The Homecoming: A Christmas Story

Growing up, I would see the Waltons on TV as my mom would watch it regularly, but I was too busy playing outside to care about TV unless there was inclement weather. Years later, I was told that the Waltons began with this movie, "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story." And my mother told me that I was just a little boy when it aired that Christmas of 1971. I was two.

This year, I turn 50 and I finally saw this OLD movie. 48 years later and I was HOOKED. I wanted to see more. After reading some of the great authors including Jesse Stuart who wrote of the hills of Kentucky and select authors in the Harvard Classics, my mind and heart were prepared and hungry for this kind of movie. And Earl Hamner Jr. is the perfect compliment to all of my previous reading on Appalachia and studies of Americana.

You will see a review here and there from someone who doesn't "get it". And I wouldn't have gotten it just ten years ago, even less so twenty years ago. But having been raised in the hills of southern Ohio where I could look out my bedroom window and see the hills of Greenup, Kentucky across the Ohio River with train tracks bordering the river on both sides, I have grown to appreciate my home and the surrounding states with their amazing mountain landscapes and people.

The stand out performances that made this movie in my opinion were Patricia Neal, Edgar Bergen, Ellen Corby, Richard Thomas and Cammie Cotler. And the story, simple and authentic, made me think of my own grandparents and life in simpler times that I only get to visit from time to time.

And that is the appeal of this movie. It's well written, well told and superbly acted. If you are from the hills, any hills, you will find something of home in this film. If you are not from the hills but appreciate the wonder and beauty of mountain living, you will watch and wonder if life really was like this. It was, for most of us.

I have good memories of seeing this on TV many years ago, and I'm happy to read reports of a DVD. I believe this to be the pilot for The Waltons, either by design or by accident. This is a more realistic portrayal of the Great Depression that is usually shown. It was cleaned up considerably when the TV series was produced. Patricia Neal's character is a woman who knows hardship. Her face registers much pain, and even though she was/is a beautiful woman, that careworn look shows through. Her husband (wonderful Andrew Duggan who only shows up at the very end) is away looking for work, which was fairly typical of the 1930's. And she has too many kids, and they're all living with grandma & grandpa. They will have to accept charity from clueless missionary ladies at Christmas. These people are POOR! Nice to see Edgar Bergen in a rare, late career, character role as Grandpa (not Will Geer). All of the writing shows more edge than the series, even carrying over to the children. I guess that TV children can't get mixed up with moonshiners. It is, perhaps, unfair to compare this to the television series. They clearly are two different animals. Think M*A*S*H, and you'll know what I mean. This should be an annual holiday movie.

I was so glad to see that this is out on DVD. It looks great, I'm glad Paramount spent some time restoring it to its present condition. This truly is a modern day classic. I was enthralled with this when it ran on television for the very first time, and its lost none of its appeal for me 34 years later. The entire story exudes reality for me and you actually care about this family. Patricia Neal is wonderful as Olivia. It's too bad she didn't go on to do the television show. She added a touch of reality but also she conveyed a true sense of having seen hardship in her own life that conveys to the screen. If you've never seen this movie, and you're longing for Christmases gone by, treat yourself and either rent or buy the DVD. This is a big step above "The Walton's."

"The Homecoming" is steeped more in nostalgia and familial love and faith rather than empty sentiment. It also contains a very strong Christian message, which stems from the beliefs of its characters, not out of some ham-handed political agenda on the part of its producers.

It's essential for the children to see that there are people like Charlie Sneed (The Robin Hood Bandit) or the Missionary Lady in the world; people who in some way corrupt the meaning of Christmas, in order to realize the blessings they have. Hawthorne, the minister, is flawed, too, of course; he's not exactly doing the Lord's work by making whiskey runs for the old lady bootleggers. But, as he says, you can't feed your kids on faith.

Patricia Neal is the real treasure in this story. She was only 45; a reasonable age for a woman whose 7 children's ages span ten years. In 1965, when she was 39, Neal suffered a near-fatal stroke which left her temporarily paralyzed. She had to learn to talk over again. She had made a screen comeback in 1968 in "The Subject Was Roses," but this film was her *real* homecoming.

This depiction of Hamner's nostalgic story glows thanks to veteran actors and careful evocation of the Depression era in the hills of Virginia. Avoiding excessive sweetness it recalls the struggle of a "common" Amercan family of the period. Patricia Neal, though she may seem somewhat too old for the part, rewards with a gripping performance as always. The ending may seem rather pat but along the way there are many delights. It would be a cold heart indeed that would not warm at least a little to this story.