On Golden Pond ★★★½ 1981 (PG) Henry Fonda won his first—and long overdue—Oscar for his role as the curmudgeonly patriarch of the Thayer family. He and his wife have grudgingly agreed to look after a young boy while at their summer home in Maine. Through his gradually affectionate relationship with the boy, Fonda learns to allay his fears of mortality. He also gains an understanding of his semi-estranged daughter. Jane Fonda plays his daughter and Hepburn is his loving wife in this often funny adaptation of Ernest Thompson's 1978 play. Predictable but deeply moving. Henry Fonda's final screen appearance. 109m/C VHS, DVD. Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Dabney Coleman, Doug McKeon, William Lanteau;
Director:
Mark Rydell;
Writer:
Ernest Thompson;
Writer:
Billy Williams;
Cameo:
Dave Grusin. Oscars '81: Actor (Fonda), Actress (Hepburn), Adapt. Screenplay; British Acad. '82: Actress (Hepburn); Golden Globes '82: Actor—Drama (Fonda), Film—Drama, Screenplay; Natl. Bd. of Review '81: Actor (Fonda); Writers Guild '81: Adapt. Screenplay.
