America saw a return to simplified country style in the 1970's. We were moving closer to the bicentennial celebration and early American furniture was in vogue. Country music was on the rise and shows celebrating the rural side of American life were very popular. The beginning of this trend in television can be pin pointed to the CBS broadcast of The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in December 1971. America was introduced to the Walton clan in a made for TV holiday special created and written by Earl Hammer, Jr.
The Walton's lived on Walton Mountain in West Virginia. There life was rustic and hard. It was the Great Depression and money and jobs were difficult to come by. The family eagerly awaits the homecoming of there father who took a job in a city 50 miles away. he only comes home on weekends and is overdue on Christmas Eve. Their anxiety increases when they here of a bus accident on the main road in which one man is killed and another injured.
As the family awaits word on their father they go about chores and getting things prepared for Christmas Day.
Richard Thomas is introduced as John-boy Walton and Patricia Neal played Olivia the family matriarch. Due to her health Neal would not appear in the weekly series and I think that is too bad. Her portrayal as a strong, principled but loving mother was superb. The film is very authentic to it's period and location and the rest of the cast is very good.
At the Movie House rating ****
1 comment:
I remember seeing this a couple of times on TV as a kid. At hat time it had received widespread accolades. I recall enjoying it but never had the suspense that Dad wasn;t going to make it home. Nonetheless, it was good entertainment, especially considering that back then the TV choices were far more limited. Anyway, it was nice to see it reviewed.
Mr. MH, have you ever thought about getting a career in the movie industry?
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