Otherwise the family has a veneer of harmony. He pushes himself and his clan to the limit and neither Hank nor Joe Ben will openly challenge him. The old bull Henry dictates all he's so difficult that he drove away two wives. ![]() ![]() The family pecking order is a pure patriarchy. His idea of independence means doing whatever he wants, and to hell with the rest of the world. Henry Stamper never got help from anybody (or so he sees it that way) and feels no obligation to help his union neighbors. Sometimes a Great Notion is about how family identity clashes with social values. It was provided not by Henry but by his brother Hank - who slept with Leeland's mother when he was 14. One reason that Leeland got an education was the monetary support from home. A subtle conflict forms between Hank and Leeland. His talks with Viv cause her to question her own passive role as Hank's wife. Leeland takes the expected guff for his long hair and impresses his brothers by his willingness to learn and work hard. Leeland's presence changes the family dynamic, as his mother committed suicide and he may be hiding a deep grudge. ![]() Arriving from back East is a third son, Leeland (Michael Sarrazin), whose mother (Henry's second wife) fled the family years ago. In this family Henry's word is law: Hank and Joe Bob go along with Pop and their wives stay out of the issue entirely. The company employees are on strike but Henry Stamper keeps working, convinced that he's not responsible for the jobs of his neighbors. The Stampers are 'gyppo loggers', independents that cut and sell wood by volume rather than work for a logging company for a wage. Old Henry Stamper (Henry Fonda) runs the Stamper clan, which consists of his two sons Hank and Joe Ben (Paul Newman & Richard Jaeckel) and their respective wives Viv and Jan (Lee Remick and Linda Lawson). The story is set in the beautiful woods of the Northwest. It also takes an honest look at the divisive topic of labor union strikebreakers. The picture can boast a great cast fully engaged in a compelling drama with strong elements of action and danger. The title is a lyric from the folk song Goodnight Irene, with the 'notion' being to "jump into the river and drown." One character has contemplated suicide, and an entire family fights to keep their house from being swallowed by an ever-widening river. After the original director dropped out Newman finished and signed the film as his second directorial effort. All had good qualities, but the most promising was 1970's Sometimes a Great Notion, an adaptation of a novel by Ken Kesey, acclaimed author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Foreman made one movie after another that didn't click: WUSA, Pocket Money The Mackintosh Man. Staged in the fictional community of Wakonda, Oregon, this film was shot in various locales along the Oregon Coast in 1970.įollowing the film, Matt Love will host a Q&A about the production, and introduce his latest writing effort Sometimes a Great Movie: Paul Newman, Ken Kesey and the Filming of the Great Oregon Novel, which offers a wealth of interesting anecdotes and photos from the set.In the four years between his big hits Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, top star Paul Newman and his producer John C. Despite the fact he is uncomfortable living with a family he barely knows, Lee joins forces with them when they are forced to battle the locals who have burned their equipment in an attempt to stop their efforts to transport logs downriver. ![]() Meanwhile, Henry wages an ongoing battle with the unionized loggers in the region, who threaten reprisals should Henry attempt to continue his business without union help. Hank's half-brother, Leeland (Michael Sarrazin), embittered over Henry's treatment of his late mother, returns after a ten-year absence to work in the family business and exact some retribution. Paul Newman (who also directed) stars as Hank Stamper, the oldest son of an Oregon logging family headed by Henry (Henry Fonda), the fiercely vital and overpowering patriarch. On Saturday, May 26th at 7:00, come celebrate the return of an Oregon made classic! Join us for an exclusive 35mm screening of Sometimes a Great Notion, and learn more about the making of the film with Oregon author and historian, Matt Love.Īlso known as “Never Give an Inch”, this film is based on the well-known Northwest novel "Sometimes a Great Notion" by Ken Kesey.
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