Spencer's Mountain

Clay Spencer and his wife Olivia raise a large family in a mountain valley, where Clay works the land and dreams of building Olivia the house he has long promised her. He drinks with his friends and clashes with the local preacher, but he is overjoyed when his eldest son, Clayboy, becomes the first Spencer set to attend college, provided the family can cover the cost and the boy can resist the attentions of a local girl. The money for tuition and the unfinished house put the two hopes on a collision course.

Delmer Daves directed, produced and wrote the screenplay for this 1963 Warner Bros. release, the twelfth film in his directing career and the one that followed Rome Adventure. Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara play Clay and Olivia, with James MacArthur as Clayboy, Donald Crisp as Grandpa Spencer, Wally Cox as Preacher Goodman and Mimsy Farmer as Claris Coleman, among a credited cast of 37. The film runs 118 minutes.

On IMDb, the drama holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from around 3,500 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 out of 10 from a much smaller base of 42 votes. The larger, more settled audience sample points to a film that has held a steady, favorable standing with viewers over the years.