Winter People

1989 romantic drama film by Ted Kotcheff

Winter People

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Ted Kotcheff
Screenplay by| Carol Sobieski
Based on| The Winter People
1982 novel
by John Ehle
Produced by| Robert H. Solo
Starring|

* Kurt Russell
* Kelly McGillis
* Lloyd Bridges
* Mitchell Ryan

Cinematography| François Protat
Edited by| Thom Noble
Music by| John Scott

Production
companies

Nelson Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment[1] (Uncredited)

Distributed by| Columbia Pictures

Release dates

* January 12, 1989 (1989-01-12) (West Germany)
* April 14, 1989 (1989-04-14) (United States)

Running time

| 110 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $2,023,282

Winter People is a 1989 American romantic-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and starring Kurt Russell and Kelly McGillis. It is based on the novel by John Ehle. Wayland Jackson, a widower with a young daughter, moves to a small, impoverished mountain village in North Carolina, circa 1934. They are taken in by Collie Wright, a single mother, and she and Wayland soon fall in love.

## Plot[edit]

Young widowed clockmaker Wayland Jackson and his 12-year-old daughter, Paula, enter a small Depression-era community in the Appalachian Mountains literally by accident. Wayland becomes acquainted with Collie Wright (a single mother with a newborn child, Jonathan) who gives them shelter from the cold. As he becomes more familiar to the villagers, Wayland tries to persuade them that he could build a beautiful clock for the public square. His proposal is met with considerable skepticism, and then he is given the town's consent.

He is attracted to Collie, but their lives are threatened by family members from the Wright family's rival clan, the Campbells, led by patriarch Drury. The youngest son, Cole, is the father of Collie's baby. Cole wanted to run away with Collie but ultimately left her, fearing Drury's wrath. One night, Cole Campbell arrives in Collie's cabin, and goes into a violent rage once he learns of Collie and Wayland's relationship. Wayland and Cole get into a fistfight in the frozen pond near the cabin. Cole is found dead the next morning, whereupon his relatives demand that the Wrights now owe them a life. To save the lives of her brothers and Jackson, Collie gives them Cole's child.

Wayland and Collie soon are engaged. Wayland confronts the Campbells and attempts to persuade Drury and his clan to end their feud with the Wrights, but they chase him away. The following spring, Drury appears at the pair's wedding and returns Jonathan to his mother.

## Cast[edit]

* Kurt Russell as Wayland Jackson
* Kelly McGillis as Collie Wright
* Lloyd Bridges as William Wright
* Mitchell Ryan as Drury Campbell
* Jeffrey Meek as Cole Campbell
* Don Michael Paul as Young Wright
* Lanny Flaherty as Gudger Wright
* Eileen Ryan as Annie Wright
* Amelia Burnette as Paula Jackson
* David Dwyer as Milton Wright

## Reception[edit]

### Critical response[edit]

Winter People was poorly received by critics and has an overall approval rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.[2]

## References[edit]

Notes

1. ^ US Copyright Office
2. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved 2022-04-10.

## External links[edit]

* Winter People at IMDb
* Winter People at the TCM Movie Database
* Winter People at AllMovie
* Winter People at the American Film Institute Catalog
* Winter People at Box Office Mojo

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Ted Kotcheff

* Tiara Tahiti (1962)
* Life at the Top (1965)
* The Desperate Hours (1967)
* Of Mice and Men (1968) (TV)
* Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969)
* Wake in Fright (1971)
* Billy Two Hats (1974)
* The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
* Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)
* Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978)
* North Dallas Forty (1979)
* Split Image (1982)
* First Blood (1982)
* Uncommon Valor (1983)
* Joshua Then and Now (1985)
* Switching Channels (1988)
* Winter People (1989)
* Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
* Folks! (1992)
* The Shooter (1995)
* Family of Cops (1995)
* Borrowed Hearts (1997)

This article about a romantic drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template