter future for his family.Grand Teton quarryman and family patriarch carefully navigates issues of religion and education in order to eke out a brighter future for his family.Grand Teton quarryman and family patriarch carefully navigates issues of religion and education in order to eke out a brighter future for his family.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
William Breen
- Mountain Boy
- (uncredited)
Veronica Cartwright
- Becky Spencer
- (uncredited)
Michele Daves
- Donnie Spencer
- (uncredited)
Martin Eric
- Odell Harper
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to a Henry Fonda interview seen on the DVD version of this movie, many locals of Jackson Hole, Wyoming were used as extras for scenes in the movie, such as the graduation of Clayboy.
- GoofsSeeing cars in the background during the film is not a mistake. One of the death dates in the family cemetery is 1959, another is 1956. When Clay Sr, is discussing college with his son he refers to freeways in the college town. There would be nothing unusual about seeing cars on a distant highway at the Spencer residence.
- Quotes
Pattie-Cake Spencer: [Pattie-Cake prays at the dinner table] Thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the world so sweet, thank you God for the birds that sing, thank you God for everything, including getting Clayboy graduated, Amen!
- SoundtracksAmerica the Beautiful
(uncredited)
Words by Katharine Lee Bates 1904
Music by Samuel A. Ward, 1882
Sung by Barbara McNair
Featured review
Walton's Mountain in Wyoming
"Spencer's Mountain" is an enjoyable family drama with touches of humor throughout. The outdoor scenery is spectacular. The film was shot in Grand Teton National Park, around Jackson Hole, WY, and in California. The movie is based on a 1961 novel of the same title, by Earl Hamner Jr. Some of the characters and experiences in the film are from his background, growing up near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia during the Great Depression.
Hamner would write another novel in 1970 that further expands on his boyhood growing up as the oldest child in a large family. That book, "The Homecoming: A Novel About Spencer's Mountain," led to the 1971 movie by the same title that in turn spawned the nine-year TV series, "The Waltons."
I don't know why this film was set in Wyoming instead of Virginia, but the expansive shots of the scenery could be one reason. By the middle 20th century, it would have been hard to find shots like that in Virginia that didn't show much more modern development. "The Homecoming" was also shot in Wyoming in 1971, although the story was clearly set in Virginia.
Many people who watched the later film and then the Waltons on TV (1972- 81) didn't know that this movie was part of Hamner's story of Walton's Mountain as well.
The cast of "Spencer's Mountain' is very good. Henry Fonda excelled as Clay Spencer. Another reviewer commented about the types of role he played, and I agree that Fonda was best with this type of role. He also was good with dramatic roles, but he didn't have the stuff for comedy. He was mildly OK in a couple that he made, but not too good in the others. That's probably why he made so few comedies. His forte in Westerns was as the bad guy.
Maureen O'Hara is wonderful as Olivia Spencer and James MacArthur plays Clayboy. That's the role that Richard Thomas had in the later film and the series as John-Boy. The rest of the cast are all quite good.
This is a somewhat different story than what Hamner writes for the Waltons. The special home that Clay starts to build for Olivia, and then the fire that destroys it. It's an interesting and entertaining movie that most should enjoy.
Hamner would write another novel in 1970 that further expands on his boyhood growing up as the oldest child in a large family. That book, "The Homecoming: A Novel About Spencer's Mountain," led to the 1971 movie by the same title that in turn spawned the nine-year TV series, "The Waltons."
I don't know why this film was set in Wyoming instead of Virginia, but the expansive shots of the scenery could be one reason. By the middle 20th century, it would have been hard to find shots like that in Virginia that didn't show much more modern development. "The Homecoming" was also shot in Wyoming in 1971, although the story was clearly set in Virginia.
Many people who watched the later film and then the Waltons on TV (1972- 81) didn't know that this movie was part of Hamner's story of Walton's Mountain as well.
The cast of "Spencer's Mountain' is very good. Henry Fonda excelled as Clay Spencer. Another reviewer commented about the types of role he played, and I agree that Fonda was best with this type of role. He also was good with dramatic roles, but he didn't have the stuff for comedy. He was mildly OK in a couple that he made, but not too good in the others. That's probably why he made so few comedies. His forte in Westerns was as the bad guy.
Maureen O'Hara is wonderful as Olivia Spencer and James MacArthur plays Clayboy. That's the role that Richard Thomas had in the later film and the series as John-Boy. The rest of the cast are all quite good.
This is a somewhat different story than what Hamner writes for the Waltons. The special home that Clay starts to build for Olivia, and then the fire that destroys it. It's an interesting and entertaining movie that most should enjoy.
helpful•60
- SimonJack
- Jan 16, 2017
Details
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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