The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
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100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
83% of users liked it
(1,394 ratings)
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.… More 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Peter Masterson
- Genres
- Drama
PG,
- In Theaters
- Dec 20, 1985 Wide
- Studio
- Nelson Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
In this small, sharply observed tale from Horton Foote, the great Geraldine Page plays an elderly widow, who longs to go back to her idyllic small-town roots; shapeless, the film is mostly a showcase for its actors.
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Revolves around the yearning an elderly woman has to visit the farmstead where she grew up and raised her own family.
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Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Geraldine Page
as Mrs. Watts
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John Heard
as Ludie Watts
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Carlin Glynn
as Jessie Mae
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Richard Bradford
as Sheriff
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Rebecca De Mornay
as Thelma
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Kevin Cooney
as Roy
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Norman Bennett
as Bus Ticket Man
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Peggy Ann Byers
as Downstairs Neighbor
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Gil Glasgow
as Stationmaster Gerard
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Harvey Lewis
as Bus Ticket Man
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Allison Marich
as Blonde on Bus
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Mary Kay Mars
as Rosella
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Alexandra Masterson
as Drugstore Waitress
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David Romo
as Mexican Man
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Kirk Sisco
as Train Ticket Agent
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Wezz Tildon
as Bus Passenger
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Don Wyse
as Doctor
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Peter Masterson
as Newspaper Boy
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Dean de Wulf
as Young Ludie Watts
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Ed Johnston
as Man on Bus
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Larry Langley
as News Vendor
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Frances Peterson
as Young Carrie Watts
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Dave Tanner
as Billy Davis
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John Torn
as Twin
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Tony Torn
as Twin
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Andrew Van Wagenen
as Family on the bus
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Arthur VanWagenen
as Family on the bus
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Marilee VanWagenen
as Family on the bus
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Willie VanWagenen
as Family on the bus
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Jim Drake
as Bus Station Derelict
