Home from the Hill (1960)

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay) and
Irving Ravetch (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 May 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

When you talk about GREAT Motion Pictures you will talk about this one!

Plot:

Captain Wade Hunnicutt is the wealthiest and most powerful citizen in his Texan town; he is also a notorious womanizer...

Plot Keywords:

Hunting | Captain | Womanizer | Pursuit | Kiss

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Robert Mitchum	...	Captain Wade Hunnicutt
Eleanor Parker	...	Hannah Hunnicutt
George Peppard	...	Raphael 'Rafe' Copley
George Hamilton	...	Theron Hunnicutt
Everett Sloane	...	Albert Halstead
Luana Patten	...	Elizabeth 'Libby' Halstead
Anne Seymour	...	Sarah Halstead
Constance Ford	...	Opal Bixby
Ken Renard	...	Chauncey (Hunnicutt butler)
Ray Teal	...	Dr. Reuben Carson

Runtime:

150 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #19325) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Greenwood, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Shirley Knight tested opposite George Hamilton for the role of Libby.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Theron is shooting cans off a fence for target practice. However, every time he hits a can, it shoots straight up in the air instead of backwards. There are probably pneumatic jets hidden behind the fence rail to knock the cans off.

Quotes:

Capt. Wade Hunnicutt: ...Kind of man that walks around with nothing in his pockets, no identification because everyone knows who you are. No cash because anyone in town would be happy to lend you anything you need. No keys 'cause you don't keep a lock on a single thing you own. And no watch because time waits on you.

Real good solid movie.

This is a well made typical genre movie that features some solid emotions and characters and offers some well written plot elements.

It's a coming of age movie but it also is a (melodramatic) family drama. These type of movies really had been popular in the past and most of them also are really great ones to watch. Too bad they just don't make movies such as these anymore. This movie might not be the best in its genre but it has more than anything other elements in it to compensate for this.

One of them most definitely is the cast. Robert Mitchum once again gives away one fine performance. The movie also features a great and still young looking George Hamilton and George Peppard, though Mitchum on the other hand still looks the way he did 20 years before this movie.

The movie handles all of the genre elements really well and know to bring it in a good and original way. Definitely a surprising movie from Vincente Minnelli, who got his fame for directing other type of- and less serious movies. I especially like the way George Hamilton's character gets developed and changes throughout the movie, from a mothers-child to a real adult. It was also great how they handled the Robert Mitchum character. They make him not-likable but at the same time also intriguing and interesting enough to not hate him. It's sort of too bad that they made the mistake to let his character slowly disappear out of the movie for most of the last third of the movie, while he starts off as the main character. The movie does a good job at portraying the relationships between the characters, which is an essential part for movies such as these.

Despite the fact that the movie its story definitely has soap-opera like dramatic developments in it, you still get drawn in to it, which is I think due to the interesting characters and actors that portray them. It keeps the movie real.

The movie is set in the South of the United States, which gives the movie that special kind of- and warm atmosphere. Its sets, costumes and props all add to this. The time period the movie is set in also definitely benefits the movie. The movie also has a surprising good and likable musical score, by Bronislau Kaper.

Worth seeing if you get the chance to.

8/10