Old Yeller (1957 film)

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Old Yeller

Directed by	Robert Stevenson
Produced by	Bill Anderson
Written by	Fred Gipson William Tunberg
Starring	Dorothy McGuire Fess Parker
Music by	Oliver Wallace Will Schaefer
Cinematography	Charles P. Boyle
Editing by	Stanley E. Johnson
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	December 25, 1957
Running time	83 mins
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Old Yeller is a classic 1957 film directed by Robert Stevenson, produced by Walt Disney Productions, and released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution. The dog character which starred, Old Yeller, was introduced in the 1956 book, Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson (Frederick Benjamin Gipson). The book won the Newbery Honor the following year and was made into the film, Old Yeller, which was set in post-Civil War Texas. While most of the film consists of light-hearted scenes reminiscent of nature documentaries, there is also some violence and the film includes an emotionally powerful and violent ending. It is the first 'One Boy and his Animal' film made by Disney, and its success spawned more films of this theme, as well as a sequel, Savage Sam.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Coates family consists of father Jim (Fess Parker), mother Katie (Dorothy McGuire), older son Travis (Tommy Kirk), and younger son Arliss (Kevin Corcoran). The Coates are so poor that their children have never seen a dollar bill, other than now-worthless Confederate dollars.

While Jim is away on a cattle drive, an "old yeller dog" visits the family uninvited. Travis unsuccessfully tries to shoo him off, while his younger brother Arliss is crazy about him. Their mother intervenes and Yeller eventually gains Travis' respect and love till the two are close in the way only a boy and his dog can be close.

At one point, the rightful owner of Yeller, Mr. Sanderson (Chuck Connors) shows up looking for his dog. He realizes that this family needs the dog more than he does and agrees to trade the dog to Arliss in exchange for a horny toad and a home-cooked meal.

Toward the end, Yeller develops rabies after being bitten while defending the family from an infected wolf. To protect his family, Travis tearfully shoots Yeller and in doing so takes a painful first step into manhood.

Jeff York and Beverly Washburn also appeared in the film. The dog who portrayed Old Yeller in the film was named Spike and was handled by famous Hollywood animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax.

Soon after Old Yeller, McGuire, Kirk, and Corcoran also appeared in the Disney film, Swiss Family Robinson.

[edit] Movie Facts

In the scene where Yeller fights with the wolf, the "wolf" is actually a Siberian Husky, and the "fight" is actually the two dogs playing, with the growls and fighting sounds piped in. The fight with the bear in the early stages of the movie is also the same playing.

There are only 7 characters in the movie (unless you count Ol' Yeller, Savage Sam [Yeller's son], and Ol' Bess, the cow. This would bring the total to 10).