1981 On Golden Pond

The 80's were not just a decade for wild action and over the top heroes; they were also a decade of fine drama. On Golden Pond is just that, and marked the end of an era with the final screen performance for Hollywood legend Henry Fonda.

the story goes that his daughter, actor, activist and producer Jane Fonda, purchased the screen rights to the play by Ernest Thompson specifically for her father to play the lead role. She in turn played his daughter in the movie, and the story was meant to resemble their own hot and cold relationship with each other.

The movie was financed by Lord Michael Grade's ITC Entertainment. Unusual because during that time the British film industry was in a state of flux.

For this movie Henry Fonda won best actor at the Oscars and was ably supported by another Hollywood legend, Katherine Hepburn, who also won the Oscar for best actress playing his onscreen wife. In total the movie won 3 Oscars.

While the movie may not be as well remembered as many 80's films it is worth viewing to mark the end of a golden age of movies. Both Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn had decades between them of appearing in celebrated classic movies; strangely enough, making this movie together was not only the first time they had worked with each other, but also the first time they had met.

The movie came second at the box office in 1981 to Raiders of the Lost Ark, garnering $119m at the ticket booths.