The Trip to Bountiful. 1953. USA. Directed by Vincent J. Donehue. Screenplay by Horton Foote. With Lillian Gish, Eileen Heckart, Eva Marie Saint. 16mm. 60 min.
Horton Foote’s excellent meditation on nostalgia premiered on NBC as part of the popular Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse series before moving to Broadway in the fall of 1953. This was a marked change from the norm, as Bountiful became the first Broadway production based on a television play. Lillian Gish turns in arguably a career-best performance as the elderly Carrie Watts, who simply wants to see her hometown one last time before she dies. Eva Marie Saint appears in an early supporting role. This presentation includes Goodyear sponsorship messages from the original broadcast.