Customer Reviews

Yearling (Full Screen)

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tonight, for the first time on PBS, I had a chance to see this wonderful movie. At 45, I have never seen it and am overjoyed to finally have the chance. I am in love with the young Gregory Peck, am astonished over Claude, and Jane reminds me too much of my own mother lol. The fawn must have bonded to Claude as he seems to really be attached to him. I want now to find out more about this wonderful young actor and about the fawn! How I never saw this movie all my life I will never know. This must be shown to children in school. I am touched beyond words, it is beautifully shot and enriching. Marjorie Rawlings deservedly won the Pulitzer and now I must read the book. I am laughing out loud, teary eyed and heart warmed at the same time. What a wonderful, wonderful movie.

I saw this movie when I was a child, and just recently watched it again. And again! I think it is one of the best movies ever made. The most touching scenes are when Jody first rescues the little fawn, and the scenes with Fodderwing. The Forrester Family is hilarious (when Pa swaps the dog for the rifle). The opening scene with Peck narrating is excellent. The scenery throughout the film is beautiful, and Claude Jarman Jr. is an absolute delight. It is definitely one of America's finest films!

This movie really could not be improved upon; every single performance, from Calude Jarman Jr to Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman and Chill Wills are astonishingly believable; you never think you are watching a movie, this is truly a window into a real world. The boy who plays Fodderwing is extraordinary, almost unearthly, in his role. The dream sequences with the deer are breathtaking, as are all the scenes which have animals interacting with people. You really get involved in this one; it is not merely a spectator event; you are THERE, with Jody and his parents, and Flag, his little deer. I have seen this too many times to count, starting when I was about 6 years old, and have never lost one iota of awe when I see it again. It is a shame that movies with this kind of heart, emnotion and inner strength/courage are not made anymore; there are simply no stories now to equal this one, and that is a pity. Still, you can go home again when you see this movie; it never loses its appeal, even through repeated viewings, and you are always immediately caught up in the story and the characters. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings grew up in the Florida Everglades, and waa a master at describing the unique flora and fauna which proliferate there; it is a very unusual place, and this story takes you right to the center. A must for every DVD/VHS library, and a family classic for years to come.

The Yearling is about a young preteen boy named Jody (Claude Jarman Jr.) who wants tp have a pet, but his parents say no, especially his mother (Jane Wyman). But after a while his Pa (Gregory Peck) lets him have a pet fawn, Pa is a tenderhearted man who Jody idolizes very much, but Ma is embittered by the loss of her three young children who passed away at a very young age, but things with the pet fawn isn't always about happiness, later the fawn becomes a yearling and starts destroying the crops one way right after another and Pa tells Jody to go shoot the yearling, then Ma shoots him and Jody runs away from home. This movie is a beautiful picture and after a while, it seems like you're watching a 1960's movie even though it came out in 1946, too bad that they don't movies like that anymore. Recommended for the whole family.

Urban children, like I was, may find this film especially tough. Farm-raised children will find much to identify with.

This is a sentimental film about unsentimentality. It's tough to see people living lives so fragile, it is threatened by the existence of a single pet fawn who forces a choice between its life and those of this small family struggling to survive in backwoods Florida when the fawn can't be kept out of the vegetable patch.

But there's much to appreciate here about familial relationships, human change and growth, childhood innocence and awe, simple pleasures. The story itself is beautiful if heartbreaking. I love the film. It is typical of family films from the 40's and 50's - characters are done archetypically - the father's kind, moral, hardworking; the mother cold, strict, hard hearted; the child innocent, honest, ernest; the pet fawn cute and used as a vehicle for the boy's rite of passage into the brutal world of adults ...

The film, as well as the novel, were always childhood favorites of mine. The film preserves another of Gregory Peck's wonderful performances. It also has personal sentimental value, since it takes place in Marion County, Florida, where I was born. My father was there when some of the outdoor scenes were shot, and he told stories about it for years. Check out the film, "Cross Creek," which tells the story of Rawling's experiences in Marion County, which led to her writing the novel.

Pretty strong endorsement. Well, I stand by it. This is one of the finest films ever made. Forget that this has a rep as a "family film". It is that. It is a wonderful film for children. But, it is also a film that can be fully appreciated by adults. It is simply beautiful and timeless. The Technicolor cinematography is simply stunning. The direction & performances first class.

The story of a backwoods couple in post Civil-War Florida, their only (surviving) child and his love for a Yearling fawn, and their friends & neighbors, is told simply with wit & humor, with compassion and sensitivity, and with subtlety to the undercurrents of emotion and feeling. A story of fun and sorrow, of the struggle for existence, of tragic necessity and loss and the redemptive power of love. Real life lessons served with some humility, sensitivity, and compassion, in a real setting, with natural and low-key performances punctuating the morals of the story nicely. And, YES, dammit, it'll choke you up.

Far superior to most of the tripe that passes for family films, this one holds up. Gregory Peck is funny & relaxed and wonderfully caring as the father, a performance in some ways more natural and deeper than his Oscar winning turn in To Kill a Mockingbird. Jane Wyman graduated to the big leagues of serious acting with her performance as the mother, wounded and fearing to love because of her previous losses of infants & toddlers. And Claude Jarmon is open-faced, honest and effective as Jody, a role that earned him a special Oscar.

The final speech about the joy & tragedy of life Peck gives to his son Jody was plagiarized and lifted almost word-for-word for the final similar speech in Disney's Old Yeller, a beloved film that today looks cheap and quickly and poorly made with terrible acting. Old Yeller might still work for little kids, but I can't imagine an adult sitting through it. The Yearling, in contrast, was made with an adult sensibility and it will remain richly rewarding for anyone.

I can't imagine anyone who feels human emotions and has had the pure joy of childhood freedom & adventure, and also faced awful decisions and tragic losses as child and adult not enjoying this film. As for the rest, well, nuff said. And, why in hell hasn't it been preserved on DVD!

I read the book last year for school. I flipped through it cover to cover in three days, and after finishing this wonderful novel, I had grown up a little more. So, when catching this movie version on television recently, I was glad that they remained loyal to the book. The kid who plays Jodie, a young boy enthralled with his youth, gives a good performance that truly captures the real character. He, as everyone knows, finds a fawn, names it "Flag", and grows to love it like a brother. Gregory Peck plays Jodie's father, Penny, a decent, dignified man/father/husband who looks on his son with soft eyes. Other supporting actors deliver their purpose well. I found that at the end of the movie, Jodie's coming of age was just as real, and maybe more, as in the book. I don't know any other way to say it: I loved this movie. The photography is as fresh as newly picked memories, and the music as dramatic as Jodie's adolescent feelings. This movie drives a stake through your heart, and never leaves you quite the same. Develop your own opinion and come back and give a review. And although I've said them many times, here are three reasons to buy this film: 1. It delivers plots and characters very similar to the ones in the book. 2. The actors give stirring performances and resemble the characters almost frighteningly. 3. This story is great. The book won the Pulitzer in 1938. The movie is oscar worthy. It has remained a literal treasure for over sixty years. And It will remain a classic forever as long.

"The Yearling" is a 1946 family classic with Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, and Claude Jarman, Jr. It's also a movie that has grown on me each time I have watched it. Of all of director Clarence Brown's films, including "National Velvet", "The Yearling" has the most chock-full of enjoyable and memorable scenes. Even though the story is centered around Jody (Jarman, Jr.) and his pet fawn Flag, for me it's more about Jody and his father Penny Baxter (Peck). Their relationship is the best father-son relationship I've seen in a film. Gregory Peck can play fathers in movies better than most actors because his characters always listen to their children. Claude Jarman, Jr. received a special Academy Award for this film, and deserved it. During the last half of this movie, I was so amazed by how well he could cry. His performance ranks among the very best performances from child actors in movies. The ending both breaks my heart and fills me with hope, when the father tells Jody about life and when the mother (Wyman) finally opens up her love to Jody. This is what quality family entertainment used to be, and I love it.

This wonderful film is one of a handful that has the power to call me back to my childhood days and wrap me in warm memories of my Mom, Dad and little brother sitting around the television on Saturday night, watching the late show.

From the opening scenes of this beautifully photographed movie I found myself caught-up in the intriguing post Civil War story of a boy and his pet faun and their fantastic adventures on a scruffy Florida Everglades farm. The film stars Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman and Claude Jarman in the lead roles, with some of Hollywood's best character actors in the colorful supporting roles.

Peck gives an Oscar caliber performance as the warmhearted father who tries his best to make a better life for his family, with absolutely no help from the elements, which surround them. Jane Wyman plays his wife Orry, the hardened mother and wife who is so embittered by past tragedies in her life that she refuses to show any love for her one remaining child for fear of losing him too. And Claude Jarman plays Jodie the wistful young son who is just one summer away from adolescence and all the hardships that come with growing up.

This story is chock-full of excitement and adventure sure to please the kids, and each of those adventures is also a great lesson on life that will stay with them for years to come. Just watching Jodie romp with his pet faun for that one fleeting summer is a joyous site to behold and the touching scenes where Orry finally begins letting herself love her son will bring tears to your eyes. And of course the heart-rending scenes of Jodie trying his best to get the yearling to run away so he won't have destroy it, all come together to make this movie one of the most emotional experiences of my childhood and I must say I believe I'm a better person for the values I learned from this timeless story.

Experience this film with your children, you won't be sorry you did.