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Three Screenplays: The Trip to Bountiful / Tender Mercies / To Kill a Mockingbird
Horton Foote's uniquely personal style of screenwriting is at its peak in this collection of two Academy Award winners, To Kill a Mockingbird and Tender Mercies, and The Trip to Bountiful, a film widely named as one of 1985's best. "In an age when the lexicon of cinema is largely visual," noted Samuel G. Freedman in the New York Times Magazine, "Foote writes films. He stresses dialogue and character development rather than spectacle or even traditional narrative."
Each of the three screenplays sprang from a different origin. One was adapted from the novel by Harper Lee, who later wrote, "If the integrity of a film adaptation is measured by the degree to which the novelist's intent is preserved, Mr. Foote's screenplay should be studied as a classic." Tender Mercies was conceived for the screen, and The Trip to Bountiful came from Foote's own stage and television play. While each demanded solutions to different cinematic problems, all are marked by Foote's own mastery of the screenwriting form, as well as his understanding of human relationships. All three show a modern Chekhov at work, revealing the deep currents of American society through the simplest details of daily life.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Horton Foote
123 books48 followersAlbert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play The Young Man From Atlanta.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 2, 2018
THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL
Watched the old, sad movie a long time ago, but it has always stayed with me.
An elderly Mrs. Watts just wants out of her little apartment and out from under the thumb of her only son and annoying daughter-in-law for one last visit to her to her old homestead. After many attempts, she finally procures and hides HER pension check from the wicked daughter-in-law, sneaks out....takes a local bus to the train station....walks from there to the bus station and has quite the adventure.
Heartfelt story and ending.
TENDER MERCIES
First time read of this screenplay and have not seen the movie.
In this story set in a little Texas town, an aging once famous country music performer struggles from a drunken past of mistakes to move forward. Finding work at a local motel-gas station, he finds a new life, continues to write music....AND THEN....the accident.
Religious undertones question WHY one person lives while another dies.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Read the novel....saw the movie, but first time reading the actual screenplay....so good!
"That summer I was six years old."....says Scout aka Jean Louise Finch.
In Maycomb, Alabama everyone is poor....some more so than others. There's a lawyer in this small town story....his two rambunctious children, Jem and Scout....a scary "BOO" neighbor....a scarier dark Halloween night....accusations of rape....a trial....lies....stupid prejudices against a good man....and justice for one in the end.
You NEVER want to hurt a Mockingbird!
Wonderful 5 Star anthology of classic screenplays.
February 19, 2024
Few writers captured the essence of middle America better than Horton Foote, whether it be in his stage plays, television dramas or in film.
In this collection, we have three of his classic screenplays.
Two won Academy Awards for him: the adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) * and his original screenplay, "Tender Mercies" (1983) *; films which also won Best Actor Academy Awards for its stars, Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall.
The other, "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985), adapted from his own stage and television play, was nominated for the Academy Award and scored Geraldine Page a long overdue Best Actress Academy Award.
Apart from a foreword by the author, this is a bare basics screenplay book. No glitzy photo spreads from the films, just complete works as written by Mr. Foote. Rarely do you come across three outstanding scripts by one author in a single volume. Great reading which adds extra joy to these fine films.
* Also won Writers Guild of America awards.
In this collection, we have three of his classic screenplays.
Two won Academy Awards for him: the adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) * and his original screenplay, "Tender Mercies" (1983) *; films which also won Best Actor Academy Awards for its stars, Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall.
The other, "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985), adapted from his own stage and television play, was nominated for the Academy Award and scored Geraldine Page a long overdue Best Actress Academy Award.
Apart from a foreword by the author, this is a bare basics screenplay book. No glitzy photo spreads from the films, just complete works as written by Mr. Foote. Rarely do you come across three outstanding scripts by one author in a single volume. Great reading which adds extra joy to these fine films.
* Also won Writers Guild of America awards.
June 6, 2024
A masterclass in subtlety. To Kill A Mockingbird and Tender Mercies are certainly the better of the three but A Trip To Bountiful is still very charming. These films are championed by their dialog, characters, and story instead of their "potential to be cinematic" which is far more difficult to master in my opinion.
Great read. I will certainly read again someday.
Great read. I will certainly read again someday.
Want to read
July 26, 2007I've never read any of Foote's plays, but I've seen all three of these films and think very highly of them all. I've also seen televised versions of his "Wharton, Texas" trilogy and fell in love with all the characters, especially the women. One bit of trivia that I find amusing is that Horton Foote has one the Oscar for Best Screenplay twice: once for adaptation from a book, for "Mockingbird" and once for original screenplay, for "Tender Mercies." "Mockingbird" was also the first movie in which Robert Duvall appeared. He and Foote became fast friends. A couple of decades later, these two friends worked again together, on "Tender Mercies."
July 12, 2025
Tender Mercies by Horton Foote
10 out of 10
Tender Mercies may be the perfect example of a cinematic masterpiece that is simple, conservative, does not have car chases – although there are a couple of tragic accidents – and anything that keep the franchises of the Avengers, Transformers, X Men and so many others going for ever.
By a strange coincidence – albeit if we make the effort to see great films and avoid the mass market Avengers and Fast Furious one to twenty five, we are likely to see films by the same geniuses – this viewer has just seen on Cinemax Breaker Morant and after two days there comes another spectacular feature helmed by the same outstanding director: Bruce Beresford.
Tender Mercies has won two Oscars and Horton Foote, who has written the screenplay for To Kill a Mocking Bird, has won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Written Directly for the Screen.
It is included on the New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list:
https://www.listchallenges.com/new-yo...
Robert Duvall has the main role, for which he won a very well deserved Academy Award – one of the seven he was nominated for, this being the artist that has had some of the best performances ever in iconic films like The Godfather – if not the best, then one of the five best ever made – Apocalypse Now, the Apostle and sometimes lesser films like The Judge.
This wonderful performer has won four Golden Globes, Emmy, BAFTA and another 56 prestigious prizes.
The iconic master talks in videos you can find on YouTube about the experience of working with various other legends, Marlon Brando and the manner in which the filmmakers had to write his lines on the walls, the ceiling and sometimes the other members of the cast because the titan would not learn his part by heart, at least from one stage in his career on.
Robert Duvall is Mac Sledge, the main character that in the opening scenes seems to be a drunkard – well, he is for a good part of his life – and the public is thinking that this might be a personage that will teach us lessons along the lines of what not to do with our lives.
Destitute as he is, broke and without perspectives, he walks to the gas station nearby and asks the owner, Rosa Lee played with grace, skill and charm by Tess Harper, to give him a job.
Rosa Lee is a widower, her husband has died as a very young man – they had married when she was just sixteen – in the Vietnam War, although she does not know how, for when she asked, she was told that they just found his cadaver in a zone where three battles where ongoing, he might have died in one of those or he could have been shot by a sniper while walking.
She has a son, Sonny, who seems to be about six, who would get along well with Mac Sledge, although the relationship of the man with his only daughter is not as good, indeed, he had not seen her in seven years and she is now a beautiful, grown up woman who will try to re-establish their natural connection.
We learn that the character that seemed to be just an alcoholic was once a star of country music, admired by many people – once in a while he is stopped and with humor, one fan asks if he really “was” Mac Sledge – to the fury of his former wife, Dixie, who upon being told that he was the greatest, she throws whiskey in the face of the one who had said that – just to spite her, she claims.
Dixie still sings and is very appreciated as a country musician, but the marriage has ended up in acrimony – when Sue Anne, their daughter played by the formidable Ellen Barkin, asks if it is true that her father had once tried to kill her mother, Mac admits it is true, for when drunk, which he was so often, he lost his senses.
Mac Sledge and Rosa Lee become very attached and their love leads to matrimony, with the former alcoholic gradually getting rid of his awful addiction and eventually writing again songs, one of which he brings to his ex-spouse that rejects it as lousy and so does Harry, her manager – only to regret it later.
Sue Anne comes to her estranged father’s new home one day and the reunion is touching, albeit without any spoiler alerts let us just say the new found warmth does not last for long.
Meanwhile, a band of amateur country musicians – in the sense that they have regular jobs to be able to put food on the table – comes to pay their respects to the legendary Sledge and they love his new composition, play it and this attracts the interest of a record company.
The former great singer is not sure he wants to try a comeback – perhaps because his former fame was associated with a dissolution, the violence of his fights with his former partner – we learn that he had had another, first wife when he was just seventeen – and he does not want to repeat that – for he has found bliss and happiness, he is baptized in the local church.
The title of this fabulous motion picture probably refers to the Tender Mercies as provided by the Lord – obviously, for those who believe in him, which is not the case for this viewer, but Rosa Lee uses the term in connection with the church, where she sings in the choir.
10 out of 10
Tender Mercies may be the perfect example of a cinematic masterpiece that is simple, conservative, does not have car chases – although there are a couple of tragic accidents – and anything that keep the franchises of the Avengers, Transformers, X Men and so many others going for ever.
By a strange coincidence – albeit if we make the effort to see great films and avoid the mass market Avengers and Fast Furious one to twenty five, we are likely to see films by the same geniuses – this viewer has just seen on Cinemax Breaker Morant and after two days there comes another spectacular feature helmed by the same outstanding director: Bruce Beresford.
Tender Mercies has won two Oscars and Horton Foote, who has written the screenplay for To Kill a Mocking Bird, has won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Written Directly for the Screen.
It is included on the New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list:
https://www.listchallenges.com/new-yo...
Robert Duvall has the main role, for which he won a very well deserved Academy Award – one of the seven he was nominated for, this being the artist that has had some of the best performances ever in iconic films like The Godfather – if not the best, then one of the five best ever made – Apocalypse Now, the Apostle and sometimes lesser films like The Judge.
This wonderful performer has won four Golden Globes, Emmy, BAFTA and another 56 prestigious prizes.
The iconic master talks in videos you can find on YouTube about the experience of working with various other legends, Marlon Brando and the manner in which the filmmakers had to write his lines on the walls, the ceiling and sometimes the other members of the cast because the titan would not learn his part by heart, at least from one stage in his career on.
Robert Duvall is Mac Sledge, the main character that in the opening scenes seems to be a drunkard – well, he is for a good part of his life – and the public is thinking that this might be a personage that will teach us lessons along the lines of what not to do with our lives.
Destitute as he is, broke and without perspectives, he walks to the gas station nearby and asks the owner, Rosa Lee played with grace, skill and charm by Tess Harper, to give him a job.
Rosa Lee is a widower, her husband has died as a very young man – they had married when she was just sixteen – in the Vietnam War, although she does not know how, for when she asked, she was told that they just found his cadaver in a zone where three battles where ongoing, he might have died in one of those or he could have been shot by a sniper while walking.
She has a son, Sonny, who seems to be about six, who would get along well with Mac Sledge, although the relationship of the man with his only daughter is not as good, indeed, he had not seen her in seven years and she is now a beautiful, grown up woman who will try to re-establish their natural connection.
We learn that the character that seemed to be just an alcoholic was once a star of country music, admired by many people – once in a while he is stopped and with humor, one fan asks if he really “was” Mac Sledge – to the fury of his former wife, Dixie, who upon being told that he was the greatest, she throws whiskey in the face of the one who had said that – just to spite her, she claims.
Dixie still sings and is very appreciated as a country musician, but the marriage has ended up in acrimony – when Sue Anne, their daughter played by the formidable Ellen Barkin, asks if it is true that her father had once tried to kill her mother, Mac admits it is true, for when drunk, which he was so often, he lost his senses.
Mac Sledge and Rosa Lee become very attached and their love leads to matrimony, with the former alcoholic gradually getting rid of his awful addiction and eventually writing again songs, one of which he brings to his ex-spouse that rejects it as lousy and so does Harry, her manager – only to regret it later.
Sue Anne comes to her estranged father’s new home one day and the reunion is touching, albeit without any spoiler alerts let us just say the new found warmth does not last for long.
Meanwhile, a band of amateur country musicians – in the sense that they have regular jobs to be able to put food on the table – comes to pay their respects to the legendary Sledge and they love his new composition, play it and this attracts the interest of a record company.
The former great singer is not sure he wants to try a comeback – perhaps because his former fame was associated with a dissolution, the violence of his fights with his former partner – we learn that he had had another, first wife when he was just seventeen – and he does not want to repeat that – for he has found bliss and happiness, he is baptized in the local church.
The title of this fabulous motion picture probably refers to the Tender Mercies as provided by the Lord – obviously, for those who believe in him, which is not the case for this viewer, but Rosa Lee uses the term in connection with the church, where she sings in the choir.
November 30, 2023
What a lovely book ! 'The trip to Bountiful' is magic and 'To kill a Mockingbird' is equally as good.
May 12, 2012
As a screenwriter, I am sometimes disappointed with the quality of scripts I read and the quality of films I see produced. When I feel I'm getting a little sloppy in my own writing, this is one of the books I turn to. Horton Foote is an excellent writer.
Whether it's an adaptation of a novel, converting a play (his own) into a movie script, or an original story, he is an inspiration to read. Most scripts are blueprints for a director to turn a story into moving pictures.
Horton Foote's scripts are on another level.
Just reading his screenplays makes me a better writer.
Whether it's an adaptation of a novel, converting a play (his own) into a movie script, or an original story, he is an inspiration to read. Most scripts are blueprints for a director to turn a story into moving pictures.
Horton Foote's scripts are on another level.
Just reading his screenplays makes me a better writer.
November 25, 2010
I really love To Kill a Mockingbird; however, I felt that Tender Mercies was mostly annoying. Also, I didn't get to see enough development for me to believe the characters.
Read
January 23, 2016I actually have read only "Tender Mercies," but Shelfari didn't have the lone screenplay as an option.
Want to read
December 2, 2007Gregory Peck AND William Windom starred in "To Kill a Mockingbir", an amazing 1962 release movie!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews