Themes: Down on Their Luck, Inner City Blues, Class Differences
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 140 minutes
Plot
Jane Fonda stars in this made-for-TV movie, which uses the backdrop of World War II and urbanization to tell the story of one woman's fight to keep her family together. Gertie Nevels (Fonda), the wife of a Kentucky sharecropper, wants nothing more than to one day own her own farm. Thriftily hiding her savings from husband Clovis (Levon Helm), she prepares to make her dream come true -- until Clovis summons her to come join him in Detroit, where he's gone to work in a factory to help with the war effort. Arriving with her children in tow, Gertie finds Clovis all settled into a tenement-like block house and living the life of a union man. Soon, though, the downside of urban life -- from monstrous neighbors and repressive schools to the pitfalls of the industrial landscape itself -- threaten Gertie's family both individually and as a whole. Despite Clovis' freewheeling way with money and his propensity to blame her for the family's problems, Gertie continues to save money. A lifelong whittler, she begins selling hand-crafted wooden dolls, and when the union goes on strike, Gertie finds herself supporting the family. Adapted from Harriet Arnow's novel by Hume Cronyn and Susan Cooper, who would go on to collaborate on the similarly themed Foxfire in 1987, The Dollmaker was directed by feature and TV veteran Daniel Petrie. It debuted on ABC on May 13, 1984, and earned Fonda an Emmy for her work. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
This Emmy award-winning literary adaptation is notable for Jane Fonda's fierce lead performance and the unflinching nature of its look at the conflict between rural ideals and urban reality. Although Hume Cronyn and Susan Cooper's script isn't completely faithful to Harriet Arnow's sprawling, depressing tome, it does capture the many facets of the difficult transition from the Kentucky farmlands to the factories of Detroit. The mixture of grim social realism and aspirational gumption may strike some as a little bit corny; Fonda also sometimes lays it on a little too thickly with her syllable-perfect Appalachian accent. But emotionally, the A-list actress is firing on all cylinders, imbuing the richly detailed script with proto-feminist vigor and just-plain-folks wisdom. The supporting cast proves uniformly fine, from youngsters like Dan Hedaya and Amanda Plummer to veterans like Geraldine Page; the child actors who portray Gertie's kids are solid, too -- all five of them, which is a rarity. In short, The Dollmaker is first-rate, even when it feels like what it is: a TV movie. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Cast
Etel Billig - Mrs. Bommarita; Patrick Billingsley - Cooper; Phyllis Boyens - Mrs. Hull; Diane Dorsey - Mrs. Daly; Christine Ebersole - Miss Vashinski; Jane Fonda - Gertie Nevels; Ralph Foody - Scrapwood Man; James Harrell - Old John Ballew; Alex Harvey - Whit; Ann Hearn - Max; Dan Hedaya - Skyros; Levon Helm - Clovis Nevels; Dennis Kelly - Mr. Daly; Susan Kingsley - Sophronie; Marge Kotlisky - Nurse #2; James Lashly - Cop; Mike Nussbaum - Car Dealer; Geraldine Page - Mrs. Kendrick; Amanda Plummer - Mamie Childers; Les Podewell - Eye Doctor; Mary Seibel - Woman at Train Station; Ray Serra - Joe; Everett Smith - Ice Man; Studs Terkel - Taxi Driver; Francis John Thornton - Nurse #1; Jamie Wild - Gilbert; Sheb Wooley - Mr. Kendrick; Tom Hanks; David Wilson - Enoch; Derek Googe - Bubble Gum Boy; Gwen McGee - Black Girl at Station; Bob Swan - Victor; David P. Dawson - Amos; Robert L. McCord III - Red Cap; Bruce McKinnon - Soldier; Philip East - Orderly; Jason Yearwood - Reuben; Starla Whaley - Clytie; Nikki Creswell - Cassie; Ellen Marchman - Wheateye; Edward Sadlowski - Bender; Billie Henson - Mrs. Nevels; Mike Timoney - Officer; Van B. Fox - Doctor; Bob Keenan - Desk Officer; Ellen J. Smith - School Secretary; Sheila Keenan - Stringer; Ida Will Smith - Red Cross Lady; Jason Wild - Claude-Jean; Matthew Freeman - Frankie Daly; Billy Fitzgerald - Christopher Daly; Jimmy McDermott - Mike Bommarita
Credit
Julie Weiss - Costume Designer, Gary Daigler - First Assistant Director, Daniel Petrie - Director, Rita Roland - Editor, John Rubinstein - Composer (Music Score), George Jenkins - Production Designer, Jan Scott - Production Designer, Paul Lohmann - Cinematographer, Bill Finnegan - Producer, Hume Cronyn - Screenwriter, Susan Cooper - Screenwriter, Katterli A. Frauenfelder - Second Assistant Director, Harriet Simpson Arnow - Book Author
