Places in the Heart

Pre-screening conversation with Academy Award winner Sally Field, moderated by Dave Karger

Kramer vs. Kramer’s writer-director Robert Benton set his Oscar-winning screenplay for Places in the Heart in his hometown of Waxahachie, Texas, and was inspired by an ancestor’s struggle to support her family after the death of her husband to create the character of Edna Spalding, a young widow and mother who works to keep her farm running during the Great Depression. Sally Field had been a popular TV actress before becoming a member of The Actors Studio in the 1970s, and this new chapter in her career included Best Actress-winning performances in Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart. Benton provided Field with a remarkable supporting cast including Danny Glover, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, and supporting nominees Lindsay Crouse and John Malkovich (making his film debut).

DIRECTOR: Robert Benton. WRITTEN BY: Robert Benton. CAST: Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, John Malkovich. 1984. 111 min. USA. Color. English. DCP.

Oscar® Sundays in August and September honor the 75th anniversary of The Actors Studio.

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.