The Dollmaker
Encyclopedia
The Dollmaker is an American made-for-TV movie
, starring Jane Fonda
. It was first broadcast on ABC
in 1984. The movie is based on the novel of the same title, written by Harriette Arnow and originally published in 1954.
to Detroit Michigan
where the father intends to find work in a factory. Fonda's character, Gertie, is hesitant to leave their home; her husband Clovis
believes that it will bring the family a regular income and better way of living. What Fonda's Gertie finds is a new place to exist, rather than live, and the family settles down in a tar paper shack by the railroad tracks in an industrial area.
All the while Gertie holds onto her homespun ways, one of which is through carving. Her husband begins to dismiss her talents and puts down Gertie for holding onto her folk art
in a modern world. Still, her handiwork is admired by those around her. One of the items that she hangs onto is a piece of a tree limb in which she sees a figure of Jesus calling to her to carve it from it.
One setback after another begins to pull the family apart. Gertie's husband doesn't find work and begins to get involved with matters that trouble her; her children begin to also get involved in unsavory affairs.
The event that breaks Gertie's passivity to her situation is the death of her youngest daughter, who is killed by a railroad car. She confronts her husband, whose best of intentions has led the family to this tragedy; Gertie decides that she will earn enough money to get the family back home to where it belongs. To do this she will make dolls, but she has no material from which she can carve the dolls. It is then that she takes the treasured piece of lumber that she longed to carve the Christ figure from, and splits it (in a slow motion scene) with an axe
. From one piece of wood, she will carve many dolls. It is the only way to save the family.
From this sacrifice, the family is able to return to their home.
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, starring Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
. It was first broadcast on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in 1984. The movie is based on the novel of the same title, written by Harriette Arnow and originally published in 1954.
Plot summary
The movie is the story of a family that moves from the rural home in AppalachiaAppalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
to Detroit Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
where the father intends to find work in a factory. Fonda's character, Gertie, is hesitant to leave their home; her husband Clovis
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
believes that it will bring the family a regular income and better way of living. What Fonda's Gertie finds is a new place to exist, rather than live, and the family settles down in a tar paper shack by the railroad tracks in an industrial area.
All the while Gertie holds onto her homespun ways, one of which is through carving. Her husband begins to dismiss her talents and puts down Gertie for holding onto her folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
in a modern world. Still, her handiwork is admired by those around her. One of the items that she hangs onto is a piece of a tree limb in which she sees a figure of Jesus calling to her to carve it from it.
One setback after another begins to pull the family apart. Gertie's husband doesn't find work and begins to get involved with matters that trouble her; her children begin to also get involved in unsavory affairs.
The event that breaks Gertie's passivity to her situation is the death of her youngest daughter, who is killed by a railroad car. She confronts her husband, whose best of intentions has led the family to this tragedy; Gertie decides that she will earn enough money to get the family back home to where it belongs. To do this she will make dolls, but she has no material from which she can carve the dolls. It is then that she takes the treasured piece of lumber that she longed to carve the Christ figure from, and splits it (in a slow motion scene) with an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
. From one piece of wood, she will carve many dolls. It is the only way to save the family.
From this sacrifice, the family is able to return to their home.
Cast and crew
in alphabetical order- Mike Bacarella ... Truck Driver
- Etel BilligEtel BilligEtel Billig is an American actress, singer, teacher and director; her career has spanned over 60 years. She founded Illinois Theatre Center in 1976 with her late husband Steven. Over the past 36 years, she has appeared in, as well as directed over 100 productions at ITC...
... Mrs. Bomarita - Nikki Creswell ... Cassie
- David A Dawson ... Amos
- Christine EbersoleChristine EbersoleChristine Ebersole is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Ebersole was born in Winnetka, Illinois, where she attended New Trier High School...
... Miss Vashinski - Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
... Gertie Nevels - Derek Googe
- James N. HarrellJames N. HarrellJames Nelson Harrell , also known as James N. Harrell, was an American actor. He had roles in such films as JFK, Varsity Blues, Michael, Hope Floats, Leap of Faith, Paper Moon, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Flesh & Bone, and Noon Wine...
... Old John Miller - Ann Hearn ... Max
- Dan HedayaDan HedayaDaniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming...
... Skyros - Levon HelmLevon HelmMark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
... Clovis - Dennis KellyDennis KellyDennis Kelly is a London-based writer for both the theatre and television. Oberon plays have published a volume of Dennis Kelly Plays; Debris, After the End, Osama the Hero and Love and Money...
... Mr. Daly - Susan Kingsley ... Sophronie
- Geraldine PageGeraldine PageGeraldine Sue Page was an American actress. Although she starred in at least two dozen feature films, she is primarily known for her celebrated work in the American theater...
... Mrs. Kendrick - Amanda Plummer ... Mamie
- Robert SwanRobert SwanRobert Charles Swan, OBE, FRGS is the first person to walk to both Poles.He was born on 28 July 1956 in Durham, England and attended Aysgarth School and then Sedbergh School before completing a BA degree in Ancient History at St Chad's College, Durham University. He is currently an advocate for...
... Victor - Studs TerkelStuds TerkelLouis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
- Mike Timoney ... Army Major
- Starla Whaley ... Clytie
- Jason WildJason Wild (actor)Jason Wild is a former child actor, best known for co-starring with Mr. T in the made for television movie "The Toughest Man in the World"....
... Jean-Claude - David Brady Wilson ... Enoch
- Sheb WooleySheb WooleyShelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
- Jason Yearwood ... Reuben
- Director : Daniel PetrieDaniel PetrieDaniel Mannix Petrie was a Canadian television and movie director.Petrie was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Mary Anne and William Mark Petrie, a soft-drink manufacturer. He moved to the United States in 1945...
- Writers : Harriet Arnow (novel), Susan CooperSusan CooperSusan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
, Hume CronynHume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:... - Producers : Gary Daigler, Bill FinneganBill FinneganWilliam R. Finnegan was an American television and film producer whose well known credits included The Fabulous Baker Boys, Hawaii Five-O and the cult hit, Reality Bites. he was a five time Emmy Awards nominee....
, Bruce Gilbert - Music : John RubinsteinJohn RubinsteinJohn Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
- Cinematography : Paul LohmannPaul LohmannPaul Lohmann is a cinematographer. In 1976, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming for a Special for Eleanor and Franklin, an award he shared with Edward R...