On Golden Pond was released in theatres in 1981. I did not see on the big screen at the time it was released but was keenly aware of the film as it starred Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda along with Dabney Coleman and Doug McKeon. It was the only film where father and daughter appeared onscreen. This was when I first became aware of the import of the Oscars. On Golden Pond was nominated for 10 Academy Awards winning three for Best Adapted Screenplay for Ernest Thompson (who wrote the original play for Broadway), Best Actress for Katherine Hepburn and Best Actor for Henry Fonda in what proved to be his last film. He passed away in August 1982 at the age of 77.
I have seen On Golden Pond on TV a couple of times and remember bits and pieces such as when Henry Fonda gets lost in the forest while trying to pick strawberries, Jane Fonda does a backflip into the lake, a dead loon and the phrase "suck face". What I did not appreciate at the time was that the film was set on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire.
In November 2016, my former roommate Christopher Kain and I drove out to Holderness, New Hampshire to have lunch with David Catron and his wife Mary at Walter's Basin which overlooks Squam Lake. Walter isn't a person but is a reference on a large trout which Henry Fonda wants to catch. David Catron writes for The American Spectator and I was several months removed from having ceased my contributions. At the time, David and I shared a mutual disdain for Donald Trump who had been elected earlier in the month. Alas, as with most conservatives, David has changed his tune on Trump considerably.
At least on this day, we were in accord on everything especially on the beauty of Squam Lake. I'm surprised Squam Lake isn't a more popular tourist destination. Most New Englanders tend to vacation on the Cape or in Maine. To the extent New Hampshire is a destination, the focus is usually on Lake Winnipesaukee which is about an hour south of Squam Lake. It is probably just as well. When one wants to truly get away the fewer people the better. I have not been back to Squam Lake since that warm Saturday afternoon nearly six years ago. Perhaps an opportunity to return shall arise and possibly rent a cabin.
I'm not sure if it would be like the cabin shared by retired Professor Norman Thayer, Jr. (Henry Fonda) and his wife Ethel Thayer (Katherine Hepburn). While Ethel is very much in love with life Norman is cantankerous about everyone and everything. Norman is about to turn 80 and is certain this birthday will be his last. Their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) comes up to the cabin along with her new boyfriend a dentist named Bill Ray (Dabney Coleman) and his son Billy (Doug McKeon).
Things are frosty between Norman and Chelsea with Ethel forced to be peacekeeper. Chelsea and Bill are going to Europe and decide to leave Billy with Norman and Ethel much to Billy's consternation. Over time, Norman and Billy bond over fishing while navigating treacherous waters which appear deceptively calm.
Watching On Golden Pond only augments my desire to return to Squam Lake. The sound of the loons also made me think of Loon Lake. Not the Loon Lake in New Hampshire, but rather the Loon Lake north of my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. I have not been there in many years either.
As for On Golden Pond itself, its centerpiece is Henry Fonda whose performance is remarkable considering how ill he was at the time. While Fonda's Professor Thayer knows death will soon come, over the summer, he goes from anger to acceptance of the autumn of his years.
Speaking of autumn, I first saw Stand By Me in September 1986 in a theatre on Victoria Avenue in Thunder Bay. I had just begun high school and, although the film was set in 1959, it was very popular amongst my peers at Port Arthur Collegiate Institute. Before seeing it again last night nearly 36 years have passed. Some details had escaped my attention. I did not realize John Cusack had a small role in the movie as did Bruce Kirby. The setting had also escaped my attention. Whereas On Golden Pond is set in Northern New England, Stand By Me is set in the Pacific Northwest in rural Oregon. It had also escaped my memory that Rob Reiner directed the film.
Although Stand By Me is a coming of age film, the central plot is very much centered on death. Adapted from Stephen King's The Body, four boys Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Donnell) hike across the railroad tracks in search of a dead boy. Unbeknownst to them, a gang of hoods is also searching for the body led by the sadistic Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland).
What I do remember is the onscreen chemistry between Wheaton and Phoenix as brothers in arms from different sides of the track. While Wheaton was the lead in the film, it was Phoenix's performance which stood out and displayed a maturity well beyond his years. Of the four, it was Phoenix's star that would rise the quickest and fall the fastest. In the film, it is revealed that Phoenix's character was killed and he disappears from the screen. There is a certain eeriness and foreboding as of course Phoenix would die of a drug overdose in 1993 at the age of 23. Phoenix has been dead longer than he was alive and next year will mark the 30th anniversary of his death. His star shone bright, burned out suddenly and now he is scarcely a memory. Where has all the time gone?
Both On Golden Pond and Stand By Me were well worth viewing and viewing together as companion pieces. Now they shall go their separate ways and I shall go mine.
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