Too Late the Hero. 1970. Cinerama. Director-producer: Robert Aldrich. Screenplay: Aldrich and Lukas Heller. Cinematographer: Joseph Biroc. Cast: Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Ronald Fraser, Denholm Elliott, Lance Percival, Percy Herbert, Patrick Jordan, Henry Fonda.
The Cheyenne Social Club. 1970. National General. Director-producer: Gene Kelly. Screenplay: James Lee Barrett, from novel by Davis Grubb. Cinematographer: William H. Clothier. Cast: James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Shirley Jones, Sue Ane Langdon, Elaine Devry, Robert Middleton, Arch Johnson, Dabbs Greer, Jackie Russell, Jackie Joseph, Sharon DeBord, Richard Collier, Charles Tyner.
There was a crooked man … 1970. Warner Bros. Director-producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Screenplay: David Newman and Robert Benton. Cinematographer: Harry Stradling, Jr. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Burgess Meredith, John Randolph, Lee Grant, Arthur O’Connell, Martin Gabel, Alan Hale, Jr., Victor French, Claudia McNeil, Bert Freed, Jeanne Cooper, Barbara Rhoades, Gene Evans.
Sometimes a Great Notion. 1970. Universal. Director: Paul Newman. Producer: John C. Foreman. Screenplay: John Gay, from novel by Ken Kesey. Cinematographer: Richard Moore. Cast: Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Michael Sarrazin, Richard Jaeckel, Linda Lawson, Cliff Potts, Sam Gilman, Lee de Broux, Jim Burk, Roy Jenson, Joe Maross, Roy Poole, Charles Tyner.
The Serpent (aka Flight from Moscow). 1973. AVCO Embassy. Director-producer: Henri Verneuil. Screenplay: Verneuil and Gilles Perrault. Cinematographer: Claude Renoir. Cast: Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde, Philippe Noiret, Michel Bouquet, Virna Lisi, Guy Tréjan, Elga Andersen, Marie Dubois, Nathalie Nerval, André Falcon, Robert Party, William Sabatier, Robert Alda.
Ash Wednesday. 1973. Paramount. Director: Larry Peerce. Producer: Dominick Dunne. Screenplay: Jean-Claude Tramont. Cinematographer: Enno Guarnieri. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, Helmut Berger, Keith Baxter, Maurice Teynac, Margaret Blye, Monique van Vooren, Henning Schlutër, Dino Mele.
My Name is Nobody. 1973. Titanus/Universal. Director: Tonino Valerii. Producer: Fulvio Morsella. Screenplay: Ernesto Gastaldi, story by Fulvio Morsella and Ernesto Gastaldi, from idea by Sergio Leone. Cinematographer: Giuseppe Ruzzolini. Cast: Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin, R. G. Armstrong, Piero Lulli, Mario Brega, Marc Mazza, Karl Braun, Leo Gordon, Steve Kanaly, Geoffrey Lewis.
The Last Four Days (aka Last Days of Mussolini). 1974. Paramount/Aquila Cinematografica. Director: Carlo Lizzani. Producer: Enzo Peri. Screenplay: Lizzani and Fabio Pittorru. Cinematographer: Roberto Gerardi. Cast: Rod Steiger, Franco Nero, Lisa Gastoni, Lino Capolicchio, Giuseppe Addobbati, Andrea Aureli, Bruno Corazzari, Manfred Freyberger, Henry Fonda, Franco Balducci.
Midway. 1976. Universal. Director: Jack Smight. Producer: Walter S. Mirisch. Screenplay: Donald S. Sanford. Cinematographer: Harry Stradling, Jr. Cast: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, Robert Webber, Ed Nelson, James Shigeta, Christina Kokubo, Monte Markham, Biff McGuire, Christopher George, Kevin Dobson, Glenn Corbett, Gregory Walcott, Edward Albert, Pat Morita, Dabney Coleman, Erik Estrada, Tom Selleck.
The Great Smokey Roadblock. 1977. Mar Vista. Director: John Leone. Producer: Allan F. Bodoh. Screenplay: Leone. Cinematographer: Edward R. Brown. Cast: Henry Fonda, Eileen Brennan, Austin Pendleton, Robert Englund, Dub Taylor, John Byner, Susan Sarandon, Melanie Mayron, Leigh French, Gary Sandy, Valerie Curtin.
Tentacles. 1977. American International. Director-producer: Ovidio G. Assonitis. Screenplay: Steven W. Carabatsos, Tito Carpi, and Jerome Max. Cinematographer: Roberto D’Ettore Piazzoli. Cast: John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins, Henry Fonda, Delia Boccardo, Cesare Danova, Alan Boyd, Sherry Buchanan, Franco Diogene, Claude Akins.
Rollercoaster. 1977. Universal. Director: James Goldstone. Producer: Jennings Lang. Screenplay: Richard Levinson and William Link. Cinematographer: David M. Walsh. Cast: George Segal, Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, Susan Strasberg, Helen Hunt, Dorothy Tristan, Harry Davis.
The Biggest Battle (aka Battle Force). 1978. National Cinematigrafica. Director: Umberto Lenzi. Producer: Mino Loy and Luciano Martino. Screenplay: Lenzi and Cesar Frugoni, from story by Lenzi. Cinematographer: Federico Zanni. Cast: Helmut Berger, Samantha Eggar, Giuliano Gemma, John Huston, Stacy Keach, Ray Lovelock, Aldo Massasso, Venantino Venantini, Ida Galli, Orson Welles, Henry Fonda, Rik Battaglia.
The Swarm. 1978. Warner Bros. Director-producer: Irwin Allen. Screenplay: Stirling Silliphant. Cinematographer: Fred J. Koenekamp. Cast: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Richard Chamberlain, Olivia de Havilland, Lee Grant, Ben Johnson, José Ferrer, Patty Duke, Slim Pickens, Bradford Dillman, Fred MacMurray, Cameron Mitchell.
Fedora. 1979. Lorimar. Director-producer: Billy Wilder. Screenplay: I. A. L. Diamond and Wilder. Cinematographer: Gerry Fisher. Cast: William Holden, Marthe Keller, Hildegard Knef, José Ferrer, Frances Sternhagen, Mario Adorf, Stephen Collins, Henry Fonda, Michael York, Arlene Francis.
Wanda Nevada. 1979. United Artists. Director: Peter Fonda. Producers: Dennis Hackin and Neal Dobrofsky. Screenplay: Hackin. Cinematographer: Michael Butler. Cast: Peter Fonda, Brooke Shields, Fiona Lewis, Luke Askew, Ted Markland, Severn Darden, Paul Fix, Henry Fonda.
City on Fire. 1979. AVCO Embassy. Director: Alvin Rakoff. Producer: Claude Héroux. Screenplay: Jack Hill, David P. Lewis, and Céline La Frenière. Cinematographer: René Verzier. Cast: Barry Newman, Susan Clark, Shelley Winters, Leslie Nielsen, James Franciscus, Ava Gardner, Henry Fonda, Jonathan Welsh, Hilary Labow, Richard Donat.
Meteor. 1979. American International. Director: Ronald Neame. Producers: Arnold Orgolini and Theodore Parvin. Screenplay: Stanley Mann and Edmund H. North. Cinematographer: Paul Lohman. Cast: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Richard Dysart, Henry Fonda, Joseph Campanella.
On Golden Pond. 1981. Universal. Director: Mark Rydell. Producer: Bruce Gilbert. Screenplay: Ernest Thompson, from his play. Cinematographer: Billy Williams. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon, Dabney Coleman, William Lanteau.
SELECTED STAGE WORK
The Game of Love and Death. November 25, 1929, Guild Theatre. Director: Rouben Mamoulian. Producer: Theatre Guild. Writer: Romain Rolland, translation by Eleanor Stimson Brooks. Cast: Claude Rains, Alice Brady, Frank Conroy, Clinton Corwin, Frank De Silva, William Earle, Anita Fugazy, Charles Henderson, Lizbeth Kennedy, Otto Kruger, Robert Norton, Sidney Paxton, Henry Fonda.
I Loved You Wednesday. October 11, 1932, Sam H. Harris Theatre. Director: Worthington Miner. Producer: Crosby Gaige. Writers: Molly Ricardel and William Du Bois. Cast: Henry Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Jean Briggs, Mary Alice Collins, Frances Fuller, Harry Gresham, Guy Hamilton, Ken Harvey, Henry Fonda.
New Faces. March 15, 1934, Fulton Theatre. Director: Elsie Janis. Producer: Charles Dillingham. Music: Warburton Guilbert, Donald Honrath, Martha Caples, James Shelton, and Morgan Lewis. Lyrics: Viola Brothers Shore, Nancy Hamilton, and June Sillman. Book: Leonard Sillman. Cast: Reeder Boss, Imogene Coca, Frances Dewey, Henry Fonda, Dorothy Kennedy Fox, Hildegarde Halliday, Nancy Hamilton, Billy Haywood, Louise Lynch, Beverly Phalon, Edith Sheridan, Leonard Sillman, Roger Stearns, Charles Walter, O. Z. Whitehead.
The Farmer Takes a Wife. October 30, 1934, 46th Street Theatre. Director: Marc Connelly. Producer: Max Gordon. Writers: Frank B. Elser and Connelly, from novel Rome Haul, by Walter D. Edmonds. Cast: June Walker, Henry Fonda, Wylie Adams, Walter Ayres, Joe M. Fields, Ruth Gillmore, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Knight, Mabel Kroman, Lewis Martin, Kate Mayhew, Mary McQuade, Bert J. Norton, Joseph Sweeney.
Blow Ye Winds. September 23, 1937, 46th Street Theatre. Director-producer: Arthur Hopkins. Writer: Valentine Davies. Cast: Henry Fonda, Helen Murdoch, Edgar Barrier, James Clairton, Blaine Cordner, Doris Dalton, Blair Davies, James Doody, Albert Hayes, Harry Hermsen, Linda Lee Hill, Mary Rockwell.
Point of No Return. December 13, 1951, Alvin Theatre. Director: H. C. Potter. Producer: Leland Hayward. Writer: Paul Osborn, from novel by John P. Marquand. Cast: Henry Fonda, Phil Arthur, Frances Bavier, Heywood Hale Broun, Madeleine Clive, Frank Conroy, John Cromwell, Leora Dana, Susan Harris, Pitt Herbert, Katherine Hynes, James Jolley, Colin Keith-Johnston, Madeleine King, James MacDonald, Davis Roberts, Bartlett Robinson, Robert Ross, Keith Russell, Harriet Selby, Patricia Smith.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. January 20, 1954, Plymouth Theatre. Director: Charles Laughton. Producer: Paul Gregory. Writer: Herman Wouk, from his novel The Caine Mutiny. Cast: Henry Fonda, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan, Russell Hicks, Herbert Anderson, Larry Barton, Paul Birch, Jim Bumgarner, Stephen Chase, Richard Farmer, Eddie Firestone, Robert Gist, John Huffman, T. H. Jourdan, Charles Nolte, Richard Norris, Ainslie Pryor, Greg Roman, Pat Waltz.
Two for the Seesaw. January 16, 1958, Booth Theatre. Director: Arthur Penn. Producer: Fred Coe. Writer: William Gibson. Cast: Henry Fonda, Anne Bancroft.
Silent Night, Lonely Night. December 3, 1959, Morosco Theatre. Director: Peter Glenville. Producer: Playwrights’ Company. Writer: Robert Anderson. Cast: Barbara Bel Geddes, Henry Fonda, Bill Berger, Peter De Visé, Eda Heinemann, Lois Nettleton.
Critic’s Choice. December 14, 1960, Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Director-producer: Otto Preminger. Writer: Ira Levin. Cast: Henry Fonda, Billie Allen, Virginia Gilmore, Murray Hamilton, Eddie Hodges, Georgann Johnson, Mildred Natwick.
A Gift of Time. February 22, 1962, Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Director: Garson Kanin. Producer: William Hammerstein. Writer: Kanin, from book Death of a Man, by Lael Tucker Wertenbaker. Cast: Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Joseph Campanella, Lucretia Gould, Leslye Hunter, John MacKay, Gary Morgan, Marian Seldes, Rufus Smith, Guy Sorel, Leo Bloom, Guy Danfort, Kris Davis, Virginia Downing, Ann Draper, Alex Easton, Daniel Evan, Sol Frieder.
Generation. October 6, 1965, Morosco Theatre. Director: Gene Saks. Producer: Frederick Brisson. Writer: William Goodhart. Cast: Henry Fonda, A. Larry Haines, Sandy Baron, Don Fellows, Richard Jordan, Holly Turner.
Clarence Darrow. March 26–April 23, 1974, Helen Hayes Theatre; March 3–22, 1975, Minskoff Theatre. Director: John Houseman. Producers: Mike Merrick and Don Gregory. Writer: David W. Rintels, from book Clarence Darrow for the Defense, by Irving Stone. Cast: Henry Fonda.
First Monday in October. October 3–November 12, 1978, Majestic Theatre; November 14–December 9, 1978, ANTA Playhouse. Director: Edwin Sherin. Producers: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Plumstead Theatre Society. Writers: Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Cast: Jane Alexander, Henry Fonda, Larry Gates, Ron Faber, Carol Mayo Jenkins, Patrick McCullough, John Newton, Alexander Reed, P. J. Sidney, Tom Stechschulte, John Stewart, Eugene Stuckmann, Earl Sydnor.
Showdown at the Adobe Motel. February 2, 1981, Hartman Theater Company (Stamford, CT). Director-producer: Edwin Sherin. Writer: Lanny Flaherty. Cast: Henry Fonda, Arthur E. Lund, Cecilia Hart.
SELECTED TELEVISION WORK
The Decision at Arrowsmith. July 11, 1953. CBS. Chrysler Medallion Theatre (live). Director: Ralph Nelson. Producer: William Spier. Teleplay: Tad Mosel, from novel by Sinclair Lewis. Cast: Henry Fonda, Diana Douglas, Juano Hernandez.
Clown. March 27, 1955. CBS. General Electric Theater. Director: James Neilson. Producer: Henry Fonda. Teleplay: Mel Goldberg and Richard Collins, from book by Emmett Kelly. Host: Ronald Reagan. Cast: Henry Fonda, Dorothy Malone, James Flavin, Barry Kelley, James McCallion, Gus Schilling, Billy Barty.
The Petrified Forest. May 30, 1955. NBC. Producers’ Showcase (live). Director: Delbert Mann. Producer: Fred Coe. Teleplay: Tad Mosel, from play by Robert Sherwood. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Paul Hartman, Jack Warden, Richard Jaeckel, Natalie Schafer, Richard Gaines, Jack Klugman, Joseph Sweeney, Steven Ritch, Dick Elliott.
The Deputy. September 1959–July 1961. NBC. Creators: Norman Lear, Roland Kibbee. Producers: Henry Fonda, William Frye, and Michael Kraike. Cast: Henry Fonda, Allen Case, Wallace Ford, Betty Lou Keim, Read Morgan.
Henry Fonda and the Family. February 6, 1962. CBS. Director: Bud Yorkin. Producers: Yorkin and Norman Lear. Teleplay: Lear and Toni Koch. Cast: Henry Fonda, Cara Williams, Carol Lynley, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Lynde, Verna Felton, Flip Mark, Michael J. Pollard, Dan Blocker.
Tissue of Hate. February 26, 1963. NBC. The Dick Powell Show. Director: Marc Daniels. Teleplay: Tony Barrett. Host: Charles Boyer. Cast: Henry Fonda, Polly Bergen, Gloria Vanderbilt, John Larkin, Eduard Franz, Elisabeth Fraser, Liam Sullivan.
Stranger on the Run. October 31, 1967. NBC. NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies. Universal. Director: Don Siegel. Producer: Richard E. Lyons. Screenplay: Dean Reisner, from story by Reginald Rose. Cast: Henry Fonda, Anne Baxter, Michael Parks, Dan Duryea, Sal Mineo, Lloyd Bochner, Michael Burns, Bernie Hamilton.
The Smith Family. January 1971–June 1972. ABC. Director: Herschel Daugherty. Producer: Don Fedderson. Cast: Henry Fonda, Janet Blair, Darleen Carr, John Carter, Ron Howard, Charles McGraw, Michael-James Wixted.
The Red Pony. March 18, 1973. NBC. Bell System Family Theatre. Omnibus/Universal. Director: Robert Totten. Producer: Frederick H. Brogger and James Franciscus. Screenplay: Totten and Ron Bishop, from novel by John Steinbeck. Cast: Henry Fonda, Maureen O’Hara, Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Clint Howard, Julian Rivero, Lieux Dressler, Roy Jensen, Richard Jaeckel, Woodrow Chambliss, Rance Howard.
The Alpha Caper. October 16, 1973. ABC. Silverton/Universal. Director: Robert Michael Lewis. Producers: Aubrey Schenck and Harve Bennett. Screenplay: Elroy Schwartz. Cast: Henry Fonda, Leonard Nimoy, James McEachin, Larry Hagman, Elena Verdugo, John Marley, Noah Beery, Jr., Tom Troupe, Woodrow Parfrey, Vic Tayback, Kenneth Tobey, James B. Sikking.
Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur. January 4, 1976. ABC. ABC Theatre. Director: Anthony Page. Producers: Stan Margulies and David L. Wolper. Screenplay: Ernest Kinoy. Cast: Henry Fonda, E. G. Marshall, Lucille Benson, Lee Kessler, Lloyd Bochner, Ward Costello, Andrew Duggan, Russell Johnson, John Larch, John Randolph, Barry Sullivan, Priscilla Pointer, Howard Hesseman.
Home to Stay. May 2, 1978. CBS. Time Life Films. Director: Delbert Mann. Producers: Donald W. Reid, David Susskind, and Frederick Brogger. Screenplay: Suzanne Clauser, from novel Grandpa and Frank, by Janet Majerus. Cast: Henry Fonda, Kristen Vigard, Michael McGuire, Frances Hyland, David Stambaugh.
The Oldest Living Graduate. April 7, 1980. NBC Live Theatre. Director: Jack Hofsiss. Producer: Gareth Davis. Executive producer: David W. Rintels. Teleplay: Preston Jones, from his play. Cast: Henry Fonda, Cloris Leachman, George Grizzard, John Lithgow, Harry Dean Stanton, Penelope Milford, David Ogden Stiers, Timothy Hutton, Allyn Ann McLerie.
Gideon’s Trumpet. April 30, 1980. CBS. Hallmark Hall of Fame. Producer: Robert H. Justman. Director: Robert Collins. Producers: David W. Rintels and John Houseman. Screenplay: Rintels, from book by Anthony Lewis. Cast: Henry Fonda, José Ferrer, John Houseman, Fay Wray, Sam Jaffe, Dean Jagger, Nicholas Pryor, William Prince, Lane Smith, Dolph Sweet.
Summer Solstice. December 30, 1981. ABC. Director: Ralph Rosenblum. Producer: Stephen Schlow. Screenplay: Bill Phillips. Cast: Henry Fonda, Myrna Loy, Stephen Collins, Lindsay Crouse, Patricia Elliott, Marcus Smythe.
Acknowledgments
My gratitude goes first, as ever, to Kathy—for everything, and for everything else.
I’m indebted to the staffs of the National Perso
nnel Records Center in St. Louis; the Museum of Television and Radio in New York; the New-York Historical Society; and the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. In Nebraska, Martha Paulsen at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, Betsye Paragas at the Omaha Community Playhouse, and Mary-Jo Miller at the Nebraska State Historical Society proved to be Middle Westerners of the best kind—open, friendly, and happy to share.
Thanks to Jordan Person and Nic Rouleau of the New York University Drama School for permitting me to watch their scene from Two for the Seesaw. The employees of Jerry Ohlinger’s famed movie memorabilia shop were more than helpful. Ron Mandelbum was my heavenly connection to the starry dynamo that is the Photofest archives.
For their conversation and curiosity down the years, I thank Attilla Ertl, Mike Gerber, Peter Greenman, Dylan Hicks, Tim Joyce, Mark Lerner, Bryan Mette, Evan Mueller, Robert Nott, Ed Park, Stella Park, Loree Rackstraw, Tim Riley, John Shaw, Colleen Sheehy, Kathy Zimmer, and the late Peter Dee.
Martha Hunt Huie entered my life unexpectedly and delightfully with a bounty of humor and wisdom. Jonathan Lethem went beyond generosity to help this book find a home, asking nothing in return. A single word from Luc Sante shored me up at a crucial moment.
My agent, Paul Bresnick, took this book personally and represented it that way. I was fortunate to be the beneficiary of his great talent, experience, and belief. My editor, Elizabeth Beier, was never short on enthusiasm, insight, and guidance. Her assistant, Michelle Richter, also earns my enormous thanks, as do the rest of the St. Martin’s Press team, who more than earned their pay: production manager Eva Diaz; production editor John Morrone; cover designer Rob Grom; Laura Clark in marketing; John Karle in publicity; and publishers Sally Richardson and Matthew Shear.
The following deserve special thanks: Scott Cawelti, my first and best teacher of film; Ernest Callenbach, former editor of Film Quarterly, and the first person outside of Iowa to publish my writing; Ann Martin, his successor in that post, who taught me much; and Nick Thomson, movie friend and lover of noir, Ozu, Jack London, and the Feelies.
The Man Who Saw a Ghost: The Life and Work of Henry Fonda Page 44
