|
THE STORY:
Set in late 19th century Florida, this coming-of-age story centers around a young boy named Jody Baxter. His loving but protective parents struggle to overcome the loss of three of their children to infant mortality and to make a living for themselves from the land.
One day, while Jody and his father, Penny, are out hunting, Penny is bitten by a rattle snake. He shoots a doe and uses her liver to "draw out the poison". Leaving its fawn to fend for itself, Jody's pleas to raise the fawn himself are relunctantly given in to. But the new playmates can't foresee the destruction and tragedy that soon threatens the family.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
Filming started on The Yearling with Spencer Tracy playing the role of Pa Baxter and Victor Fleming (Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz) directing.
Beginning in 1940, the search for a young boy to portray Jody became one of the most publicized talent searches in film history. First, after interviewing thousands of possibilities, an Atlanta native, Gene Echman, seemed perfect for the part. After the project was mysteriously shelved by MGM for a short time and an attempt was made to continue, it was thought that 14 year old Roddy McDowall would fill the role. Again...the project was delayed until finally, in 1944, another 12,000 boys were interviewed. The result...10 year old Jarmen was picked out of a Nashville grammer school to file the part.
Filmed on location in Florida's Ocala National Forest, rounding up and training the animals for the film was a huge task. The delays in the project forced the new production team of Franklin and Brown to replace the animals, particularly the quickly maturing fawns, originally trained for the film. Finally, a cast of some 469 animals, including 126 deer, were set to co-star.
THE DIRECTOR:
"You have to direct a deer or a stalk of corn to understand my problems," Clarence Brown told reporters.
THE AWARDS:
Peck was nominated for his second Academy Award. Nominations also went to Wyman and director Clarence Brown as well as nods for Best Editing and Best Picture. The film won Oscars for Art Direction and the beautiful Technicolor Cinematography by Charles Rosher, Leaonard Smith and Arthur Arling.
Peck won a Golden Globe as 1947's Best Motion Picture Actor.
RELATED LINKS:
|
