MovieChat Forums > The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) Discussion > Well, I finally got a chance to see this...

Well, I finally got a chance to see this after much anticipation...

posted 11 years ago by shannongr
27 replies | jump to latest

...and was a little disappointed.

Please don't flame me - I've put some thought into this before posting, and feel I know the show very well (though I could do without the last 2-3 seasons!)

I realize that this was meant to be a simple, touching holiday tale - and that holds a lot of charm for me. I don't mind a slow pace if the interest has been built up. I guess I just felt that this pilot didn't quite achieve that in my mind. There were glimpses, but it somewhat bored me in parts too.

I guess what struck me the most was Patricia Neal (whom I thought was fanatsic in A Face in the Crowd and Hud, among others). She seemed too old, for one thing. Her mannerisms also seemed odd, kinds spacey at times, and unlike the Livvie that was Michael Learned. She didn't generate a lot of warmth (although I should add that Michael had to grow on me as well). I wonder if I hadn't seen the show before if I would have felt the same.

The kids were also much more harsh in this. One reviewer was surprised at how they yelled at each other and the names they used. It seemed more than normal sibling scrapping to me. (Don't get me started on their distracting early 70's hair - but good acting can overcome that)

The setting was also much more rustic and didn't seem as "warm" to me as the show. But honestly, the house in the show was probably a bit grand for a family of their means anyway.

The scene with the Minister and the Baldwin sisters was probably the most amusing of the movie, but also seemed a bit out of place.

The themes of happy holiday endings and a family down on its luck were portayed well. Richard Thomas gave a strong performace - it was clear to me why he wasn't one of the actors replaced for the series. The others kids were also kept (thankfully their dialog was tempered) which I feel was a good choice in general. The grandparents were under-utilized.

Maybe I was hoping for more? Maybe my mind was too pre-conceived by the show? (but this hasn't been on tv for so long that I hadn't had the chance to see it before the series.)

I stuck through to the end and actually watched part of the encore showing, and I suspect this will grow on me a little more. But overall it wasn't what I thought it would be.

I wonder which one was more true to Earl Hamner's real life - the pilot or the show?

Just some honest thoughts.

[–] steviefan81-155-938545 11 years ago

I agree with you..I was excited to see it again since it had been many years when I had last seen it..I am so used to the cast in the TV series that I believe that is why I found it hard to warm to some of the actor. Patricia Neal is a fine actress and highly respected but I do agree with her way of speaking and mannerism just were not Olivia to me! Ralph Waite is perfect as John so the actor in the movie didnt do anything for me..and the house was not warm and inviting! and there is only one Grandpa..Will Geer..so probably when this aired in 1971 and the series had not started is was considered very good but after many years of growing up with the series actors and I feel the same as you!..good post!

[–] steveprice148 9 years ago

I think you are a Stevie Nicks fan are you not? I'm sure I've seen your postings elsewhere

[–] Voltage888 11 years ago

I have to agree with all points. I hadn't seen this since it first aired and I was just alittle older than Elizabeth at the time. I thought a lot of the scenes were too long and that Patricia Neal was a bit too old to be playing Olivia. Did you also notice that all of the kids' hair were some shade of red? The most obvious bad dye job was on Jim-Bob, but both Richard Thomas and Judy Norton's hair was a shade of red instead of dark blond. It is also amazing what a difference a change of actor can effect a role. Think of the interplay between Edgar and Ellen versus Will and Ellen. Will Geer added so much more to the role.

[–] citrine75 11 years ago

I look at it this way: the series was how we imagine the past to be. The movie is probably more like it was. People looked and acted older back then.

[–] swtore 8 years ago

That's what I was thinking.

[–] jackcarson 11 years ago

The Homecoming was presented before everyone got used to the Brady Bunchifation of the ensuing TV series. The same thing happened vis a vis the 2-hour pilot for Little House on the Prairie and the follow-up TV series, which became progessively insipid and PC heavy.

Now, on the TV series, everyone is dirt poor but couldn't be happier. The wealthier townsfolk on the other hand are always suspect, and to be avoided at all cost. Siblings are each other's best friends and never fight or name call. All problems are resolved in forty-five minutes.

Regarding the hairstyles: no biggee to me - "country folk" usually had longer, or less styled hair, than their more citified counterparts.

The original may not be the ideal classic but at least it had a tad more integrity.

[–] hunterofserenity-2 11 years ago

I have always said that Patricia Neal seemed too tired for this role. I guess in real life a mother of 7 would be tired, but I am very glad she was replaced with Michael Learner who had a lot more energy. Patricia's voice just sounded like she was on the point of collapse at any moment.

The man who played John Walton was downright scary looking. I am very glad he was replaced.

I absolutely love this movie and try to watch it every Christmas. It has come on TV this year and I am going to try and hold onto it for as long as my DVR doesn't go out.

The missionary who was giving out gifts was the one who seemed odd to me. She seemed drunk or something.

The black minister who took John Boy to the Baldwin sisters only did that so he could get a few drinks of the recipe. There John boy was desperate to find his father and this man just wanted to get drunk.

It really was painful to watch Olivia yell at John Boy when he came back from the Baldwins and really sweet how John Boy didn't yell back, but very gently explained things to her. He is a good son.

I never could understand why Grandma got so upset at the thought of Charlie Sneed killing a sitting still bird. If you are a family of 11 who has nothing to eat, who cares how the bird was killed?

[–] VCR 11 years ago

Aww, I love this movie. What network was playing it?

Come on, Franklin! It'll be a fun trip!

[–] bhilburn 11 years ago

It's playing on the Gospel Network now.

[–] joed1667 8 years ago

I thought Patricia Neal played that part very well. Perhaps many are not putting themselves into the early 1930's where it was a rough life and the women had to be tough to stay with them. Families were larger then, than they are today and it could be downright tiring on the moms who kept home while the husbands were away working. It's not like today with the modern conveniences and far more mothers working than they did back then. There was also a belief that many women went along with, that a woman's place was in the home and in particular, the kitchen. I've read many of biographies and the parts of their upbringing when they describe their mothers, many of them sound like Patrician Neal's character. I enjoyed the TV show growing up but the movie seemed to best represent the times where the TV show seemed like the Donna Reed Show with Michael Learned only set in the 30's. Even the house seemed much nicer in the series.

[–] LindaY 11 years ago

?? Cleavon Little's character didn't do all that to get a drink. Didn't you hear what he said to John-Boy about having to soft-soap the sisters a little first? He honestly figured he would have to persuade the sisters into giving them some gasoline because they were considered a bit "odd," so he got them relaxed and comfortable by recalling memories of their father.

Patricia Neal really was too old for the part (Olivia is only supposed to be in her late 30s) but she was a well-known and well-respected actress and would lend a star name to the movie. Andrew Duggan was as Earl Hamner saw his father, a big tall muscular man hardened by working in the woods and in a soapstone mine, not mention another "name" actor. His wig was really hideous, though, but the whole family was supposed to be red-headed, as in the original book.

Grandma wasn't upset at Charlie; she just didn't believe him!!! Birds don't usually stay still enough to be shot with a single bullet, which is why you use a shotgun to hunt birds. It shoots multiple pellets instead.

Even though specific items were changed from the book to the movie, the movie is closer to the book than the series was in portraying the family's poverty and the truly rugged way in which they lived.

[–] neglndr 11 years ago

I enjoyed the pilot.

I have always said that Patricia Neal seemed too tired for this role. I guess in real life a mother of 7 would be tired, but I am very glad she was replaced with Michael Learner who had a lot more energy. Patricia's voice just sounded like she was on the point of collapse at any moment.

It really was painful to watch Olivia yell at John Boy when he came back from the Baldwins and really sweet how John Boy didn't yell back, but very gently explained things to her. He is a good son.

I didn't have a problem with Patricia Neal in the part because in that time people were under a lot of stress and people aged faster. Look at the photo of Migrant Mother. I was shocked to find out that Florence Owens Thompson was only 33 years old when that photo was taken and yet she looks like she was old enough to be those children's grandmother. The scene were Olivia yells at John Boy was painful because what she was accusing him of was pretty serious and she should of heard John Boy out first. On saying that she was worried that John may have been killed in a bus accident and is under a lot of pressure.

I never could understand why Grandma got so upset at the thought of Charlie Sneed killing a sitting still bird. If you are a family of 11 who has nothing to eat, who cares how the bird was killed?

Grandma wasn't upset about how he shot the turkey she was upset that she suspected the turkey might be stolen.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] FlushingCaps 10 years ago

You are so right Wendi. Here Olivia held off temptation of spending a mere 65¢ on a doll for Elizabeth just hours before John tells her he spent almost all of his salary on those presents, which included the impractical flowers for Olivia. He says, "we'll live on love" for the next week or more.

With 11 mouths to feed, no vegetables growing in the garden in late December, she should have been much more furious at him than she was at John-Boy for bringing inside the house a present just given to him by the Baldwin ladies. Even if it had been the recipe, he would have figured it more important to come in and let her know what had happened on his adventure, rather than stop outside and empty the container.

I thought her overreacting to John Boy's actions on two occasions in the film were quite unsettling.

I saw it last night after not seeing it for many, many years. It just didn't have all that much to offer, especially with the only real plot dealing with the anxiety over John's late return. We all knew he wasn't killed in an accident--and I mean we would have known in 1971, that a Christmas movie featuring children wasn't going to have their daddy killed.

The best parts were the children interacting. The grandparents could have been visiting Florida for all they were allowed to add to the story.

[–] Adler-99 10 years ago

I just watched it again after not seeing it for many, many years. I remember seeing it on its original broadcast in 1971, when I liked it a lot. Of course, then we didn't think of Michael Learned, Ralph Waite, and Will Geer as the family members.

I do think it looks quite dated. Several things struck me. Patricia Neal, while an excellent actress, looked way too old to be the children's mother. She was about 45 at the time, and Olivia would have been in her mid-30s. The Baldwin sisters looked too 1970s (that hair!) and too much alike, although that would make more sense for real sisters. I thought Edgar Bergen and William Windom were very good, and that the siblings' squabbling was more realistic than what we saw later in the series.

[–] kjwilliamslcsw 10 years ago

Flushing,
I remember thinking when i saw her go off on John Boy and be invalidating and mean to the other children, if I had viewed that, I would have called Child Protective Services. ALL the kids would have been better off with the Boozing Baldwin Sisters than Patricia O'Neil.

I think I am taking all of this rather well.

[–] marknyc 10 years ago

Can't believe all the Patricia Neal bashing. Just because people were used to Michael Learned? Neal is great, and brings an authenticity to the role that greatly helps the piece avoid the saccharine often present in the series. What a great actress.

[–] ghmehlman 9 years ago

I saw this movie for the first time when I was 8 years old. My Mom and Dad got me out of watch to "watch something special." And over the last 43 years I've seen it well over 30 times.

Yes, it moves slow, but Fielder Cook directed a television masterwork.

Earl Hamner wrote an exquisite script.

Patricia Neal created a performance that stayed with me from that day on. As I got older I searched out every performance I could of hers and have never been disappointed.

The Waltons was a very good series, but compared to this, it is a glossed over, antiseptic, "and they lived happily ever after" mush fest. There's a reason it runs on Hallmark.

Two years later, my folks woke me for another special, the '73 re-make of Miracle on 34th Street (also directed by Fielder Cook). Again I was transfixed by the story (although later I fell in love with the original, my favorite movie of all time).

I have much to be grateful to my parents for and their waking a little boy to watch these holiday classics is something for which I am so grateful and put me on a path that made me who I am today.

[–] steveprice148 9 years ago

I will also be forever grateful to my parents as well for encouraging my brothers and I to watch this holiday gem in 1971 and for about a decade following. Then the networks stopped showing it. My Dad found a DVD of it a few years back and it re-awakened my childhood memories all over again. AAAHHH, WHAT BEAUTIFUL SWEET MEMORIES!!!

[–] larpine-225-371665 8 years ago

Agree with you both. I remember when it first aired and it was considered a broadcast event. I watch it yearly on DVD and every year, I find something in the performances that I previously missed.

Last night while watching, I was amazed how the set designers accurately portrayed an old home that was retrofitted with electricity with wires exposed in every room. The details in the film are incredible, especially for a made for television film made in the early seventies.

Understandable, the series was most digestible to the mainstream audiences, but to me was a whitewash of the original material.

[–] Redart27 8 years ago

I thought both depictions of Livvy were great, and both were not warm and fuzzy Mommy types either. Neil's Livvy was a highly principled woman with fierce pride for her children, husband, and beliefs. Learned's Livvy was similar but a little harder and more assertive and direct.

The John Walton guy was ok, kind of a grizzly larger than life Daddy compared to the softer, gentler Ralph Waites. They stuck a ridiculous red wing on the actor that did make him look scary tho, lol.

[–] drjeff21 8 years ago

I am only going to remark on the comments regarding Patricia Neal. While pregnant in 1965, Neal suffered three burst cerebral aneurysms, and was in a coma for three weeks. I find it extraordinary that she was able to return to acting at all and she deserved the Golden Globe that she won for this role.

[–] LindaY 8 years ago

I think the movie was more realistic to his childhood; the series was softened.

I think some of the people commenting here would be horrified then to read the original novel. Clay-Boy (the John-Boy character) smokes and talks about hunting. The church where Hawthorne Dooley preaches is a place where white men go to gamble and drink on the sly. The Baldwins are not as sweet. The sheriff is a bit amoral.

Incidentally, the scene where Hawthorne and John-Boy stop at the Baldwins doesn't happen in the book. Just Clay-Boy goes into the Baldwin home. Cleavon Little was a big Broadway star and they wanted to boost up his role.

[–] vranger 8 years ago

We watched this yesterday, and for both my wife and I, it was the first time we'd seen it since the 70s ... possibly we'd only seen the original airing. We laughed a lot at the interplay among the kids. The Bible verse scene is a classic. It says a LOT about this movie that we both remembered lines and much of the story line from a made-for-TV movie we had not seen in more than 40 years. Few TV movies are notable in that way.

We thoroughly enjoyed watching it again. It was extremely well produced and acted, and of course made Richard Thomas into the star we've known ever since.

Reading this thread, it sounds like a lot of people have lost touch with what sibling rivalries and squabbles were like. It was all very true to life. Patricia Neal gave a great performance as a woman feeling incredible stress over the fate of her husband while trying to hold things together, not worry her kids, and manage the household. They had no plan to make these characters "perfect people". They were real people, and they were interesting and sympathetic.

[–] AmyJolamb 7 years ago

I'm watching this now for maybe the third or fourth time. I agree about Patricia Neal seeming spacey at times. She appears almost drunk. As for her harshness I've read she is more true to a mom in those times.

[–] sjbradford 7 years ago

Also agreed. Neal was a fine actress and in some ways more believable as the depression-hardened mother. But some of her line readings were odd/spacey, and she did seem too old. I'm glad they got Michael Learned for the series. Neal didn't decline the series but in fact was not offered the job; CBS was worried about her health holding up to the rigors of a weekly TV production.

[–] vranger (444) 6 years ago

Patricia Neal had suffered a stroke that almost killed her. She had to learn everything again, including just how to walk and talk. Everything she did after that is simply amazing.