The Homecoming (1971)

Starring: Patricia Neal, Richard Thomas, Edgar Bergen

This was the pilot movie for "The Waltons" (which began its long run in September 1972), recounting the events of one day -- Christmas Eve, 1933 -- in the lives of a rural American mountain family. Later called "The Homecoming -- A Christmas Story," it won a Christopher Award as well as Emmy nominations for actress Patricia Neal, director Fielder Cook and author Earl Hamner, Jr (who based the story apparently on his own youthful recollections and was the model for "John-Boy"). Hamner previously had written the story in another form which turned up on the screen as "Spencer's Mountain" (1963) with Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara as the parents. When "The Waltons" turned up as a series, Michael Learned, Ralph Waite and Will Geer took over the roles created by Patricia Neal, Andrew Duggan and Edgar Bergen, while most of the others in the cast continued in the parts they originated.