Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978)

Director:

Richard C. Bennett

Writers:

George Edwards (screenplay)
George Edwards (story)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The song was scandalous. The movie is hilarious!

Plot:

Stella Johnson is a single mother living in the town of Harper Valley. Now most of people, particularly...

Plot Keywords:

Pta | Small Town | Playing Footsie | Based On Song | Acronym In Title

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Barbara Eden	...	Stella Johnson
Ronny Cox	...	Willis Newton
Nanette Fabray	...	Alice Finely
Louis Nye	...	Kirby Baker
Audrey Christie	...	Flora Simpson Reilly
Ron Masak	...	Herbie Maddox
John Fiedler	...	Bobby Taylor
Susan Swift	...	Dee Johnson
Pat Paulsen	...	Mr. Harper
Bob Hastings	...	Skeeter
Fay DeWitt	...	Willa Mae Jones
J.J. Barry	...	Tex
Royce D. Applegate	...	Dutch
Irene Yah-Ling Sun	...	Myrna Wong
Louise Foley	...	Mavis

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Lebanon, Ohio, USA

Company:

April Fools Productions

Trivia:

All but the last 2 weeks of filming were directed by Ralph Senensky. He left after expressing concern that the elephants would be spooked on Halloween night, when a scene was scheduled to be shot. As it turned out he was right and Nanette Fabray was injured.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The helicopter's shadow can be seen during an aerial scene.

Quotes:

Stella Johnson: I'd like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley P.T.A.

Movie Connections:

References Peyton Place (1957)

Soundtrack:

HARPER VALLEY P.T.A.

Wish people would pay attention

I don't really like to respond to specific reviews, but there's just no other way to rebut. Harper Valley PTA was not a made-for-TV movie, it had a theatrical showing, albeit not a particularly successful one. It also was very true to the events as portrayed in the song. The first 20 minutes of the movie, in fact, recreate the lyrics almost exactly, at times verbatim. The episodes of revenge and counter-revenge which follow are a logical progression from that story.

I don't think Harper Valley PTA will ever be considered even a good film, much less a great one. It is fun to watch, though, especially during the middle section. I've never seen a movie that starred Barbara Eden that wasn't at least watchable. Her screen persona is so natural and likable that it doesn't really matter what vehicle she's in.