God's Little Acre

Amazon.com

Hard to believe that Erskine Caldwell's God's Little Acre was, for years, the bestselling novel ever published. This 1958 film adaptation gives little reason for that status, being a curiously inert combination of sweaty Southern passion and rustic comedy. Thanks to director Anthony Mann's exacting eye for outdoor photography, the film is a pleasure to look at, and Elmer Bernstein's score makes it swell to listen to. Robert Ryan, always good at obsessives, plays a patriarch convinced gold is buried on his farm. He's aided by a gallery of future TV stars: Tina Louise (Gilligan's Island) as the lip-lickin' sexpot every living male tries to seduce; Jack Lord and Vic Morrow as her husband and brother; Buddy Hackett as a would-be politician; Michael Landon as an albino (thus giving new meaning to the term "white trash"). This gumbo has some fun flavors, but they don't quite blend. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Unique story line.......2007-05-12

I found this movie quite entertaining. It had a unique story line.

God's Little Acre.......2007-02-12

What could be funnier than the premise that God has his own little plot of land (doesn't it all belong to him?) which keeps getting moved around to make way for yet another fruitless dig looking for gold where none has ever been found. Set in the old (1920's-30's)poor south, poor farm owners dependent on their share croppers working their farm which provides them all a living because the resident farm owners are too lazy to farm and too busy digging for gold, the property is all pot holed from past digs and God's cross that indicates his ownership keeps getting moved around when the patriarch of the family gets a new inspiration where to dig and it is usually right where the cross has been relocated. Lust and greed, longing and jealousy, violence and avarice, faith and hope, all in one story. Erskine Caldwell was a great writer, this and Tobacco Road are hoots, great actors star in this flick. Of course it is slightly sanitized from the actual book but it's still pretty faithful to the story line.

5 stars for "product" value.......2006-04-28

This movie may not be to everyone's liking... but then again, what is? It has many pluses: Directed by Anthony Mann, Music by Elmer Bernstein, a great selection of wonderful 1950s "heads" (Vic Morrow, Buddy Hackett, Jack Lord, etc), sultry Tina Louise and her lovely cleavage...

But here is what you get for your money:

A very good black & white print
Wide screen, letterboxed... but NOT anamorphic
Decent Mono audio
No extras..not even a menu

That's it!
...and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

This review is for the budget-priced Geneon dvd with Tina Louise on the cover.. NOT the out-of-print disc from Image Entertainment.

All in all, this is a pretty good deal for the money. At under five bucks, you can't expect too much.. I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent print quality of this 1958 American gem.

Pushing The Limits.......2004-01-28

Perhaps one seeing this film for the first time, in this day and age, will not realize just how racy this picture was when it was produced (in 1958). I watch it now, and I still can't believe that they "got away with it". The picture, a yarn concerning a Georgia hayseed family, took the "Ma And Pa Kettle" concept to new heights!

The gist of the story is that Ti-Ti, and his strapping sons, are digging for his pappy's gold, which, legend has it, is buried somewhere on their Georgia farm. They've been digging in the ground for fifteen years.....and haven't found anything yet. The characters seem, to me, to be the basis for the Clampetts on the Beverly Hillbillies........especially Darlin' Jill (who surely was the model for Ellie Mae).

The picture includes one of the hottest forbidden love scenes to ever be committed to celuloid (between Tina Louise and Aldo Ray). This was back in the days when things had to be creatively SUGGESTED (to avoid censorship). Things are different today, when anything goes and a "love scene" is thrown in for mere titillation, showing yet another improbable, sexual acrobatic endeavor between two participants. This scene between "Griselda" and "Will" has actual BEARING on this story. Those were the days.

It might seem quite campy (it is!). It certainly is hilarious, and even tragic at times. I recommend "GOD'S LITTLE ACRE" highly!

ugh, what drivel.......2002-01-09

I'm a big Mann fan, and i even enjoy his not very good non noir or western films, thunder bay for instance. a great director, but this one stinks. i can't even get up the enthusiasm to criticise it

Average customer rating:

Unique story line
God's Little Acre
5 stars for "product" value
Pushing The Limits
ugh, what drivel

God's Little Acre
Starring: Robert Ryan , Aldo Ray , Buddy Hackett , Jack Lord , and Fay Spain
Director: Anthony Mann
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005R1O5
Release Date: 2001-12-18

Amazon.com

Description

This rollicking look inside the rural Deep South brings to life the primitive, ribald rustics of Erskine Caldwell's steamy bestselling novel. Both humorous and heartrending, this critically-acclaimed film reveals the hidden passions and violent impulses heating up beneath the hot Southern sun, as well as the warmth and humor of everyday life. Directed by Anthony Mann (Cimarron, El Cid), Robert Ryan (The Wild Bunch) gives a stunning performance as the rugged family patriarch. The star-packed cast also includes Tina Louise before being marooned as Ginger on "Gilligan's Island" as the sultry Griselda; "Bonanza's" Little Joe, Michael Landon, playing the albino farmhand Dave Lawson; Jack Lord before "Hawaii 5-0," and funnyman Buddy Hackett.

Customer Reviews:

Unique story line.......2007-05-12

I found this movie quite entertaining. It had a unique story line.

God's Little Acre.......2007-02-12

5 stars for "product" value.......2006-04-28

Pushing The Limits.......2004-01-28

It might seem quite campy (it is!). It certainly is hilarious, and even tragic at times. I recommend "GOD'S LITTLE ACRE" highly!

ugh, what drivel.......2002-01-09

I'm a big Mann fan, and i even enjoy his not very good non noir or western films, thunder bay for instance. a great director, but this one stinks. i can't even get up the enthusiasm to criticise it

DVD:

DVD

DVD