Virtude Selvagem

Rightfully considered to be one of the premier family films of all time, this is a handsome adaptation of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings book about a Florida farm family surviving day-to-day hardships. Superbly directed by Clarence Brown, who brings the same "children's book" ambiance to the project as he did with "National Velvet". Well-acted and stunningly photographed on location (by Leonard Smith and Charles Rosher, who won Oscars). Young Claude Jarman, Jr. becomes attached to a troublesome baby deer, and his teary devotion is quite heart-rending. Some of the dialogue is fearsome, and, yes, it's a corny picture in an old-fashioned vein, however it is certainly worth-seeing, even for cynics. *** from ****

This is one of the great lost films. I run into ridicule every time I tell people it's one of my favourite films, but what a great film it is. It's got more treacle than Lyles, very sentimental and heart rendering, but I love it for that. It's also got one of the movie worlds most immortal lines when Ma Forester says of her recently deceased physically handicapped son "I lost ma boy!...ma poor crookedly boy". What a movie, takes me back every time. The essence of the main characters is perfectly portrayed by the main leads of Gregory Peck and Jayne Wyman, but Claude Jarman Jnr as Jody has a special place in my childhood. He plays the head-strong boy to perfection, with great depth and warmth. The Yearling will always live on.

If you want a movie you can sit down with your kids and really enjoy this film would be it!! It is so hard to find a film now that shows love, working to keep family and food, poisitive outlooks. There is the mom who is closed off from some tragities of her own...but a door opens up for her and helps her lead to love. I want my kids to one day see this film, they so far are pretty positive and would love to see the boy (Jody) running around so free and happy, plus there are many animals in here that kids just love to see!!! Although the ending like most classics are hard to swallow a lot comes from a bad thing, sometimes it seems to take a really sad thing to happen before people can change and truly come together.

Since I wasn't born until 1949,I never had the opportunity to see this film at a Movie Theater.When it was shown on television I had the same reaction many people had.Tearing up when Jody had to shoot his beloved pet Deer that his Mother had shot and wounded.Knowing how much he had loved this animal and was willing to sacrifice to be able to keep him made me think of how much we get attached to our own pets whether a Dog,Cat,Bird,whatever! Our love and concern for something that doesn't work,doesn't pay rent,sleeps much of the day,sometimes has accidents on the Floor etc. but still gives us indiscribable Devotion and pleasure.

Claude Jarman Jr's performance in this picture can only be rated as outstanding considering this was his very first picture. The emotions he could express on his face through out the movie were riveting and heartwarming.I'm sure many Movie Audiences leaving theaters in 1946 were wiping away tears.I see why he was given a special Academy award for his performance.

If all animal owners showed the love,care,devotion,empathy, that Jody had for his beloved pet deer; we wouldn't need organization like the ASPCA...Great Heartwarming Film that all should see at least once...s.m.

Every so often a film comes along that is so endearing, so righteous and so just darn decent - "Old Yeller", "Pollyanna" and, this one, "The Yearling". When watching this film, I couldn't help but think of the others. And, no, not just because of the fact the plot involves a family and the emotional fallout and drama caused by a pet such as in "Old Yeller", or the fact that Jane Wyman stars with an adorable child actor, such as she did in "Pollyanna". It's the feel and the atmosphere that invoked these comparisons. However, where "The Yearling" is on a pedestal all its own is in regards to the fine performances. No, "The Yearling" is not my kind of film. I tend to avoid the saccharine and goopy syrup of movies like this. You know the old adage, "Never make a movie with kids or animals"? Well, mine is "Never watch a movie with kids or animals". But this one sucked me in. I don't quite know what did it. But I got sucked in and couldn't get out. The performances make this movie.

Claude Jarman Jr. stars as Jody Baxter, a young boy living in post-Civil War America who longs for the companionship and love of a pet - someone to take care of and nurture. While Jody's loving father, Ezra(Gregory Peck)makes great strides to give Jody companionship and someone to look up to, Jody suffers from the neglect of his hardened mother, Orry(Wyman), still reeling from the untimely deaths of her other children. Jody befriends a fawn and takes it in as his own. The two bond and love each other. But what happens when the young deer begins to eat the crops that the family live off of? Only tragedy can ensue.

"The Yearling" is a delicately handled film that encapsulates the best of 1800's living. And while this is deemed a "family film", there are some surprisingly difficult scenes and sub-plots that might be scary to some children. I know I was uncomfortable watching the animal fight scenes and the death of one of Jody's close friends. And even though this has got to be one of the most predictable movies, the performances we get from Wyman, Peck and, especially Jarman, are stellar. In the movie's final emotional scenes, no one has been so convincing as Jarman in conveying heartache and mind-numbing trauma. And Wyman, while on the sidelines, is incredible as a woman afraid to open up and terrified to lose her one remaining child. On top of that, the cinematography is first-rate, with some stunning sunset shots and silhouettes set against the backdrop of rural America. And despite some off-kilter bits at the end revolving around Jody getting lost on the river and being found by a ship, "The Yearling" is a solid and heart-warming film that has earned its place among the top Hollywood classics.