The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) (TV)

Director:

Fielder Cook

Writers:

Earl Hamner Jr. (novel)
Earl Hamner Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Story of the events that happened on Christmas Eve, 1933, to one rural American family.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Family Saga | Great Depression | Mother Daughter Relationship | Alcoholism

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Patricia Neal	...	Olivia Walton
Richard Thomas	...	John-Boy Walton
Edgar Bergen	...	Grandpa Zebb Walton
Ellen Corby	...	Grandma Walton
Cleavon Little	...	Hawthorne Dooley
Dorothy Stickney	...	Emily Baldwin
Josephine Hutchinson	...	Mamie Baldwin
William Windom	...	Charlie Snead
Andrew Duggan	...	John Walton
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Ike Godsey
Judy Norton-Taylor	...	Mary Ellen Walton (as Judy Norton)
Mary Beth McDonough	...	Erin Walton
Kami Cotler	...	Elizabeth Walton
Eric Scott	...	Ben Walton
David W. Harper	...	Jim-Bob Walton

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bridger-Teton National Forest, Jackson, Wyoming, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Earl Hamner's two children Scott and Carrie are in the film as two of the children listening to the missionary lady. Carrie is the short-dark-haired girl in a home-made hat and Scott is the boy with paler hair, also in a hat.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The calendar in the kitchen clearly shows Christmas Eve on a Monday, but in 1933 (which is when the story is supposedly taking place) Christmas Eve was on a Sunday.

Quotes:

Radio Announcer: Lucky Lindy, a former aereal mail man himself, has been in Europe surveying the possibility of air mail service between the old and the new world. He suggests that air mail service between Europe and America is practical, and predicts that in the distant future, freight and even passengers might cross the Atlantic by airplane.
Grandma: Cross the ocean? Why I wouldn't fly from here to Rockfish in one of the things.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Waltons: A Decade of the Waltons (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

O Holy Night

The Waltons with an Edge

I have good memories of seeing this on TV many years ago, and I'm happy to read reports of a DVD. I believe this to be the pilot for The Waltons, either by design or by accident. This is a more realistic portrayal of the Great Depression that is usually shown. It was cleaned up considerably when the TV series was produced. Patricia Neal's character is a woman who knows hardship. Her face registers much pain, and even though she was/is a beautiful woman, that careworn look shows through. Her husband (wonderful Andrew Duggan who only shows up at the very end) is away looking for work, which was fairly typical of the 1930's. And she has too many kids, and they're all living with grandma & grandpa. They will have to accept charity from clueless missionary ladies at Christmas. These people are POOR! Nice to see Edgar Bergen in a rare, late career, character role as Grandpa (not Will Geer). All of the writing shows more edge than the series, even carrying over to the children. I guess that TV children can't get mixed up with moonshiners. It is, perhaps, unfair to compare this to the television series. They clearly are two different animals. Think M*A*S*H, and you'll know what I mean. This should be an annual holiday movie.