On Golden Pond

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Image:GoldenPondPlay.JPG
Tom Aldredge and Frances Sternhagen in the original Broadway production
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On Golden Pond is a play by Ernest Thompson.

On Golden Pond focuses on aging couple Ethel and Norman Thayer, who spend each summer at their home on a lake called Golden Pond. During the year the story takes place, they are visited by daughter Chelsea with her fiancé and his son in tow. The play explores the often turbulent relationship the young woman shared with her father growing up, and the difficulties faced by a couple in the twilight years of a long marriage.

After five previews, the first Broadway production, directed by Craig Anderson, opened on February 28 1979 at the New Apollo Theatre, where it ran for 126 performances. The cast was headed by Tom Aldredge and Frances Sternhagen. After a summer break, it reopened with the same cast on September 12 at the Century Theatre, a small playhouse in the basement of the Paramount Hotel, where it ran an additional 256 performances.

After nineteen previews, a Broadway revival with an African American cast directed by Leonard Foglia and produced by Jeffrey Finn opened on April 7 2005 at the Cort Theatre, where it ran for 93 performances. James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams headed the cast. Jones, who often was ill during the run, eventually was diagnosed with pneumonia, forcing the production to a sudden close.

Michael Learned and Tom Bosley starred in a 2006-07 U.S. national tour produced by Jeffrey Finn.

Contents

[edit] Nominations

1979 production

  • Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Sternhagen)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Aldredge)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Sternhagen)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design

2005 production

  • Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
  • Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (Jones)

[edit] Film adaptation

On Golden Pond
Image:On golden pond.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Mark Rydell
Produced by Bruce Gilbert
Written by Ernest Thompson
Starring Katharine Hepburn
Henry Fonda
Jane Fonda
Music by Dave Grusin
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) December 4, 1981 (USA)
Running time 109 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Jane Fonda purchased the rights to the play. It was filmed in 1981 by the British production company ITC Entertainment. Thompson wrote the screenplay, and Mark Rydell directed the cast that included Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Jane Fonda. Also cast were Doug McKeon, 15 at the time, as the younger Billy Ray and Dabney Coleman, 49 at the time, as the older Billy Ray. The father-daughter rift depicted on screen closely parallelled the real-life relationship between the Fondas.

Despite their many common acquaintances and long careers in show business, Henry Fonda and Hepburn had not only never worked together, but had never even met each other until working on the film. On the first day of shooting, Hepburn presented Henry Fonda with her longtime companion Spencer Tracy's "lucky" hat, which Fonda wore in the film.

Thompson spent his summers along the shores of Great Pond, located in Belgrade, Maine, but the film was made on Squam Lake, in central New Hampshire. The house used in the film was leased from a New Hampshire physician and was modified significantly for the shoot. The production company was contractually obligated to return the house to its original state after the film wrapped. An entire second floor was added as a balcony over the main living area was requested by the production designer. After the shoot the owner liked the renovations so much that he elected to keep the house that way and asked the crew not to dismantle the second story. A gazebo and a small boathouse were also relocated during the shoot.

Image:HepburnGoldenPond.jpg
Fonda & Hepburn
Hepburn performed all her own stunts, including the swimming, for the duration of the shoot. The scene in which Norman and grand-stepson Billy run their boat, the "Thayer IV", into the rocks was filmed repeatedly. The vintage wooden Chris-Craft boats were so sturdy that they kept bouncing off the rocks without any damage. The crew had to modify the boats so they would break away in the wreck. The water level in Squam Lake was so low during the summer of production that Fonda and McKeon could have stood during the scene in which they were supposedly clinging to the rocks for fear of drowning. The September water was barely knee deep, but it was cold enough that the pair had to wear wetsuits under their clothes. Katharine, on the other hand, dove into the water without the aid of the wetsuit. She wanted the scene to keep its authenticity. Scenes in which Billy takes the boat out on his own were filmed on nearby Lake Winnipesaukee.

When visiting Holderness, NH, one can take a boat tour of Squam Lake and view the filming sites from the movie. There is also a restaurant called "Walter's Basin", which is named after the trout called "Walter" that Billy catches with Norman. For filming, "Walter" was brought in from a nearby trout pond called "Castle in the Clouds". He was released after his capture back into Squam Lake.

In 2001, CBS aired a live television adaptation of On Golden Pond, which was heavily publicized in the press, mainly due to the reunion of former Sound of Music stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. It also starred Glenne Headly.

[edit] Reaction

The movie was second highest grossing film of 1981 at $119,285,432 (the highest grossing film was Raiders of the Lost Ark with $209,562,121).[1]

[edit] Academy Awards

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Henry Fonda), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Katharine Hepburn), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. It was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jane Fonda), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Score, Best Picture and Best Sound.

It was a record-setting fourth win for Hepburn, and a first Best Actor Oscar for Henry Fonda, who had received an Honorary Oscar the year before. He was too ill to attend the ceremonies, so Jane accepted the award on his behalf. He died just five months later.

[edit] Film trivia

In the film viewers may note that Norman is asked to pay double the amount displayed on the gas pump. Continuity mistakes are common in films, but this is likely not one of them. At the time the film was made, many older gas pumps were incapable of charging more than 99.9¢ per gallon. To get around this, it was common practice in the United States to set the pump for half the actual price and then pay double the total. Or, it could be that the boys, knowing that Norman couldn't see very well, decided to take advantage of his poor eyesight and pocket the extra cash.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Ordinary People 		Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama
1982 		Succeeded by
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
da:Deres Sensommer

de:Am goldenen See es:On Golden Pond fr:La Maison du lac it:Sul lago dorato pt:On Golden Pond ru:На золотом озере (фильм) fi:Kultalampi sv:Sista sommaren (1981) zh:金色池塘

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