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:

boy protagonist | migrant worker | cotton farm | failing farm | farming family | 

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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

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

Tally Spruill: [after taking a bath in the lake] You saw me, didn't you Luke?
Luke Chandler: Yes
Tally Spruill: That's Ok, I'm not mad.
Luke Chandler: You're Not?
Tally Spruill: No.
Luke Chandler: I guess it's only natural, you know... for boys to look at girls

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Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

User Reviews

Not That Bad

To the other reviewer I would say that this isn't groundbreaking television or anything but it is hardly as bad as you are making it out to be.

It's just your average TV production, a made for TV movie that actually won an Emmy so it can't be that atrocious can it? Not sure why you hate it so much that you would go online and bash it and make personal accusations about the author and other people involved simply from disliking the movie.

I can'd speak for how realistic it is but as someone who knows nothing about cotton farming but knows a little about farming in general I thought it was realistic enough for a TV story. And I thought the acting was good.

Details

Official Sites:

Official CBS Page

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Grisham's A Painted House

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