God's Little Acre

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).

A 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.

Storming of the mills

Aside from the racy scene of Pluto Spint (Buddy Hackett) manning the pump, and bringing water to an outdoor bathtub, it is understandable that the movie came close to being blacklisted for the scene where an angry mob of town locals stage an insurrection when a corporate decision led to the mills being shut down. Since the entire town's economy depended solely on the presence of the mill (or factory yards) staying open, the dilemma the people face is evocative of the dilemma faced in 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 election as new county sheriff over the incumbent, apparently leading to greener pastures.

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

God's Little Acre at IMDb