Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Of 2025Holiday Watch GuideGotham AwardsCelebrity PhotosSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
The Waltons
S5.E11
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Pony Cart

  • Episode aired Dec 2, 1976
  • TV-G
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
8.9/10
310
YOUR RATING
Richard Thomas, Judy Norton, Beulah Bondi, Ellen Corby, Mary Beth McDonough, and Ralph Waite in The Waltons (1972)
DramaFamilyRomance

Grandpa's 90 year old sister-in-law, Martha Corrine (Beulah Bondi), comes to the mountain to visit. She's a meddlesome house guest, but her cantankerous ways mask a solemn secret. She helps ... Read allGrandpa's 90 year old sister-in-law, Martha Corrine (Beulah Bondi), comes to the mountain to visit. She's a meddlesome house guest, but her cantankerous ways mask a solemn secret. She helps Ben build a pony cart.Grandpa's 90 year old sister-in-law, Martha Corrine (Beulah Bondi), comes to the mountain to visit. She's a meddlesome house guest, but her cantankerous ways mask a solemn secret. She helps Ben build a pony cart.

  • Director
    • Ralph Senensky
  • Writer
    • Jack Miller
  • Stars
    • Richard Thomas
    • Ralph Waite
    • Michael Learned
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.9/10
    310
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ralph Senensky
    • Writer
      • Jack Miller
    • Stars
      • Richard Thomas
      • Ralph Waite
      • Michael Learned
    • 8User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top Cast14

    Edit
    Richard Thomas
    Richard Thomas
    • John-Boy Walton
    Ralph Waite
    Ralph Waite
    • John Walton, Sr.
    Michael Learned
    Michael Learned
    • Olivia Walton
    • (as Miss Michael Learned)
    Ellen Corby
    Ellen Corby
    • Esther Walton
    Will Geer
    Will Geer
    • The Grandfather
    Judy Norton
    Judy Norton
    • Mary Ellen Walton
    • (as Judy Norton-Taylor)
    Jon Walmsley
    Jon Walmsley
    • Jason Walton
    Mary Beth McDonough
    Mary Beth McDonough
    • Erin Walton
    • (as Mary Elizabeth McDonough)
    Eric Scott
    Eric Scott
    • Ben Walton
    David W. Harper
    David W. Harper
    • Jim-Bob Walton
    Kami Cotler
    Kami Cotler
    • Elizabeth Walton
    Beulah Bondi
    Beulah Bondi
    • Martha Corinne Walton
    Pat Skelton
    Pat Skelton
    • Tom Wheeler
    • (as Patrick Skelton)
    Earl Hamner Jr.
    Earl Hamner Jr.
    • The Narrator
    • (voice)
    • (as Earl Hamner)
    • Director
      • Ralph Senensky
    • Writer
      • Jack Miller
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews8

    8.9310
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    10janet-conant

    Beulah Bondi Was Brilliant

    I absolutely adore this episode with the great Beulah Bondi. The other reviews express my same feelings. I love everything about her she was feisty but progressive, she had interest in other people and their lives but also knew that customs from her era were essential. Bondi's way of speaking and acting was so natural.

    When she is painting that shay with the colors and artistic flair I could only smile then cry when Martha Corinne wants Ben to stop the shay "to pick some daisies" she knows times up.

    She was a gem in The Conflict and thank goodness they brought her back for The Pony Cart.
    9brueggemanntami

    Growing old

    I'm watching this again in 2022. Martha Corrine makes me think about my grandma. She will be turning 97 next week. She drives us crazy, but we love her. Both ladies want to pass on their lifetime of wisdom to the younger generations but have trouble doing so in a manner that is acceptable to others. Sometimes you just have to smile and listen with your heart.
    jamiebollich

    This is an example of TV at its finest...

    "The Pony Cart" is one of the best episodes of a show I've ever seen on television. Beulah Bondi is the main reason. As Olivia Walton's irascible Aunt Martha Corinne, she brings an engrossing believability to the story of how one woman struggles to tie up the loose ends of a long life and leave a meaningful legacy. Helping young Ben Walton repair and decorate an old wooden cart brings forth a flood of warm memories that help offset the disruptive impact her opinionated presence has on the family. It is a moving, meaningful slice-of-life from a time in America that has long-since passed, and is a fine example of "The Waltons" at its best. The show aired in 1976, but it lingers in my memory because of the talented Beulah Bondi.
    10njpaul-00633

    Martha Corinne

    I liked the character Martha. She was a tough older woman but quite loveable. Too bad she got kicked out of her mountain house into an apartment.
    10Steven_Titchenell

    My favorite episode!

    This is my favorite episode of the entire series. Martha Corinne was set in her ways, which was irritating to most of the family, except fpr Grandpa, John-Boy & Jim-Bob. She was uneducated, but very intelligent. This is shown when she talks to John-Boy about there being a lot of little worlds (Like in a puddle of water) in this great big world.

    Related interests

    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Beulah Bondi won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series for her performance as Martha Corinne Walton in this episode.
    • Goofs
      In "The Conflict" from season three, it's established that Martha Corinne was forced to give up her home due to the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway. In this episode, when John-Boy takes her back to see her old home site, there is no highway to be seen.
    • Quotes

      Narrator: [narration as John 'John Boy' Walton, Jr. reading from his journal] In the summer of 1937, it seemed as if Walton's Mountain was reborn. The blue-misted mountains, the tall stands of evergreens and the wild flowers that grew everywhere gave a fragrance to the air and a spirit to the soul. It was also the summer that Martha Corinne Walton came to visit, and that made it a summer to remember.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1977)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 2, 1976 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Hallmark Channel
      • INSP Television Network
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 20, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Lorimar Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h(60 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1
      • 4:3

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.