Sometimes a Great Notion

Based on the second novel by Ken Kesey, his follow-up to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this adaptation stars Paul Newman (who also directed) as Hank Stamper, the oldest son of an Oregon logging family headed by Henry (Henry Fonda). Hank’s half-brother, Leeland (Michael Sarrazin, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?), returns after a ten-year absence to work in the family business. Leeland’s presence causes friction with his father—who resents his prodigal son’s counterculture mindset—and Hank, who perceives Leeland as a threat to his own position in the family’s hierarchy. Hank has a good reason to feel resentful: before long, his wife, Viv (Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder, The Omen), has entered into an affair with Leeland. Meanwhile, Henry wages an ongoing battle with the unionized loggers in the region, who threaten reprisals should Henry attempt to continue his business without union backing. Newman was hailed by Roger Ebert as, “a director of sympathy and a sort of lyrical restraint,” for his second turn in the director’s chair and the film earned two Academy Award nominations.