A Painted House (2003)

A young boy, his family, and the migrant workers they hire to work their cotton farm struggle against difficult odds to raise and sell the crop. Meanwhile, the boy dreams of living in ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfonso Arau

Writers:

Patrick Sheane Duncan (teleplay), John Grisham (novel)

Stars:

Scott Glenn, Arija Bareikis, Robert Sean Leonard

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Glenn	...	Eli 'Pappy' Chandler
Arija Bareikis	...	Kathleen Chandler
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Jesse Chandler
Melinda Dillon	...	Gran Chandler
Logan Lerman	...	Luke Chandler
Audrey Marie Anderson	...	Tally Spruill
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Mr. Spruill
Pablo Schreiber	...	Hank Spruill
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Stick Peters
Luis Garcia	...	Cowboy (as Luis Esteban Garcia)
Miguel Pérez	...	Miguel
Diane Delano	...	Mrs. Spruill
Lucas Elliot Eberl	...	Trot Spruill (as Luke Eberl)
Sean Harrison Jones	...	Bo Spruill (as Sean Jones)
Richard Crowe	...	Mr. Latcher

Storyline

A young boy, his family, and the migrant workers they hire to work their cotton farm struggle against difficult odds to raise and sell the crop. Meanwhile, the boy dreams of living in better conditions. However, with this particularly tough farming season, the boy learns that his challenges guide him in discovering who he really is.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | 

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Taglines:

Desperate Times, hard truths, unexpected dangers. One extraordinary summer will change a young boy and his family...forever.

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official CBS Page

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hallmark Hall of Fame: A Painted House (#52.3)

Filming Locations:

Clarkedale, Arkansas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS,Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions,McGee Street Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The house the crew used and the church are located about forty miles apart. The actors, actresses, and extras had to be shuttled to the proper locations for shooting. The house and the church, as well as other locations used in eastern Arkansas, are still standing.

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Goofs

When the soda fountain worker give the customer a fountain drink, the seltzer from the spigot comes out brown. Seltzer is clear. All fountain drinks, including Coca Cola, required a squirt of flavored syrup then the cup was held under the fountain spigot. The clerk would push the handle back for a pressurized squirt to mix the clear seltzer and syrup then would pull the handle forward to fill the glass.

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Quotes

Luke Chandler: Are we gonna tell anyone?
Eli 'Pappy' Chandler: Nope. I don't think so. Nothing we say is gonna bring that boy back and tellin folks will just make a fuss none of us need.
Luke Chandler: Well what about Mr. and Mrs Spruill?
Eli 'Pappy' Chandler: It'll only hurt them if they knew. We ain't telling nobody. Just be our secret. One we'll take to our graves, just you and me. But you done right by telling me. Don't you worry none, I'll handle this. Hey, don't worry, I'll handle this.

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Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

User Reviews

Maybe sometimes, we forget

Maybe sometimes, we forget, with our plush life and current definition of "poverty", what things were like for rural "working poor" even as recently as the 50's. Survival, even for a man who owned the land, took a different strength of character. Is it good, or is it regretful those times have passed? More money yes, but were better times up North in the auto plants? I suppose, but this is nostalgia, and not bad either.

It was a good family movie, narrated like the Waltons, I kept waiting for "goodnight Luke-boy". Yah, Little House on the Prairie too, a bit more reality, but did other commenters really expect this to be as complete as the book, any book? Personally, I'm tired of hearing book-readers whine about "what they left out". Don't watch movies if you read the book.

This is certainly wandering reminiscences, but that's another type of literature too, isn't it? Why does every story have to be going somewhere special? To me it's a pretty good coming of age movie and worth the hour and a half at least, and always a pleasure watching Scott Glenn, when he gets good parts.