God's Little Acre: Difference between revisions
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==Digging holes instead of farming== |
==Digging holes instead of farming== |
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Ty Ty spends most of his time digging holes in his farm, constantly searching for the treasure his grandfather left him. Consequently, the farm has suffered from years of neglect. He could have turned a profit any time during those years if he |
Ty Ty spends most of his time digging holes in his farm, constantly searching for the treasure his grandfather left him. Consequently, the farm has suffered from years of neglect. He could have turned a profit any time during those years if only he had bought some seed and planted it in the fields, but believing that a vast amount of gold had been buried somewhere on his property, he thinks that it is only a matter of time before he finds the place it was buried. Actually, however, his constant searching for buried gold is making his farm worth less with each coming year. |
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==Storming of the mills== |
==Storming of the mills== |
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Revision as of 09:58, 14 April 2006
| God's Little Acre | |
|---|---|
| File:Gla1958.jpg | |
| Directed by | Anthony Mann |
| Written by | Erskine Caldwell (novel) Ben Maddow (uncredited) Philip Yordan (screenplay) |
| Produced by | Sidney Harmon |
| Starring | Robert Ryan Aldo Ray Tina Louise Buddy Hackett |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller |
| Edited by | Richard Meyer |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates | August 13, 1958 |
Running time | 110 min. |
| Language | English |
God's Little Acre is a 1933 novel by Erskine Caldwell, which was filmed in 1958 by director Anthony Mann. The novel and film were controversial in their day due to their sexual content and portrayal of poor whites in the southern United States. Philip Yordan took credit for the screenplay, though it was actually written by Ben Maddow. Since Maddow was blacklisted for suspected Communist activities during the 1950s Red Scare, working without credit was the only way he could successfully submit screenplays.
When first released, audiences under eighteen years of age were prohibited from viewing it, though in recent decades the film's scandalous reputation has diminished. Though ultimately a box office failure upon first release, the film has frequently been aired on television. Due to a lapse in copyright after the bankruptcy of United Artists in the mid-1980s, the film is now in the public domain.
Plot
The film follows Ty Ty Walden (Robert Ryan) and his family, living in the backwoods of Georgia during the Great Depression. While Ty Ty searches for gold on his farm, his son Will (Aldo Ray) commits adultery on his wife (Helen Westcott) with Griselda (Tina Louise).
County Election impends
The movie opens with Pluto Spint (Buddy Hackett) arriving at Ty Ty's farm to let the farmer know he's running for sheriff, and would appreciate it if he'd remember him when it came time to come to the polls and cast his ballot. When he arrives, he is invited to come around back where Griselda is taking a bath in an outdoor bathtub positioned near a handpump and spigot. She asks him to pump some more water into the bathtub but the camera never dips lower than the top of the bathtub.
Digging holes instead of farming
Ty Ty spends most of his time digging holes in his farm, constantly searching for the treasure his grandfather left him. Consequently, the farm has suffered from years of neglect. He could have turned a profit any time during those years if only he had bought some seed and planted it in the fields, but believing that a vast amount of gold had been buried somewhere on his property, he thinks that it is only a matter of time before he finds the place it was buried. Actually, however, his constant searching for buried gold is making his farm worth less with each coming year.
Storming of the mills
Aside from the racy scene at the start of the film where Pluto Spint (Buddy Hackett) was manning the pump, and bringing water to an outdoor bathtub, it is understandable that the movie came very close to being blacklisted for the scene where an angry mob of town locals stage an insurrection. The insurrection is hardly unwarranted, as a recent corporate decision led to the mills being shut down.
Since the entire town's economy depended solely on the presence of the mill staying open, the dilemma the people face is evocative of the dilemma later faced in the 1986 film Gung Ho. Arriving at night, they storm the gates and enter the factory, successfully flipping the circuitbreakers on, and reviving the factory into a semblance of life.
Riot leaves one dead
Hearing of the rioters breaking and entering, the sheriff comes to the factory site and shoots an unarmed rioter for trespass. At this point the tide is turned irreversibly, leading to Pluto Spint's upset election as the new county sheriff, replacing the incumbent, and potentially leading to greener pastures for all concerned.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Robert Ryan | Ty Ty Walden |
| Aldo Ray | Will Thompson |
| Tina Louise | Griselda |
| Buddy Hackett | Pluto Swint |
| Jack Lord | Buck Walden |
| Fay Spain | Darlin' Jill |
| Vic Morrow | Shaw Walden |
| Helen Westcott | Rosamund |
| Lance Fuller | Jim Leslie |
| Rex Ingram | Uncle Felix |
| Michael Landon | Dave Lawson |
External links
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