The Dollmaker (1984)

Synopsis: Director Daniel Petrie's uplifting drama about the trials and triumphs of a rural Kentucky family during the dark days of World War II stars Jane Fonda as Gertie NeveIs, a self-reliant and... Director Daniel Petrie's uplifting drama about the trials and triumphs of a rural Kentucky family during the dark days of World War II stars Jane Fonda as Gertie NeveIs, a self-reliant and resourceful mother of five. Gertie and her family live a simple life on a sharecropping farm in the hills of Kentucky. Despite the hardships of farming, the Nevels family is happy, surrounded by loving longtime friends. However, Gertie's dreams of owning a farm are shattered when her husband, Clovis (Levon Helm, drummer for the Band), heads to Detroit to take a job in a factory. Gertie dutifully packs up the family to join Clovis, leaving behind the only home they have ever known for an urban tenement. Gertie and her children have a horrible time adjusting to the new way of life in the big city, residing near poor, unhappy workers struggling to survive. Faced with a series of devastating setbacks and family tragedies, Gertie is forced to reach inside herself for the courage and strength it will take to keep her family together. Her one source of inspiration and happiness continues to be her lifelong craft of carving dolls and toys for her children. When Clovis, a union man, comes into conflict with his employers, Gertie takes on the struggle with an iron will and relies on her own craft and artistic passion to support her family, selling her hand-carved dolls to realize her dreams of a future back in Kentucky. Fonda gives a truly dazzling Emmy-winning performance in this tribute to one woman's unbreakable spirit. Petrie's film, written by actor Hume Cronyn and Susan Cooper, is based on the best-selling novel by Harriet Arnow. [More]

Starring: Jane Fonda, Levon Helm, Geraldine Page, Amanda Plummer

Starring: Jane Fonda, Levon Helm, Geraldine Page, Amanda Plummer, Ann Hearn

Director: Daniel Petrie

Director: Daniel Petrie
Screenwriter: Hume Cronyn, Susan Cooper

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