Spencer's Mountain (1963)

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Earl Hamner Jr. (novel)
Delmer Daves (writer)

Release Date:

16 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

Clayboy's schoolteacher impresses upon Clayboy the following phrase, "The world steps aside to let a man pass, if he knows where he is going"

Plot:

Clay Spencer is a hard-working man who loves his wife and large family. He is respected by his neighbors and always ready to give them a helping hand...

Plot Keywords:

Minister | College | Mountain | Neighbor | Mother Daughter Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Clay Spencer
Maureen O'Hara	...	Olivia Spencer
James MacArthur	...	Clayboy Spencer
Donald Crisp	...	Grandpa Spencer
Wally Cox	...	Preacher Goodman
Mimsy Farmer	...	Claris Coleman
Virginia Gregg	...	Miss Parker
Lillian Bronson	...	Grandma Spencer
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Campbell
Hayden Rorke	...	Colonel Coleman
Kathy Bennett	...	Minnie-Cora Cook
Dub Taylor	...	Percy Cook
Hope Summers	...	Mother Ida
Ken Mayer	...	Mr. John

Runtime:

118 min | West Germany:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #20317) | Canada:G (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Maureen O'Hara's real-life daughter, Bronwyn FitzSimons, plays the part of the college dean's secretary.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Grandma Spencer is reading her husband's will, her voice is out of sync with her movements.

Quotes:

Miss Parker: The world stands aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

America the Beautiful

A Big Hunk of Humanity

This is the story of Clay Spencer Jr. and his family in Wyoming in the early '60's.

Henry Fonda is his father, an unstoppable "do it my way" kind of guy. Maureen O'Hara is the mother with an impossible waist line after having 9 children.

Clay Jr. wants to go to college. He'd be the first Spencer to do it if he does. The bulk of the film is trying to raise the money for tuition.

There are many funny scenes. Many sad scenes. The last 3rd of the film is soooo sad.

Put it this way: If you liked "The Waltons" you'll like Spencer's Mountain. Earl Hamner created "Waltons" and wrote this film.

The movie even features a "goodnight scene" just like the Waltons did.

If you have the chance to see this film in widescreen, do it. The shots of the mountains are beautiful. It was filmed in the Grand Teton National Park, and boy does Technicolor make the mountains look great!