On Golden Pond (1981)

On Golden Pond is a film that I never thought I would enjoy watching because as a young person, I never thought I could identify with the characters or story. But in recent months I've been seeking out films dealing with reconnecting with one's parents, as I've been faced with reuniting with my own birth-father after many years of estrangement (this may likely be a topic of another blog post or two in the future...). My reunion experience has been difficult for me to discuss with other family members; it was a very emotional experience. I have an older relative who has expressed disagreement with me reconnecting with my birth-father because of his abandonment of my mother and I. The difficulty I've had with communicating with certain family members has made me feel as if there's something wrong with me, and that I'm the only one who has trouble communicating with family members; this personal experience has affected me so much that I've even had to take some time off from blogging for a long time as well.

I knew of some of the main themes of On Golden Pond, including reconnecting with your elderly parents/relatives, but it's only been in recent days that I felt ready to watch the film.

The main character, Norman Thayer, played by Henry Fonda, has a cranky, stubborn, and blunt personality that rubs people the wrong way; that becomes clear as we see him interact with several characters at the start of the film. For many of us, if we meet someone like that, we might likely not want to be friends with them. However, one person who loves him dearly is his devoted wife of over 40 years played by Katherine Hepburn. Her character is very interesting and ultimately inspiring because she demonstrates by example how to have to patience with him, and we understand through her character that the Fonda character has flaws, and is not perfect. He's having memory problems, and is slowing down, and at one point almost accidentally burns their New England summer cottage down, their cottage on the lake "Golden Pond". I have relatives that live near a lake in suburban Chicago, and it's not too unlike Golden Pond, so I could imagine what life is like for the characters.

The other characters in the film all have to deal with Norman in their own way, including his daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda), who is very busy with her career in Los Angeles yet finds the time to come to visit her parents at the cottage after many years. After she arrives, Norman, always an overbearing father, makes her feel like a child again. I've felt the same way when I visit older relatives. I have a relative who is 87 and can say some embarrassing and hurtful things, and can make me feel like a child at holiday gatherings.

There's a poignant scene in the film where Chelsea has a heart-to-heart talk with her mom, saying how she wishes to be friends with her father, and wishes they could be more compatible. But her mom reminds her that Norman is a man of 80 years old, and that we need to accept him as who he is and tries to encourage her to not be so disagreeable with her past. "Life goes on", she says. "Get on with it."  It's a reminder to me when I relate to my own older family members, as their personalities are theirs and will not change.

There's also a great sequence in the film where Norman takes Chelesa's soon-to-be-stepson out on the lake to go fishing, and they have a great time trying to catch a legendary elusive fish. Norman isn't really such a bad guy after all; he's really a hero to the members of his family.

I was really amazed to learn that the film (and the play it was based on) was written by a young man (Ernest Thompson) who was in his 20s at the time. That's fascinating to me because the characters are much older, and complex.

All of the characters in On Golden Pond are ones I could either identify with or are ones that remind me of real people in my own life, and after watching the film I now feel as if I'm not alone in my familial plight. For these reasons, I consider the film to be a very inspirational one to me personally, and I hope you have a chance to enjoy it sometime too if you haven't seen it.

A Free Soul (1931)

Clark Gable plays a mobster who falls for his lawyer's daughter (Norma Shearer). She falls for him too, finding him more exciting than her current beau (Leslie Howard).  Lionel Barrymore plays her father, an alcoholic, who isn't happy about his daughter mixed up with Gable. Her family doesn't approve either, and won't even let her back in the house when the affair goes on too long. Shearer enjoys the thrill of the romance, even after she's almost killed by rival mobsters shooting at Gable in his car. Gable is great in this movie, and is one of his last "supporting" roles.

Lionel Barrymore won the Oscar for Best Actor in a great performance as the alcoholic lawyer who tries to go sober but struggles to do so. In one scene, he gets so drunk that he wanders off on a freight train and gets lost. In another scene, someone jokingly slaps him on the back and he reacts by saying, "Who's that - John L. Sullivan?" I had to look that person up to know who he was talking about; Sullivan was a boxer who was famous around the early 1900s.

The movie has a surprise twist near the end.

Directed by Clarence Brown. Highly Recommended

This was the first movie I watched on Warner Archive Instant, a new streaming service that is like Netflix, but features only Warner Archive titles. It's in a "beta" testing phase right now, and I was able to watch it for free. Once the service kicks off, I would be interested in subscribing - there are some great titles available!

Other blog reviews about this movie:
Booze Movies (review of A Free Soul)

Daughters Courageous (1939)

Daughters Courageous is a delightful romantic-comedy based on a 1935 Broadway play called "Fly Away Home". It tells the story of an estranged father who returns home to his ex-wife and daughters after 20 years, only to discover that they've moved on with their lives.

Claude Rains plays the father, who has been living an adventure-seeking life for the past 20 years. (On the 1935 stage, Thomas Mitchell played this character).

Fay Bainter plays the mother, who has moved on with her life and is now engaged to a more reserved man, played by Donald Crisp. (On the 1935 stage, Mary Wickes played the matriarch).

John Garfield is also great in this; I'll talk about him in a minute.

The daughters are played by Gale Page and the Lane Sisters (Priscilla, who is the star of the film, Rosemany, and Lola). Gale is an aspiring actress, and there's a fun scene where the entire family goes to see her perform on stage. Priscilla Lane's character is high-spirited and loves to slide down the banister, much to the dismay of housekeeper Penny played by May Robson (an Oscar nominee for Frank Capra's Lady for A Day) The other sisters enjoy frolicking on the beach, just a short walk from their seaside home

Interesting note: the 1935 play featured Montgomery Clift (his acting debut) as a brother to the sisters, but the brother character was written out of the movie version. Read more about the 1935 play here at the Andrea King website.

Claude Rains' prodigal father is an interesting character. Attention-starved, he pathetically turns up the radio volume to get people to look at him. And he doesn't even remember the names of all his grown daughters, who he hasn't seen since they were babies. However, when everyone else forgets Fay Bainter's birthday, Rains brings flowers and cake (I love that part).  The daughters initially conspire to kick him out of the house, but later change their minds as they get more acquainted with him.

When asked why he came back home, Rains - half jokingly - says that he missed Penny's cooking. But the real reason he's back is because he's lonely, and that becomes clear when he meets the John Garfield character, Gabriel Lopez, an out-of-work moocher who falls in love with Priscilla Lane's character. One night, Gabriel shows up to the house to serenade her with an accordion (I love that part, too), only to discover Rains home alone. After some witty banter, the two kindred spirits spend a couple of hours talking about traveling.

By the end of the film, Rains has to make a choice whether to stay involved with the family or leave.

And Priscilla Lane has to decide between two suitors - John Garfield or Jeffrey Lynn.

When the decisions have been made, you can't help wonder what becomes of everyone.

Bad boy John Garfield and Priscilla Lane fall in love in Daughters Courageous

A heart-warming film that is one of my all-time favorites, and my favorite movie starring John Garfield.  He brings a great deal of personality to the character, and makes you believe that he can sweep Priscilla Lane right off her feet even when he can't afford to buy her a bag of peanuts.

The rest of the movie is filled with many fine performances, too. Highly recommended. A+

Directed by Michael Curtiz. On DVD (Warner Archive Collection).

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This post is featured in Patti's blogathon devoted to the films of John Garfield
in celebration of Mr. Garfield's centennial year.

The Well-Digger's Daughter (2012)

Pascal (Daniel Auteuil) and his six daughters

A charming period film, set in southern France during WWI.

A saintly young 18-year old woman (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) - the title character - has an affair with a wealthy pilot, just before he is called off to war.

When she has a baby out of wedlock, her widowed father - played by Daniel Auteuil who also directed -  is determined to keep his family's honor.

Wonderful performances by the entire cast, including Ms Bergès-Frisbey, who is perhaps best known as the mermaid in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  

Beautiful music, scenery, and costumes. Highly recommended.

Language: French / Color / 1 hour, 49 minutes / Available on DVD

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film a glowing review (read his review).

Daddy Nostalgia (1990)

At the start of this heartwarming drama set in the French Riviera, Dirk Bogarde's character has just had a serious heart operation. His wife is worried about how he will fair after the surgery, and asks daughter Caroline (Jane Birkin) to come from Paris to help for awhile. In a private spat with her mother,  Caroline asks why she is always called upon instead of her sister whenever there is a family emergency. Her mother replies: "because she's in Quebec".

When Daddy comes home to recuperate, Caroline - a writer - ultimately grows closer to her father. And as the title suggests, this movie is very nostalgic, filled with flashbacks and memories of Caroline's childhood years and how she remembers her father.

It's an often-emotional film about an adult daughter and her ailing father, touching on issues dealing with life and death. It is a pleasure to watch Mr Bogarde perform in this, his final film. The film is dedicated to director Michael Powell, who passed away when the film was released.

This French-produced film is half in English and half in French; the actors - fluent in both - often switch from one language to the next. Available on DVD.

Sundays and Cybele (1962)

In French with English subtitles | Directed by Serge Bourguignon (1928 - )

Black-and-white | Available on DVD

Note: a few minor spoilers ahead. This is a very sad film. At the same time it is unforgettable. Hardy Krüger (1928 - ) plays Pierre, a veteran war pilot who suffers from amnesia after a plane crash. The opening scene is a flashback to this accident, where a young girl was killed. Pierre it appears has lost his zest for life, and doesn't get out much. His live-in girlfriend Madeline, a nurse, remains devoted to him even when he shows little affection. Madeline keeps hoping that he will get better soon.

One day he meets a young named Cybele, and orphan who lives in a Catholic boarding school in a Paris suburb. It's as if fate brought these two broken souls together (or is it fate?), and they are almost like soul mates (or are they?). Pierre poses as her father so he could take her out to the park on Sundays.

Cybelle is played by Patricia Gozzi (1950 - ) in a standout performance

Pierre becomes consumed with playing the role of an older familial figure, and this becomes his new purpose in life. Cybele also has a renewed sense of life and becomes attached to him as well, and even becomes restless when he misses a visit. One day she shares that she has romantic feelings about marrying him when she gets older, which really causes some emotional conflicts. One of the most interesting moments of the film comes when a group of young children ask Cybele to play with them in the park. We see her happiness shine as she's playing a game of tag with a group of boys and girls, perhaps for the first time in her life. It's a special moment in the film, almost a realization of what she has been missing in her life.

Pierre's character is a bit more complex. Is his new found role fulfilling him? Does he know how to handle it and his relationship with Madeline? Is Madeline more of a mother figure to him, someone he wants to avoid now? Pierre doesn't talk very much. We know that he's been wounded physically and emotionally, but we don't know to what extent. Nor do we know if he has had mental issues prior to the war. He doesn't mention Cybele to Madeline, but she finds out gradually over time, and when she does, the movie really gets interesting and more complicated.

Madeline is played by Nicole Courcel (1931 - )

This movie really captivated me from start to finish, and I was always wondering what would happen next.