The Southerner (1945)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

George Sessions Perry (novel)
Hugo Butler (adaptation)

Release Date:

30 April 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The life of the poor Tucker family, that worked as cotton pluggers and decided to get their own ground, but nature is against them.

Plot Keywords:

Cotton | Farmer | Disease | Nature | Neighbor

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Zachary Scott	...	Sam Tucker
Betty Field	...	Nona Tucker
J. Carrol Naish	...	Devers
Beulah Bondi	...	Granny Tucker
Percy Kilbride	...	Harmie
Charles Kemper	...	Tim
Blanche Yurka	...	Mama Tucker
Norman Lloyd	...	Finlay
Estelle Taylor	...	Lizzie
Paul Harvey	...	Ruston
Noreen Nash	...	Becky Devers
Jack Norworth	...	Dr. White
Nestor Paiva	...	Bartender
Paul E. Burns	...	Uncle Pete Tucker (as Paul Burns)
Jay Gilpin	...	Jot Tucker

Also Known As:

Hold Autumn in Your Heart (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Jean Renoir Productions

Trivia:

Based on the novel "Hold Autumn in your Hand", by George Sessions Perry, which won the first National Book Award in 1941.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Precious Images (1986)

Moving; a near masterpiece

Renoir was still a master and had definitely not lost his touch when he made this saga about a year in the life of a desperately poor farming family trying to make it. The only thing that mars it, keeping it from rating a 10, are the cutesy-poo children and the saccharine music on the soundtrack, making it perfectly clear exactly how you were supposed to feel at any given moment. I suppose these were necessary nods to Hollywood conventions of the time. Kudos must go to Zachary Scott for the courage of his performance in the lead. An underrated actor, Scott was nearly always cast playing lounge lizards and other assorted slimeballs. Here he appears without his mustache and is almost unrecognizable. Given that Scott aspired to a career as a Gable-type leading man, this role was not a good career move. But it is definitely the performance of his career, and along with the equally outstanding performance of Betty Field, makes the film. Incidentally, I could have done without the over the top performance of Beulah Bondi as Granny; throughout the film I kept hoping Scott would strangle her.