Good 80's Films: On Golden Pond

1981 Drama
From Universal
Directed by Mark Rydell

Starring
Katharine Hepburn
Henry Fonda
Jane Fonda
Doug McKeon
Dabney Coleman
William Lanteau

The regard, or lack thereof, that one has for this film, at least in its story line, is likely to have an alignment with how one feels about films that feature an elderly couple and a teenager.  

I liked it a great deal because of the senior aspect and a little less on the teenager.  Once said... and I have said more than once, I love stories about kids, especially as they deal with adults and navigate through their young lives.  I'm drawn to family dramas.  Those which are truthful, poignant and with some humor are lovely.  When they also deal with strife, discord, dysfunction, love, understanding, honor, grace, respect, forgiveness and the like they carve a way into my brain.  I think I could still pinpoint what I liked about most family dramas I have ever seen.

With On Golden Pond I will tell you that there were only two reasons, maybe three, that I was probably first in line to see it back in 1981.  It was starring two Hollywood legends who not only had never worked together before but had never even met until the day director Mark Rydell corralled them in his office.  The screenwriter, Ernest Thompson, was also present. 

That always seemed so crazy to me... in 50 or so years in the movie business and with numerous forays to the bright lights of Broadway and with so many costars, directors, writers and all in common... how could they never have met?  It is true, too, that neither, particularly her, was great at making the rounds on the party circuit, but still....

I also was dying to see father and daughter work together.  I wanted to see that for 20 years and was certain it was never going to happen.  The daughter, having long been looking around for a property for them to do together, also thought it was never going to happen.  Let's take up this issue.

Jane Fonda and her producing partner, Bruce Gilbert, found this sweet little play written by Thompson, and commissioned it for their IPC Films.  Jane said she knew she had finally found that project she was looking for with a great father role and a smaller daughter role for her.  Everyone was so enthused and they asked Thompson to make his own play screen-ready.

The problem was Fonda himself.  He was not well at all.  He was 76 with one lung and had serious heart issues, had a pacemaker and was constantly in and out of hospitals.  As it turned out, of course, it would be the great actor's final film.  He would die six months to the day of the film's release.  

Making it more poignant is the fact that his character, Norman Thayer Jr., is also not well and is obsessed with death, never apparently passing up a chance to bring it up in conversation.  Norman is also cantankerous, someone at odds with life.  No wonder Jane thought she'd found the perfect role for him.  Norman was Fonda.  The same could be said for Hepburn.  She was always disagreeable, insistent on having her way and highly opinionated.  She and Ethel Thayer were a perfect fit except that Ethel was a nicer person.  Frankly, the fit is so perfect for both actors that one suspects Thompson's reworking of his play had a lot of input from the two actors.

At the heart of the well-known story is the couple's summer visit to their cottage on Golden Pond.  This is another reason I enjoyed this film so much as it reminded me of so many times I have done the same.  For many years I have visited dear friends in Carleton Place, Ontario, who have a comfy cottage on gorgeous Mississippi Lake.  I have enjoyed other stays at similar cottages where I helped take dust covers off furnishings, collect logs, start a fire, open curtains, etc.  This setting has always held great appeal for me... a cabin on a lake, great weather, gorgeous sunrises, fun talks, cuddling, pinochle, hearts, cribbage, Yahtzee, whatever.  Seeing the film is almost as good as being there.

Ethel has kept from Norman the fact that daughter Chelsea, with whom he has had a difficult relationship, is coming for a brief visit, a stopover actually, before she and her accompanying fiance are off to Europe where they will marry.  They are leaving behind his 13-year old son, Billy.  Neither Billy nor Norman are very pleased.

The smart-mouthed teen assesses that spending time with two old people could only be made worse by just sitting around which he has no intention of doing.  Unfortunately, that's all Norman wants to do.  Through Ethel's wise machinations, host and houseguest come to a meeting of the minds, chiefly by indulging in boating and fishing together.  Norman had said to Ethel earlier I don't know why everybody has to talk about everything all the time but he's not able to be silent around Billy.  By summer's end, they have become buddies.

A moment of truth comes to Chelsea regarding both parents when she returns to collect Billy.  She tells her mother what she doesn't like about Norman and when she goes too far, Ethel slaps her, reminding her that's my husband you're talking about.  Ethel then delivers one of the film's savvy lines... sometimes you have to look very hard at a person and remember he's doing the best he can.

A touching moment comes when Chelsea and her father have a conversation while he sits in his boat and she stands nearby in the water.  If the scene wasn't written for them then the coincidence is uncanny.   The Fondas had an uneasy relationship for most of Jane's life and she was especially keen on calling a truce, hoping to enjoy what time they had together.  The crew, aware of their troubles, reportedly teared up after the scene was completed.  Here, have a look at it:

  
The final dramatic scene comes when Norman collapses while carrying a heavy box in preparation for their trip back home.  Both he and Ethel are sure this is the end for him.  He not only recovers right then and there but does so humorously.  It is a glorious scene of love and fear and loyalty of a couple who has lived together a very long time.

There's nothing much to say about the acting of these two old pros except their genius shows in every single scene, with every utterance and every movement.  They were excited to be working together.  Hepburn was so thrilled at the prospect that she gifted Fonda with a favorite hat of Spencer Tracy's which Fonda wore in the film.  Jane predicted her father would win a long-overdue Oscar for playing Norman and she was right.  And Hepburn, of course, won her fourth Oscar, thus far the most honored actor in Oscar history.  Both were very deserving.

Jane was nominated for a supporting Oscar and she was most effective.  It is a rare Jane film of those years where she was not the focal point.  But to be clear, for her, On Golden Pond was all about her dad.

Young Doug McKeon added some combustion to the proceedings.  He was all he needed to be.  I don't remember how he felt working with Fonda and Hepburn and I know I heard him tell the story once.  What an awesome experience it must have been.

Rydell was fond of making this film.  It was all filmed on location at New Hampshire's Squam Lake and the cast and crew stayed in neighboring homes, some much like the cottage in the movie.  It was a happy, family-like atmosphere.  If Rydell was concerned about working with a control freak such as Hepburn, he's been too gallant to say so.  No doubt he wanted his aging stars to have a wonderful working experience and he was respectful at all times.

Ace British cinematographer Billy Williams (Women in Love, Sunday Bloody Sunday and the breathtaking The Wind and the Lion) gave On Golden Pond a truly golden look.  The opening shots of the lake are stunning and welcoming, as are the pair of loons that make appearances throughout the film.  Loons are monogamous and stay together forever...hmmm, just like Ethel and Norman.

There is a piece on the film about Williams' extraordinary use of lighting and his unusual decision to use mainly natural light in the inside cottage scenes.  The decision was also made to show his two lead actors exactly as they were and not to attempt a younger look.  It's also a most inviting look at nature... kinda makes me wanna check out spring cabin rentals. 

If I had forgotten Dave Grusin's exact musical theme when I watched the movie again yesterday, I certainly felt a soothing feeling upon hearing it again.  
  
With my sensitivity to this type of material, it was inspiring to see characters, strong characters, who grow and change and forgive and to the film's immense credit, it's never corny... not as I see it.  The characters and the story feel so real, not like a movie at all.

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that if you didn't like it so much when you first saw it, give it another try now.  You may find it resonates a little more for you.  If you did like it but haven't seen it for years, see it again and pull away feeling pretty mellow about what a lovely world it can be. 



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Another good 80's movie