Spencer's Mountain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spencer's Mountain
Directed by	Delmer Daves
Produced by	Delmer Daves
Written by	Earl Hamner (novel) Delmer Daves (screenwriter)
Starring	Henry Fonda Maureen O'Hara
Music by	Max Steiner
Cinematography	Charles Lawton
Editing by	David Wages
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 1, 1963
Running time	118 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Spencer's Mountain is a 1963 family film written, directed, and produced by Delmer Daves from a novel by Earl Hamner. The novel and film became the basis for the popular television series The Waltons, which followed in 1972. Differing from both the film and novel, The Waltons watered down many of the adult themes, including alcoholism and infidelity. Spencer's Mountain features the majestic scenery of Wyoming's Grand Teton mountain range, as photographed by cinematographer Charles Lawton in CinemaScope.

[edit] Plot

The film centers on the trials and tribulations of the Spencers, a frontier family living in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming. As the patriarch of a large and growing family, Clay Spencer (Henry Fonda) is fiercely independent, yet dedicated to his family. While he resists the influence of religion, he struggles to remain faithful to his wife Olivia (Maureen O'Hara), to allow his son (James MacArthur) to attend college, and to build a new home for his family.