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Post by Kyle on Oct 14, 2018 12:01:12 GMT -5
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t care for Patricia Neal’s portrayal. She was hamming it up a little, and her Olivia sounded like she’d been drinking the recipe and smoking unfiltered Camels behind the barn. She was great in some other roles, but her Olivia didn’t work for me. I really loved Michael Learned in the role.
Olivia’s worst hairstyle was in the 1982 Mother’s Day movie. I know that Michael was doing another series at that point, but the short haircut seemed so out of place.
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Post by patriciaanne on Oct 14, 2018 12:37:36 GMT -5
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t care for Patricia Neal’s portrayal. She was hamming it up a little, and her Olivia sounded like she’d been drinking the recipe and smoking unfiltered Camels behind the barn. She was great in some other roles, but her Olivia didn’t work for me. I really loved Michael Learned in the role. Olivia’s worst hairstyle was in the 1982 Mother’s Day movie. I know that Michael was doing another series at that point, but the short haircut seemed so out of place. I didn't love Patricia Neal's Olivia either. I'm so glad it was Michael who was selected for the series. |
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Post by JeriJet on Oct 14, 2018 17:46:45 GMT -5
I think we all preferred Michael in the "Olivia" role.... but I believe Patricia Neal was much more true to a woman in 1930's rural Virginia.... as did Hamner, but he felt her health wouldn't allow her to commit to the schedule of a weekly tv series. She had already suffered one nervous breakdown, cerebral aneurisms which caused a stroke and 3-week coma, loss of a child and serious illness of others. Although she won the Golden Globe for her performance in The Waltons "The Homecoming" in 1971 as well as nominated for an Emmy for outstanding single performance by an actress in a lead role, she was also perhaps a little too old for the part (about 45?).
Patricia Neal had a long and outstanding career, mostly on tv and stage, although she did win 5 Academy Awards for the movie "Hud"... Hard to find another actress with her credentials.
FYI, I don't think she could hold a candle to Learned's smoking and drinking !!
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Post by AuntieEm on Oct 15, 2018 8:53:24 GMT -5
Exactly. Olivia's character was in her late 30s at the time period for the movie. Having to do the cooking, cleaning, laundry, would age a woman.
Ms Neal looked like a late 30s-early 40s rural housewife/mother would have looked like back then. I really liked her performance in The Homecoming.
Not that I don't like Ms Learned but she looked a little young for the role.
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Post by JeriJet on Oct 15, 2018 9:29:01 GMT -5
Exactly. Olivia's character was in her late 30s at the time period for the movie. Having to do the cooking, cleaning, laundry, would age a woman. Ms Neal looked like a late 30s-early 40s rural housewife/mother would have looked like back then. I really liked her performance in The Homecoming. Not that I don't like Ms Learned but she looked a little young for the role. As I think about it, just about all of the characters were "updated" a bit on the series -- none of them looked much like folks from the 1930's -- producers probably thought a more "modern" look would attract more viewers. |
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Post by JeriJet on Oct 17, 2018 16:47:12 GMT -5
i'm sure this has been discussed before, but what does everyone think about olivias transformation from the thick red head at the beginning of the series to the thin haired blonde she later became? i know the latter is her more natural look and that at the start of the series they were trying to keep her looking like the olivia in 'the homecoming'. what does everyone think? which olivia do you like better? i think i like the early olivia better, but i dont know. lol They started out with Olivia and all the kids having red hair (maybe this was a carry-over from "Spencer's Mountain") -- eventually, only Elizabeth and Ben remained true redheads. |
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Post by nedandres on Oct 17, 2018 22:22:03 GMT -5
I rather enjoyed Pat Neal in the role. “The Homecoming” was her first role post stroke, so it is amazing that she pulled it off at all. She had to relearn speaking and walking and her husband author Ronald Dahl helped her through therapy. Imagine being the star of a TV film after that. Ellen Corby returned, but her character didn’t have to carry most of the show. Neal was a fine actress and did not come across to me as a ham! None of this is meant to diminish Michael L.
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Post by awesomemixtape10 on Oct 18, 2018 12:40:33 GMT -5
Hi Betcsu, I see you are from WV. What a beautiful state. I was born and raised in WV. I lived in several places but the last town I lived in was Ripley. It's between Charleston and Parkersburg. There's nothing any prettier than those WV mountains. Take care, Teresa hey, wait a second...i'm in ravenswood...man, this is a small world oh-that post was 4 years b4 i was onhere |
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Post by JeriJet on Oct 18, 2018 14:49:56 GMT -5
Hi Betcsu, I see you are from WV. What a beautiful state. I was born and raised in WV. I lived in several places but the last town I lived in was Ripley. It's between Charleston and Parkersburg. There's nothing any prettier than those WV mountains. Take care, Teresa hey, wait a second...i'm in ravenswood...man, this is a small world oh-that post was 4 years b4 i was onhere Four years old  == it's ten years old..... |
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Post by awesomemixtape10 on Oct 18, 2018 15:56:31 GMT -5
4 years b4 i joined
and how are u, miss jeri ? havent talked to u in like , lol, 4 years
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Post by JeriJet on Oct 18, 2018 17:21:47 GMT -5
4 years b4 i joined and how are u, miss jeri ? havent talked to u in like , lol, 4 years A little hard to sum up four years.... I've been here ... where have YOU been? I, for one, have missed you. Hope you're gonna stick around this time and regale us with some of your humor !! |
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== it's ten years old.....