Themes: Golden Years, Journey of Self-Discovery, Redemption
Main Cast: Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford, Rebecca De Mornay
Release Year: 1985
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
Adapted by Horton Foote from his own television play, A Trip to Bountiful is set in 1947 Houston. Forced by circumstances to live her loathsome son (John Heard) and daughter-in-law (Carlin Glynn), elderly Geraldine Page wants nothing more out of life than to return to her home town of Bountiful. Escaping from her family's clutches, Page boards a bus to Bountiful, where she makes the acquaintance of young Rebecca DeMornay. The two women immediately hit it off, and their trip is a most pleasant one. Eventually, sheriff Richard Bradford, ordered to find Page and bring her back to her family, catches up with the old woman just 12 miles from Bountiful. Feeling sorry for Page, Bradford permits her to complete her sentimental journey, even though he knows full well that Bountiful is now a ghost town of empty ruins and dilapidated shacks. It doesn't matter, though: Page sees Bountiful just as it was when she left it, and for the first time in years she is truly happy and at peace with herself. After several near-misses, Geraldine Page finally won an Academy Award for A Trip to Bountiful (incidentally, the original TV production, which still exists in kinescope form, starred Lillian Gish and Eva Marie Saint). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Geraldine Page's Oscar-winning lead performance was as much a surprise as the success of this sleeper of a movie, first seen on television in 1953 with Lillian Gish. Homespun playwright Horton Foote got an Oscar nomination for his adaptation of his own play about an elderly woman on a bus ride home to the town where she was raised. The Trip to Bountiful is one of the few films to examine the difficult emotions of aging straightforwardly, without becoming too maudlin. The underrated Rebecca de Mornay breaks away from her glamour roles to show her range in a key supporting part. The film went against the cynical grain of its era and unabashedly embraced old-fashioned cinematic virtues, under the direction of Peter Masterson. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Kevin Cooney - Roy; Norman Bennett - Bus Ticket Man; Peggy Ann Byers - Downstairs Neighbor; Gil Glasgow - Stationmaster Gerard; Harvey Lewis - Bus Ticket Man; Allison Marich - Blonde on Bus; Mary Kay Mars - Rosella; Alexandra Masterson - Drugstore Waitress; David Romo - Mexican Man; Kirk Sisco - Train Ticket Agent; Wezz Tildon - Bus Passenger; Don Wyse - Doctor; Peter Masterson - Newspaper Boy; Dean de Wulf - Young Ludie Watts; Ed Johnston - Man on Bus; Larry Langley - News Vendor; Frances Peterson - Young Carrie Watts; Dave Tanner - Billy Davis; John Torn - Twin; Tony Torn - Twin; Andrew Van Wagenen - Family on the bus; Arthur VanWagenen - Family on the bus; Marilee VanWagenen - Family on the bus; Willie VanWagenen - Family on the bus; Jim Drake - Bus Station Derelict
Credit
Philip Lamb - Art Director, Gary Jones - Costume Designer, Peter Masterson - Director, Jay Freund - Editor, Horton Foote - Executive Producer, J.A.C. Redford - Composer (Music Score), John Pritchett - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jimi White - Makeup, Neil Spisak - Production Designer, Fred Murphy - Cinematographer, Sterling Van Wagenen - Producer, Sam Grogg - Producer, Dennis Bishop - Producer, Derek R. Hill - Set Designer, Wendell A. Hill II - Set Designer, Horton Foote - Screenwriter, Horton Foote - Play Author
The Bountiful of the title is a fictitious, nonexistent Texas town. (See Bountiful for other places by this name.) Although set in Houston, Texas (as was the original play), the movie was filmed by director Peter Masterson in Dallas.
The film, set in the 1940s, tells the story of an elderly woman, Carrie Watts (Page), who wants to return home to the small town where she grew up, but is frequently stopped from leaving Houston by the daughter-in-law who insists that there is not enough money for a travel ticket, and an overprotective son who won't let her travel alone.
Old Mrs Watts is determined to outwit her bossy daughter-in-law, and sets out to catch a train, only to find that trains don't go to Bountiful anymore. She eventually boards a coach to a town near to her childhood home. On the journey, she befriends a girl travelling alone (De Mornay) and reminisces about her younger years and grieves for her lost relatives. Her son and daughter-in-law eventually track her down, with the help of the local police force. However, Mrs Watts is not to be beaten, and she persuades the understanding police officer to drive her to Bountiful. The village is deserted, and the few remaining houses are derelict. Mrs Watts is moved to tears as she surveys her father's land and the remains of the family home. Her son eventually turns up, and drives her back to Houston.
DVD
On April 12, 2005, MGM released The Trip to Bountiful on DVD in region 1 US in a widescreen format.
