Where the Lilies Bloom

Where the Lilies Bloom
Film poster
Directed byWilliam A. Graham
Screenplay byEarl Hamner, Jr.
Based onWhere the Lilies Bloom
by Bill and Vera Cleaver
Produced byRobert B. Radnitz
Starring
CinematographyUrs Furrer
Edited byO. Nicholas Brown
Music byEarl Scruggs
Production
company
Radnitz/Mattel Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • April 10, 1974 (1974-04-10) (San Francisco)
  • June 7, 1974 (1974-06-07) (New York City)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Where the Lilies Bloom is a 1974 American drama film directed by William A. Graham[1] and starring Julie Gholson, Harry Dean Stanton, Rance Howard, and Jan Smithers. Based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Bill and Vera Cleaver, it follows four underage siblings in Appalachia who attempt to conceal the death of their widowed father to avoid being separated.

The film was shot in Watauga County (towns of Boone and Blowing Rock), Ashe County (towns of West Jefferson and Lansing), and in Avery County (towns of Elk Park and Banner Elk), North Carolina. Soundtrack music is by Earl Scruggs.[2]

Children from local elementary schools were recruited to act in the film.

  1. ^ Thompson, Howard, Screen: ‘Lilies Bloom’, The New York Times, June 8, 1974, page 18
  2. ^ Goldsmith, Thomas, Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown: The Making of an American Classic (e-book), University of Illinois Press, 2019