I watched this again after not seeing it in almost 40 years. A good / enjoyable movie which served as the pilot for the Waltons TV series. With so many other Christmas/Holiday specials and stories now available this one seems very dated now. Veteren actress Patricia Neal does not get the majority of screen time. In fact the big names (which also include Cleavon Little and veteran character actor Ellen Corby) are not the main characters in most of the scenes. I remember watching this when in aired in 1974 (not the original airing which was 1971) and I couldn't believe I was hearing the now, younger Walton children using the words "poop" and "piss-ant" which still were quite taboo on TV in 1971, especially in a movie that was aimed at children and families. Today it's no big deal but I remember hearing Mary Ellen call her siblings "piss-ant" and thinking isn't that one of the 7 words George Carlin said you could never say on TV? Details aside, I found the whole premise of waiting for their daddy and worrying about him tended to make the movie drag on even though viewers are given a lot of info on why he might be late. Despite this the pace just built a lot of anxiety - we simply lost interest halfway through it. Also by this time we were familiar with the Walton family because of the now popular series and seeing Olivia and John Sr. portrayed by different (albiet well known and seasoned) actors was a big let down for us. Upon watching it again this year, I actually liked it but mostly due to the nostalgia and not because of the story, which is actually better than I remembered. The one aspect that I found a bit annoying was the hair on Ben, Jason and Jim Bob. It was so 1971. This movie, based on references made to President Hoover, supposedly takes place in the early 1930s and any young boy that had hair over his ears at that time would've been ostracized to say the least. Thirty years after the movie takes place, the Beatles became popular and people thought their hair (which at the time was shorter than that of said characters) was too long. But it is a made-for-TV movie so details are often ignored and it really doesn't add to or detract from the story. I just found it interesting. Anyway, it is not a 'sit down with the family and watch' movie by today's audience standards. Many of the people who would remember the times in which this movie takes place are now long gone and it will not connect well with parents and grandparents of today as it did in 1971. It is now good for serving as a nice memory to the baby boomers but not much beyond that.
Review of The Homecoming: A Christmas Story
