On Golden Pond
Short description
On Golden Pond follows Norman and Ethel Thayer, an elderly couple who spend their summers at a house on a New England lake. Norman, a retired professor, contends with the limitations and frustrations of old age while his relationship with his daughter Chelsea remains strained. When Chelsea visits with her new partner Bill and his teenage son Billy, she asks the couple to look after the boy while she and Bill travel abroad. Norman and Billy form an unexpected bond over the summer, which gradually changes the way Norman and Chelsea see each other.
Mark Rydell directed the film, his fourth feature after The Cowboys, Harry and Walter Go to New York and The Rose. Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda play Ethel and Norman, with Jane Fonda as Chelsea, Doug McKeon as Billy, Dabney Coleman as Bill and William Lanteau as Charlie. The screenplay was written by Ernest Thompson and Donald Stewart, and Bruce Gilbert produced.
Made for a budget of 15 million dollars, the film took about 119 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its cost. On IMDb it holds 7.6/10 from roughly 38,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.3/10 from around 527 votes. A critics' rating of 8.1/10 from 46 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The scene in Purgatory Bay was filmed at the end of September. To avoid freezing, Doug McKeon and Henry Fonda (1905-1982) wore wetsuits under their outerwear. The water level was so low that it only reached their knees. Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) decided to dive into the water herself, although a stunt double was originally planned for the scene, and jumped in without a wetsuit.
- Jane Fonda later recounted that she was only able to cry as the script required when Katharine Hepburn was planted in the bushes nearby, from where she threatened the actress with her fist.
- This is the only film in which Hollywood veterans Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn starred together.
- The film's script states that the action takes place in the state of Maine, but it was filmed in the state of New Hampshire.
- Ribin was called “Walter Trout” in the film. It was brought in from a trout farm in New Hampshire. Billy and Norman actually released it into the lake. Since then, many have still been trying to catch the fish, but too much time has passed for that to be possible.
- The only film in history where both leading performers playing husband and wife, namely Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, won an Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.
- Henry Fonda received the Oscar at the age of 76, becoming the oldest actor to be awarded this prize.
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