. Shot on location, the film stars Zachary Scott as a sharecropper who yearns for a place of his own. Robert Aldrich, at age 26, was the assistant director on The Southerner, which was filmed at various locations in California, including the Arthur Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, Hotchkiss Ranch in Firebaugh, California, at RKO Pictures' movie ranch near Encino, in Malibu, at sites along the banks of the San Joaquin River, and in cotton fields near the town of Madera, about 240 miles northwest of Hollywood. In immediate need of drinking water, Sam visits a gruff neighboring farmer, Henry Devers, who reluctantly allows the Tuckers to share water from his well. It's known for its hospitality and comfort food, as well as movies like The Secret Life of Bees, Rambling Rose, and Crazy Heart . “The Southerner.” Sentimental almost to the point of condescension, it is an affectionate ode to American resilience and an innate working class decency that stood in stark contrast to the cynicism and factionalism of Europe. After the Civil War, the South was no longer an epicenter of trade and commerce. As of this writing, he's 93 and still working.Zachary Scott is okay as Sam but it's not a comfortable fit. This film is the story of one man's struggle to maintain his crops and keep his family safe, comfortable and happy during some very tough times, the Great Depression. Released in 1945 it was nominated for three Academy Awards; best director, music and sound. Etienne Alexis, a candidate for president of the new Europe, is a scientist promoting artificial insemination for social betterment and therapy to eliminate passion. Movies WA News Regional WA Albany Advertiser Great Southern. THE SOUTHERNER, Renoir's most critically respected American film, is a superb depiction, in spirit if not in historical authenticity, of the plight of the farmer. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Load More Stories. Later that written record, accompanied by the photographs of Walker Evans, formed the highly acclaimed book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, which was published just four years prior to the release of The Southerner. 1989 - Steel Magnolias - M'Lynn's Breakdown (Sally Field) www.youtube.com. You not only see, but feel the struggles of the family and how hard they work no matter the odds, with strength and determination.Betty Field was a good choice as Nona - she's plain and tired-looking, with a bright smile. The Southerner was the fourth of six films that Jean Renoir directed while living in the United States during the 1940s. Polish countess Elena falls in love to a French radical party's candidate, a general, in pre-World War I Paris, but another officer pines for her. A chambermaid plots to climb the social ladder by marrying a wealthy man. . Here are four documentaries from 2020 with powerful and unique takes on unraveling true crimes. YouTube. Worth watching for sure. In its May 2, 1945 issue, the widely read trade paper Variety recounts the despair fostered by the film's generally bleak tone but praises the performances of the film's stars and principal supporting cast:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, "The Southerner" creates too little hope for a solution to the difficulties of farm workers who constantly look forward to the day when they can settle forever their existence of poverty with a long-sought harvest—a harvest that invariably never comes...Zachary Scott and Betty Field give fine performances, as do Beulah Bondi, the grandmother, Percy Kilbride, Charles Kemper and J. Carrol Naish. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Daily servings of milk would provide the suffering Jot with some timely relief, but the family cannot afford to buy or even rent a cow. It also provided film reviews, reports about the public's response to new releases, and a "Showmandizer Section". The Southerner, however, is now regarded by some reviewers and film historians to be his "Hollywood masterpiece" and generally recogn… As his father lays dying in the field, he tells his son to own his own land. As spring arrives, Jot falls ill with "spring sickness". Read our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're watching in March, including "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," Boss Level, and Zack Snyder's Justice League. [9][10], Contemporary news items in Hollywood reported that Joel McCrea and his wife Frances Dee were set to play the lead roles of Sam and Nona Tucker in The Southerner, but the couple left the project in pre-production due to McCrea's dissatisfaction with the script and his "creative differences" with Renoir. Tim nearly drowns in the deep water, but Sam rescues him. "The Southerner (1945): Synopsis and Film Review". The town doctor informs Nona that the boy needs more diverse, vitamin-enriched foods, including vegetables, fruits, and milk to survive. "[8] The film was even banned from being shown in Tennessee by Lloyd T. Binford, who for nearly three decades served as head of the Memphis Board of Censors and whose influence in that position extended to review boards and movie theaters across that state. (1945). "Indies' $70,000,000 Pix Output: Record Negative Coin Investment". Southern belles can relate to the spoiled and always-put-together heroine Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh). Can they make it as farmers? Redirecting to /saml_login?ReturnTo=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tcm.com%2Ftcmdb%2Ftitle%2F90973%2FThe-Southerner… The stereotypes. The selected films are tremendously diverse and delightfully off the beaten track, and they come in interesting “series” bound by everything from genre to star to obscure cinematic movement. The Southerner ( 1945) The Southerner. Sometimes, we just have to roll our eyes at "Southerners" in movies: The phony accents. This FAQ is empty. On set of "Southern Gospel," 2020. However, I would recommend buying a much better DVD if it can be found. The family's cotton crop and the much-needed vegetable garden they planted finally begin to flourish. [8] A native of Tennessee, Agee was very knowledgeable about the South and in particular about tenant farmers and "croppers". A mild-mannered school teacher in a Nazi-occupied town during WWII finds himself torn between collaboration and resistance. Fri, 15 May 2020 10:35AM. The 20 Best Southern Gothic Movies. The Southerner is a 1945 American drama movie directed by Jean Renoir and was based on the 1941 novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand by George Sessions Perry. The list goes on and on. Nevertheless, Sam and Nona (Field) keep working, Sam knowing that working the land and feeling the sun is the only way he can live.This is a very absorbing film. In the first year, the Tuckers battle disease, a flood, and a jealous neighbor. Sam quits his job and makes arrangements to work the land of his former boss, with the goal of ownership. Soon he finds Sam at the nearby river pulling in a fishing line on which he has hooked "Lead Pencil," an enormous catfish that Devers has been trying to catch for years. However, upon returning to the battered farm, he reconsiders his decision after he sees the resilience of his wife and grandmother, who are busy cleaning up what remains of the house and professing their resolve to start over again. In the first year, the Tuckers battle disease, a flood, and a jealous neighbor. Unfortunately, a violent rainstorm rolls in as the party is ending. [15][11][16] The flood depicted in the production was created with water supplied from the Friant Dam and was shot where Millerton Lake is located today. The boss of a publishing company is a womanizer and a jerk, but what would happen if he suddenly disappeared? Was this review helpful to you? The United Daughters of the Confederacy was one of its supporters. [8] The film, Agee contended, essentially "rang false", for it neither accurately portrayed the South's basic character nor the people who inhabited its rural subculture. The Southerner is a 1945 American drama film directed by Jean Renoir and based on the 1941 novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand by George Sessions Perry. [21] Disgusted by The Southerner, he condemned the film as a "slur against Southern farmers" and for its characters being portrayed as nothing more than "'common, lowdown, ignorant white trash'". Each film is available for thirty days. The Southerner (1945). His wealthy household (... See full summary », An upper-class corporal from Paris is captured by the Germans when they invade France in 1940. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Director (the only Oscar nomination Renoir received), Original Music Score, and Sound. RSS Feed. The West Australian. [25] The film-industry trade magazine Boxoffice, in its issue of May 5, 1945, cautioned theater owners that although The Southerner was an "outstanding picture", it was hampered by "an inept title" and by "a cast of questionable drawing power. Until Fisherman's Luck Changed an Enemy Into a Friend". Gee, I wonder why it did that... #VirginiasMovieOfTheDay "THE SCREEN...'The Southerner' Is New Picture at the Globe". Renoir's other "American" films are Swamp Water (1941), This Land Is Mine (1943), The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943), The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946), and The Woman on the Beach(1947). Title: The film opens with a Texas share-cropper, Sam Tucker, picking cotton in a sunbaked field alongside his wife Nona and his elderly Uncle Pete. [26][27] If the film had been released under that personalized, more geographically specific title, any objections to it in the South would have likely been far less intense. "French Twist: Jean Renoir’s Forgotten Hollywood Classic". The Southerner was the fourth of six films that Jean Renoir directed while living in the United States during the 1940s. New trailer for RAMS, the star-studded film shot in the Great Southern. THE southern hemispheres longest, tallest and fastest HyperCoaster is being built at Movie World on the Gold Coast, the theme park has today revealed. Instagram. On a tiny, scraggly patch of land, Scott tries to make a go of things, along with his wife Betty Field, his grandmother Beulah Bondi, and his children Jean Vanderwilt (aka Bunny Sunshine) and Jay Gilpin. "The Southerner - Film (Movie) Plot and Review". Elsewhere" - he's had quite a career. After Finley destroys the Tuckers' garden, Sam confronts Devers at his farm. Movies like THE SOUTHERNER should be seen by everyone who whines about the tough times we have today. The Southerner Synopsis: Sam Tucker, a cotton picker, in search of a better future for his family, decides to grow his own cotton crop. Posted on August 8, 2020 by rogerinorlando. Add the first question. [19] For Agee, however, that sense of reality ended with the dialogue and attempted southern accents used in much of the film, which he deemed wholly unrealistic, as were in his view the actors' mannerisms and overall behavior on screen. Sam, stunned by the sudden devastation, lets Tim accompany him as he searches for the family's missing cow, which they find alive but struggling in the swollen river. 19 of 25 people found this review helpful. Play up angling [fishing] angle: offer ticket prizes for largest fish caught, or biggest whopper [exaggerated fishing story] told. The part required more warmth, more depth, and more internal grit; it's a Henry Fonda role. [20], The release of The Southerner in 1945 provoked intense negative reactions in various locations throughout the southern United States. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review About Audience Score The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. It stars Zachary Scott, Betty Field, J. Carrol Naish, Beulah Bondi, Percy Kilbride, Charles Kemper, Blanche Yurka, Norman Lloyd, Estelle Taylor and was distributed by United Artists. Watch The Southerner movie trailer and get the latest cast info, photos, movie review and more on TVGuide.com.