Saw a bit of an episode of The Waltons the other night, “The Conflict,” where Beulah Bondi played a mountain woman (Martha Corinne Walton) being tossed off of her land to make way for the highway. She was excellent in it, and looking her up, I found out she played the same character in a later episode — and won an Emmy for it. These were her last roles, a highlight in a career full of highlights (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, It’s A Wonderful Life, The Furies).
Anyway, this reminded me of Miss Bondi’s fine work in Track Of The Cat (1954). In a film known for William Clothier’s innovative cinematography and color scheme, and for the simple fact that John Wayne produced it, the performances often get overlooked.
Toby, the director of that WALTONS episode was Ralph Senensky, who’s a personal friend and a wonderful guy with an amazing memory. He has a blog and writes at length about Beulah Bondi and her WALTONS episodes here:
http://ralph-senensky.blogspot.com/2009/11/conflict-1974.html
and here:
http://ralph-senensky.blogspot.com/2009/11/pony-cart-1976.html