... so completely depressing I would rather jab my eyeballs out with forks rather than ever watch this again. I watched it once all the way through just so I could write the review. That's it. Same for Old Yeller, and that had Likable adult characters! I get that Jane Wyman is playing the part of the mother as cold and hard because all of her other children have died and she doesn't want to get too attached to this one. But she goes too far in my opinion. Any kid raised this way will have no attachment to mom whatsoever when he reaches adulthood. It is said that Gregory Peck is supposed to be making up for mom's coldness by being close to son Jody. But why doesn't he call him by name? Why does he weirdly keep calling him "Boy". Have I accidentally wandered into a Tarzan film? And then into this sweet boy Jody's dismal life comes a pet - a fawn. But all does not stay well. The yearling becomes destructive to the crops and must be killed, and what's worse is that Jody is made to finish the job! His best friend Fodderwing, a cripple, dies as a child. So everyone Jody is really attached to is dead. He is gone three days after the fawn's killing, and then dad acts puzzled and even somewhat indifferent when he returns? As for mom, she hardly looks away from her housework to notice Jody's return. At least if mom dies ,embalming will not be an issue - if they had that at the time - because ice water does not coagulate.
For those of you who say this is a classic, I agree only from a standpoint of it being finely crafted and timeless. For those of you who said it warms your heart, see your doctor immediately. The only explanation can be a coronary.
If you want to see a tale of how hard life can be that did warm my heart try to track down a copy of "Mrs. Mike" with Dick Powell as a Mountie trying to get his wife, who comes from a civilized place, accustomed to the death, disease, and starvation that accompanies life in the great white north. That one DID warm my heart.
I know this review will not be popular, but it is how I see it. I give it a seven for fine craftsmanship only, and I would never let a child under ten watch it unless I was prepared to stay up all night with said child while he or she has nightmares.
For those of you who say this is a classic, I agree only from a standpoint of it being finely crafted and timeless. For those of you who said it warms your heart, see your doctor immediately. The only explanation can be a coronary.
If you want to see a tale of how hard life can be that did warm my heart try to track down a copy of "Mrs. Mike" with Dick Powell as a Mountie trying to get his wife, who comes from a civilized place, accustomed to the death, disease, and starvation that accompanies life in the great white north. That one DID warm my heart.
I know this review will not be popular, but it is how I see it. I give it a seven for fine craftsmanship only, and I would never let a child under ten watch it unless I was prepared to stay up all night with said child while he or she has nightmares.