Horton Foote

Writer

March 14, 1916 (92 years)

† March 4, 2009

Biography

Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916 – March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, and Tender Mercies (1983). He was also known for his notable live television dramas produced during the Golden Age of Television.

Filmography

8.0

To Kill a Mockingbird

Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

6.0

Goodyear Television Playhouse

The Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television". Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the Philco Television Playhouse was seen on alternate weeks. In 1955, the title was shortened to The Goodyear Playhouse and it aired on alternate weeks with The Alcoa Hour. The three series were essentially the same, with the only real difference being the name of the sponsor. Producer Fred Coe nurtured and encouraged a group of young, mostly unknown writers that included Robert Alan Aurthur, George Baxt, Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Howard Richardson, Tad Mosel and Gore Vidal. Notable productions included Chayefsky's Marty starring Rod Steiger, Chayefsky's The Bachelor Party, Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet, Richardson's Ark of Safety and Foote's The Trip to Bountiful. From 1957 to 1960, it became a taped, half-hour series titled Goodyear Theater, seen on Mondays at 9:30pm.

7.1

The Chase

The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.

7.3

Of Mice and Men

Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.

6.8

Tender Mercies

Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.

6.0

Armchair Theatre

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

6.4

Hurry Sundown

A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.

3.7

Lily Dale

In 1910, 19-year-old Horace Robedaux, still bitter toward his stepfather, goes to Houston to be reunited with his mother, Corella, and his sister, Lily Dale, following a long estrangement. He has not seen either since he was 12 because his wicked stepfather, Pete Davenport (whom his mother married after his father drank himself to death) believes a boy ought to be self-reliant.

6.4

Old Man

A prisoner set on serving his time gets recruited to save a pregnant woman trapped in a tree during the Great Flood of 1927. A massive storm drives them farther from their destination and they soon must decide to go off on their own or find their way home.

4.6

Main Street

From the once thriving tobacco warehouses, to the current run-down and closed shops of Five Points, a diverse group of residents and their respective life changes when outsider Gus Leroy brings something new and potentially dangerous into their quiet town.

6.1

Baby the Rain Must Fall

Henry Thomas tries to overcome the horrors of his childhood and start a new life with his wife and kid. However, his abusive step-mother and his dependence on alcohol threaten to ruin his future.

10.0

Courtship

In 1915, Elizabeth has fallen in love with Horace Robedaux, a young man her father condemns as a "wild boy." No matter how strict and protective, her parents cannot deter their daughter's growing independence.

7.0

Keeping On

A preacher teams up with a labor union organizer to help unionize the mill where he worked.

6.4

Bessie

The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.

5.4

Barn Burning

Ab Snopes (Tommy Lee Jones) is a Southern tenant farmer whose unrelenting and violent nature proves to be his undoing in William Faulkner's Barn Burning. Snopes sets his employer's barn on fire when he thinks he's been treated unfairly. His son, Sarty, is horrified. Snopes escapes justice for lack of proof, but he and his family are told to move on. No sooner do they move than Snopes is offended by his new rich employer. Torn between trying to win his father's acceptance and his aversion to what his father will do, Sarty must make a decision and act quickly. Adapted by Academy Award winning screenwriter Horton Foote, Faulkner's complex world of class divisions and hostile family relationships comes to life through a boy's attempt to liberate himself from hatred and poverty.

7.2

The Trip to Bountiful

Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1940s Houston, Texas with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish – just once before she dies – is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home."

6.7

Tomorrow

A lonely farmer takes in a pregnant woman and looks after her. After she gives birth, tragedy strikes.

N/A

Old Man

In the South, convicts get a temporary release to help during a flood.

6.7

Alone

John Webb is recently widowed and living alone on the farm he and his brother used to share. He rarely sees his daughters, Jacqueline and Grace Ann, and his only company is Grey, the farm's longtime overseer. John's solitude is interrupted by his nephews, Carl and Gus Jr., who have been approached about drilling for oil on the farm. Tensions rise as John clashes with his opportunistic family.

6.4

1918

It's 1918, the height of United States involvement in World War I - Liberty Bonds are sold, German immigrants are suspected as traitors or saboteurs, young men everywhere succumb to the patriotism and propaganda and enlist. In a small Texas town, Horace Robedaux feels the pressure - he doesn't want to leave his young wife Elizabeth and their young child Jenny - but Elizabeth's can't-do-anything-right little brother is constantly talking about the war, and Elizabeth's stern father, who opposed the marriage initially, now has plans to take care of his daughter and the child so Horace can fight for his country. However, the influenza epidemic sweeping the town (and the nation) may change everyone's plans.