Planting “tobaccy” in The Yearling

 

 

The family hopes for better fortunes were riding on planting tobacco seedlings for a much-needed cash crop. Here are Claude Jarman, Jr. and Gregory Peck as Penny Baxter, “Pa,” discussing what a successful crop might mean to them and “Ma” Baxter.  Below, Jody tells Ma as played by Jane Wyman, “twert Flag, Ma,” when the tender crop is destroyed by the logical suspect, Flag, Jody’s pet fawn.

 

When Ol’ Slewfoot came callin’

This studio still depicts Claude Jarman, jr., Jane Wyman, and Gregory Peck and their resolve after the region’s black bear raided the homestead and killed the family calf. The bear scene is remarkably realistic and required a trained bear, a bear suit, and reportedly much in the way of skilled cinematography plus days to complete as can be imagined. Quite significant for its time and achieved without today’s special effects.

Early scene from The Yearling

This scene is among the earliest shot for The Yearling and introduced filmgoers to Jody  Baxter, played by Claude Jarman, Jr. This motion is reported to have cost $4 million to produce and was first released in December of 1946. The bulk of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Florida at Juniper Wilderness Park.

The Storm from The Yearling

 

 

 

Likely shot late in production or post-production as Claude Jarman, Jr., appears a bit older in this studio still than when principal photography began months earlier.

Mark May 8th for So Big,

the Edna Ferber Pulitzer Prize-winning novel being aired on the Turner Classic Movies channel. Three different film versions of this work have been produced, the last in 1953, starring Jane Wyman, shown here with Claude Jarman, Jr., in a scene from The Yearling. So Big will air on Turner Classic Movies, May 8 at 3 pm EST.  Check with TCM.com where one can confirm showing for different time zones. So Big deals with a teacher’s experience on the frontier. Here’s TCM’s blurb:

“A schoolteacher-turned-farmer fights to save the land and her son.”

As described, this film appears to fit the themes and interests of this blog. Ferber and Willa Cather were contemporaries and occasionally wrote of their American experiences on the frontier and the state of the nation’s development during the early 1900s. Aside from So Big, Ferber’s Showboat and Giant have enjoyed wide acceptance and were produced as feature films. Cather’s Pioneer Trilogy–O Pioneers!, Song of the Lark, My Antonia–One of Ours, and Death Comes for the Archbishop were also critically acclaimed. O Pioneers, Song of the Lark, Paul’s Case, and A Lost Lady have been adapted to film.

Jane Wyman on The Yearling set

It’s unclear if this is a studio still shot during filming, a candid, or a clip from the finished film. At any rate Claude Jarman, Jr., as Jody described Jane Wyman as very helpful during his debut film acting career.

Summers Run is an e-book, available . . .

At Kobobooks.com , Smashwords.com , Barnes & Noble.com , Amazon.com , iUniverse.com , and enTourage.com 

It continues to be well-received, appealing to those who like a “feel-good-at-the-end” novel. If you like Jan Karon’s Mitford Series and the Father Tim novels she’s written, you should like Summers Run: An American Boyhood. Jan Karon’s website is www.mitfordbooks.com

Reviews and sample chapters of Summers Run: An American Boyhood can be found at www.jameslcotton.com or www.alongcountryroads.com

 

 

 

 

The Yearling’s Academy Awards

The Yearling won Academy Awards for Best Color Cinematography and Best Art Direction/Interior Direction (Color), and Claude Jarman, Jr. received a special Academy Award for “Outstanding Child Actor of 1946.”  The film was also nominated for Academy Awards in the following categories:  Best Picture, Best Actor (Gregory Peck), Best Actress (Jane Wyman), Best Direction(Clarence Brown), and Best Film Editing (Howard Kress).

Flag the Fawn from The Yearling

 

According to various Internet sources, Flag in real life was trained by Walt and Gert Boettcher who owned a tourist deer farm in Wisconsin. They used their well-trained deer to help market their business. Reportedly, a herd of nearly 30 whitetail deer were employed during the shoot, all of various ages to keep pace with the story line. It’s also reported Claude Jarman, shown here with a raven and one of the youngest fawns, lived a boy’s dream as unofficially in charge of  the film’s menagerie which included hound dogs, raccoons, ravens, and of course the deer.

 

Child actors from The Grapes of Wrath

Here are Darryl Hickman on the left and Shirley Mills, right. They flank Henry Fonda, of course, the leading character of this farm-based drama depicting Oakie migration to California in the 1930s and during the depth of the Great Depression. Hickman went on with his career in front of the camera for several more films and eventually gravitated toward production. Shirley Mills was groomed to be a performer from her early days in Tacoma, WA, and eventually wound her way into dancing in early television commercials. She later married a cattle rancher and clergyman and then following his death, became a party and wedding planner in Bel Air, California. Hickman wrote The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, In Full Command in 2007 and is often cited as a leading teacher of the art of performance in acting and life.

Hickman played the character, Winfield, and Mills was cast as Ruthie Joad.