MovieChat Forums > The Waltons (1972) Discussion > Good Acting, Bad Acting

Good Acting, Bad Acting

posted 9 years ago by horizonbeach
12 replies | jump to latest

This has probably been discussed here before, but I find "The Waltons" interesting in that it had some of the best TV acting of its era (Richard Thomas, Michael Learned, Ralph Waite, Ellen Corby, Will Geer) and also some of the worst, IMHO. I'm talking about several of the kids.

The kids who could act, for me, were Richard Thomas, Jon Walmsley, and Eric Scott (so the older boys) and marginally, Kami Cotler.

I never could understand, and forgive me because I am not an actor and I'm not saying that I could do better but I've never been paid to act, how Judy Norton Taylor, Mary Beth McDonough, and David W. Harper never seemed to get any better, even after years on the show. They were just so...wooden, and said their lines with so little natural expression most of the time. Kami Cotler, again, was borderline for me, I thought she could bring it some of the time, just not all of the time.

Do you think this was because the actors were chosen not for their acting ability, necessarily, but by Earl Hamner for their physical/personal resemblance to his siblings? He wasn't an actor, so maybe he overlooked that part and the PTB went along with his choices because he created the premise of the show?

I feel mean in saying this, but it seems so obvious. The child actors on "Little House on the Prairie" could act circles around the Walton kids, but they all came to the show with acting experience. Surely there must have been some red haired kids in Hollywood who could act?

I have nothing against any of them personally, just often think about how much better even this classic show could have been with child actors who could...act.

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

I think most of the Walton kids were chosen to round out the roster so to speak. Hamner probably did not envision them carrying too many stories but then Will Geer passed and Ellen Corby had her stroke so that forced the kids to the forefront. I agree that Kami was so-so but Eric just did not cut it for me. The design of LHOTP made it necessary for the kids to be acting proficient since the series is viewed considerably from Laura's point of view. The interaction between Laura and Mary is an important facet of the series as is the interaction between Laura and Nellie Olsen. It was a nice bonus that LHOTP had very capable adult actors including Scottie MacGregor who played a very Broadway-typed antagonist which is fairly difficult to do without descending into self parody. Even Karl Swenson (Mr. Hansen)
made the most of a character that was not given a whole lot of depth.

[–] horizonbeach 9 years ago

Of the three Walton kids I mentioned who could act, I agree that Eric was the weakest, but at least he was able to show some emotion and his character had a distinct personality. Mary Ellen, Erin, and especially Jim Bob spoke in almost a monotone sometimes and even when something monumentally emotional happened, like when Mary Ellen discovered that Curt was still alive, she was as flat as a board with a dull expression on her face as if someone had just told her that bananas were on sale at the grocery store that week.

[–] alanjobe 9 years ago

The Waltons kids on their worst days could still act circles around the twin girls who played Carrie Ingalls

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

I don't recall Carrie being the central point of any story and that is probably why. Did she not fade away on the show around 1979? I don't think I have seen any portion of that part of the series since the original run.

[–] horizonbeach 9 years ago

I'll agree about Carrie, but to be fair, the writers didn't ever actually give her anything much to do or flesh out her character, so they probably never bothered teaching her anything about acting, and she was younger than any of the Walton kids when LHOTP started. I don't remember her ever having more than one or two lines throughout the entire series.

I'm talking about how most of the Walton kids never did develop into good actors, even after years on the show and having many, many lines and story lines to carry. They just didn't have it and couldn't seem to get it.

Richard Thomas, on the other hand, was such an amazing actor. Whenever I watch an episode of "The Waltons" that he is in, I am so impressed with how good he was. His emotions, expressions, and natural way of speaking his lines were just fantastic. He was a gift to this show.

Jon Walmsley had some really good moments too. I especially remember the episode where Ron Howard plays his friend, Seth Turner, who dies of leukemia. Jon was amazing in that episode. I don't think any of the others except Richard Thomas could have done justice to a story line like that, with all of its emotion and sadness.

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

I think that the casting of John Boy took a lot of effort as it was known that he would be the focal point of a lot of stories.

[–] partsman 9 years ago

Richard Thomas was a well known young actor, with an impressive resume by the time he was cast as John Boy.

The other kids were probably just cast as cute supporting characters when the original movie "The Homecoming" was filmed then went on to become the series. They didn't know that it would be such a hit and run as long as it did. And, that the kids would end up having to carry the show in the end.

[–] fentress 9 years ago

Here's my theory. I think part of the problem was that the kids were in the process of growing up during the run of the show. When the Homecoming and the early episodes of the Waltons first began, because of their innocence the children were able to come off reasonably well, by simply acting naturally as the children they in fact were. But as they aged, they became more self-aware. It takes a different kind of acting ability to play a teen or an adult, and they didn't grow into it so well.

For the most part I agree with you about who acted well and who didn't. I think the actor playing Ben did a good job. The adults were great, though personally I sometimes found Will Geer - despite being generally an excellent actor - to be a bit overly mannered as Grandpa.

I would add too that the character Ike Godsey came off very well as the avuncular storekeeper, and there were some episodes where he was given something more complex to do as an actor.

[–] partsman 9 years ago

Here's my theory. I think part of the problem was that the kids were in the process of growing up during the run of the show. When the Homecoming and the early episodes of the Waltons first began, because of their innocence the children were able to come off reasonably well, by simply acting naturally as the children they in fact were. But as they aged, they became more self-aware. It takes a different kind of acting ability to play a teen or an adult, and they didn't grow into it so well.

That's always the problem when a show has cute little kids as central characters. It's easy for cute little kids to be cute little kids but when they grow up very few can actually act. Ever watch Leave it to Beaver when Jerry Mathers started to get older? The later seasons are painful to watch.

Very few cute tv child actors grow up to become adult actors. Kurt Russell, Ron Howard (more as a director as an adult) and Leonardo DeCaprio are few that come to mind.

[–] Goranjake 9 years ago

Jennifer Jason Leigh did a great job in her small role in season 9 episode 6: The Pursuit.

[–] sambda 9 years ago

It's Mary McDonough (Erin) who is the main problem for me. She's wooden the whole way thru the series (that episode where she gets religion and does the whole sackcloth-and-ashes thing just makes me want to bury my head).

I don't think David Harper (Jim-Bob) was a good actor as such, but his default/only performance just happened to be OK as the sulky, monotone Jim-Bob (the wheels came off a bit when they had him become school Valedictorian - er, Jim-Bob? Er, hello!) But I get the feeling that, if Harper was asked to play another character, it would be a repeat of Jim-Bob. If he was asked to play Richard III, it would be Jim-Bob.

Judy Norton (Mary Ellen) wasn't great either, but they gave her such a spunky/hard character (at first) that it, more or less, works. The cracks start to appear when they give her less to do later on in the show.

[–] jefgg 8 years ago

Robert Wightman replaced Richard Thomas as John Boy. Wightman was a horrible actor. I can't believe they couldn't find someone better.