How a 1981 drama turned a New Hampshire lake into a cinematic legend

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: On Golden Pond became a cultural touchstone by capturing the twilight of a marriage through the eyes of two Hollywood icons. While critics debated whether the film was a poignant masterpiece or a sentimental confection, its production left a lasting mark on the real-world landscape of Squam Lake.

Directed by Mark Rydell and adapted from Ernest Thompson’s 1979 play, the 1981 film On Golden Pond centers on Norman and Ethel Thayer, an elderly couple spending their summer in northern New England. The film explores themes of aging, dementia, and strained family dynamics as the couple hosts their daughter, Chelsea, and her fiancé’s young son, Billy. The project was deeply personal, as Jane Fonda purchased the rights specifically for her father, Henry Fonda, to play the role of the cantankerous Norman. This marked the first time the two legends, Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, worked together, and Hepburn famously gifted Fonda the lucky hat of her late companion, Spencer Tracy, to wear on set.

The production was marked by a blend of authentic emotion and technical ingenuity. Filmed on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire, the crew modified a local house by adding a second-story balcony that the owner liked so much he refused to let them remove it. The film’s iconic boat, the Thayer IV, was one of three mahogany Chris-Craft Sportsman models used during production. Filming the crash scene proved difficult because the boat was too sturdy to break, and the water in the lake was so shallow that the actors were actually standing in knee-deep water while pretending to drown.

Upon its release, the film was a massive commercial success, grossing over $119 million and earning three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Henry Fonda in his final film role. Critical reception was polarized; while reviewers like Roger Ebert praised its emotional honesty and human growth, others like David Kehr dismissed it as a sanitized, overly sentimental product. Regardless of the critique, the film’s legacy endures through the town of Holderness, which still offers tours of the filming locations, and the continued interest it generated in the restoration of classic mahogany speedboats.

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