On Golden Pond (1981)

Director:

Mark Rydell

Writers:

Ernest Thompson (play)
Ernest Thompson (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 January 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A TRIPLE ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER!

Plot:

The loons are back again on Golden Pond and so are Norman Thayer, a retired professor, and Ethel who...

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Marriage | Cottage | Retired | Motorboat

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Katharine Hepburn	...	Ethel Thayer
Henry Fonda	...	Norman Thayer Jr.
Jane Fonda	...	Chelsea Thayer Wayne
Doug McKeon	...	Billy Ray
Dabney Coleman	...	Bill Ray
William Lanteau	...	Charlie Martin
Christopher Rydell	...	Sumner Todd (as Chris Rydell)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Troy Garity	...	Young Boy on Jetty (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Rydell

Writing credits
Ernest Thompson		(play)
Ernest Thompson		(screenplay)

Produced by
Bruce Gilbert	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Billy Williams

Film Editing by
Robert L. Wolfe

Casting by
Dianne Crittenden
Barry Primus

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Set Decoration by
Jane Bogart

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Ramon Gow	....	hair designer
Jerry Masarone	....	hair stylist
Thomas Tuttle	....	makeup artist (as Tom Tuttle)

Production Management
Terry Carr	....	production supervisor
Terry Carr	....	unit production manager
Richard Hashimoto	....	unit production manager (as Richard Y. Hashimoto)
Richard L. O'Connor	....	executive in charge of production
James Potter	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary Daigler	....	first assistant director
Stephen B. Grimes	....	second unit director (as Stephen Grimes)
Venita Ozols	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert L. Clark	....	painter
Emily Ferry	....	property master
Emad Helmy	....	set designer
Matthew Knox	....	assistant propmaster
Donald Krafft	....	lead person (as Donald W. Krafft)
Gary Martin	....	construction coordinator
Ida Random	....	assistant art director
Ken Reed	....	propmaker
William Trobaugh	....	construction foreman

Sound Department
Laurey Condon	....	assistant sound editor
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recording mixer
David M. Ronne	....	production sound mixer (as David Ronne)
Kay Rose	....	supervising sound editor
Victoria Rose Sampson	....	sound editor
Pat Suraci	....	boom operator
Brian L. McCarty	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Matt Sweeney	....	special effects supervisor (as Matthew Sweeney)

Stunts
Bobby Porter	....	stunt double
Walter Scott	....	stunt coordinator
Walter Scott	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Aggie Aguilar	....	gaffer
Paul Caven	....	best boy
James A. Contner	....	camera operator
Adger W. Cowans	....	still photographer (as Adger W. Cowan)
Leonard Lookabaugh	....	key grip (as Len Lookabaugh)
Rexford L. Metz	....	director of aerial photography (as Rexford Metz)
Gary Muller	....	second assistant camera (as Gary A. Muller)
Hank Muller	....	first assistant camera
Peter Norman	....	director of photography: second unit (as Peter R. Norman)
Scott Rathner	....	assistant camera
Jon Fauer	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Kyle T. MacDowell	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Victoria James	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Arlene Encell	....	costume supervisor
Tony Faso	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Mark Conte	....	assistant editor
Adam Wolfe	....	apprentice editor
Greg Wong	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Else Blangsted	....	supervising music editor
Dennis S. Sands	....	music recordist (as Dennis Sands)

Transportation Department
William C. Bratton	....	transportation captain
Joe Sawyers	....	transportation coordinator (as Joe R. Sawyers)

Other crew
Ann Bell	....	assistant to director
Carroll Parrott Blue	....	production assistant (as Carroll Blue)
Arthur Cantor	....	producer: Broadway play
Pat Curtin	....	boat supervisor
Richard Dixon	....	location auditor (as Dick Dixon)
Greer Garson	....	producer: Broadway play
James W. Gavin	....	helicopter pilot
Peggy Gilder	....	production assistant
Lew Grade	....	presenter (as Lord Grade)
Charlene Joyce-Willingham	....	production assistant (as Charlene Joyce)
Denise Kurtzman	....	assistant to producer
Marie Melendez	....	assistant to director
Geralyn Miller	....	production coordinator
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Eileen Peterson	....	assistant to producer
Anne Prager	....	production assistant
James Rosenfield	....	location manager
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Gayle Simon	....	production assistant
Lydia Telo	....	assistant auditor
Edna Tromans	....	unit publicist
Ellen Adolph	....	manager of production accounting (uncredited)

Thanks
Roger Spottiswoode	....	special thanks
Robert L. Wolfe	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• IPC Films
• Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• Associated Film Distribution (AFD) (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• C.I.C. (Consorcio Ibérico Cinematográfico) (1982) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Artisan Entertainment (DVD)
• Continental Film (2008) (Croatia) (all media)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (North America) (all media)
• Maple Pictures (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1984) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• New Hampshire Film Bureau  thanks
• People of New Hampshire  thanks
• Pickwick/Maslansky/Koenigsberg Inc.  publicity
• Todd-AO Studios  sound

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Concord, New Hampshire, USA

Company:

IPC Films

Trivia:

Walter the Trout was brought over from a local trout pond at the Castle in the Clouds in Moultonboro, New Hampshire. Billy and Norman really threw him back into the lake. People still hope to catch him, but after all these years the fish would be a distant relative.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Norman lets Billy Ray go off in the boat by himself, we see him speeding across the lake. Billy Ray and the steering wheel are on the alternate sides of the boat in subsequent shots.

Quotes:

Norman: "Ethel Thayer." It sounds like I'm lisping, doesn't it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Daria: This Year's Model (#1.6)" (1997)

Henry Fonda saves his best for last

Oh,the numerous memorable characters Henry Fonda brought to the screen over the years.His most memorable came in his final film,On Golden Pond. This film brought to light two important realizations for me.Family togetherness is one of the most important things we have in life,and we had better resolve our differences as a family and get along because we can't go back and correct the things we come to regret.Secondly,I came to realize that elderly couples are more than the stereotype we sometimes force upon them.They don't cease to be affectionate and sexual merely because they have gotten older.Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn made a delightful couple here and make you wish they had worked together more often through the years,but unfortunately,this was their first and only film together.Also,the pairing of Fonda with real life daughter Jane was indeed a delight to see.Their own troubled relationship made them naturals for their parts as a father and daughter coming together after years of tension.You could sense that at times, Henry and Jane were not acting at all when it came to their scenes with one another,making these scenes more realistic and effective.Henry Fonda received a well deserved Oscar for this film.I watched the night he received it,and recall his reaction from his home(he was too ill to attend the ceremony),and the tears streaming down his face.I couldn't help but shed a tear or two myself.I'm sure I was not the only one.Great film.