What’s That Movie? Old Yeller (1957)

Old Yeller Disney Film
Based on the book by Fred Gipson
1957

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I recently read Old Yeller by Fred Gipson (read my review here) and couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen the movie. So I checked it out from the library and gave it a watch. Although the film was made before I was born, once I queued it up and heard the opening music, I knew I’d watched it before. The film stars Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, Tommy Kirk, and Kevin Corcoran and won critical acclaim. In 2019, it was included in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Set during the 1860s in the Texas Hill Country, it’s about fourteen-year-old Travis whose father heads to Kansas on an extended cattle drive and puts Travis in charge of running their homestead. Before his father leaves, Travis asks him about getting a horse. “What you’re needing worse than a horse is a good dog,” says his father.

In comes Old Yeller, a stray dog. At first, Travis wants nothing to do with the ugly dog. But his mother and Little Arliss convince him to let the dog stay and name him Old Yeller, both for his coloring and his unique yelling-bark. Soon Travis discovers how much he needs a dog to keep them safe, help him hunt, and ward off dangerous animals. And before long, the Old Yeller becomes a faithful and beloved friend.

I was really impressed by the way the film stuck to the dialogue and plot of the book. Sometimes you don’t see that and the movie becomes a very different story. In addition, there are many very realistic, exciting, and frightening scenes, mostly when dangerous animals attack and Old Yeller fights them off. I wondered how they got a huge bear to fight a dog and how they were able to show a cow that had gone mad from rabies. Another scene where Old Yeller fights a wolf is almost unbelievably realistic.

Depsite the realistic and scary scenes, the rest of the movie has many unrealistic and corny scenes. Travis’ mom is often fully-made-up, lipstick and all. That made me laugh. I also laughed at how easy-going and smiley they were even though they lived out in the middle of nowhere with danger all around them. Of course, it’s a children’s movie, so to be accepted, even though the fighting and yes, gun scenes, might be jarring for young children.

There’s one cringey moment at the end that was not in the book, when their dad returns with an Indian headdress for Arliss and Arliss runs off to play.

Other than that, I enjoyed the film and was impressed by how engaging it was. Tommy Kirk does a great job portraying a boy who must come of age and make a heart-breaking decision.

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