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To me, this movie is perfection.

Absolutely brilliant

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This movie is based on a book by excellent American novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It has to do with a family living on a farm many years ago. They are just barely making it and are having to deal with thieves and other threats to their farm. Jodi is a young boy, the only surviving son after many childhood deaths. He is a bright, kind boy, but his mother has turned harsh from all her tribulations. He longs for a pet, but there is barely enough for the family to eat. When a doe dies the fawn is removed and Jodi takes care of it. The problem is that the little critter can't stay away from the family's corn crop. The ending to this film is really quite sad and real. There was little sentiment in the West when a bit of food could be the difference between life and death. Gregory Peck is excellent as the father who would love to provide better for his family. A classic American story.

This is a great movie! It was nominated for several Oscars including: Best Actor (Gregory Peck); Best Actress(Jane Wyman); Best Director (Clarence Brown) and Best Picture. Claude Jarman, Jr. did receive a special Oscar as a child actor. I have read the book, and it is better. I consider Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's novel to be one of the best coming-of-age novels ever written. It is full of symbolism. But, one can easily relate to Jody at any age, and even without the symbolism. Any slight reservations I have about the movie are only related to my comparison between the greatness of the book over the greatness of the movie. It is hard to capture literary symbolism in a movie, but this movie, comes close to "hitting the mark." Jane Wyman is very good as Jody's hardened mother, Orry Baxter, who has learned to be disappointed with life and its hardships. Gregory Peck plays Jody's father, Penny Baxter, who wants to let Jody (Claude Jarman, Jr.) enjoy the joys of childhood as long as he can before facing hardships of the world. Flag, Jody's adapted fawn, is the joy of his life. The movie may overplay the traits of these three characters a bit to them drive home. That is, near the beginning of the movie, Wyman may seem a bit too hard, Peck may seem a bit too interested in Jody's happiness, and Jody may seem a bit too romantic about life. But, one soon overlooks any of these exaggerations and becomes involved in the story. Claude Jarman, Jr.won a Special Oscar for this role as a young boy of 12 when this picture was made. The character of Fodderwing strikes me as something of a Christ figure in this movie.

There's a lot to like about this film, as well as some things that I didn't like. I had long avoided watching this film, probably because of seeing it in black and white on t.v. when I was young. Seeing it in color...what a difference! The photography is stunning, and in my view, remarkable, particularly in scenes such as the bear chase. My mother lived in Florida most of her life, in this general area, and although I only visited, I always thought central Florida with its swamps and lakes was always quite beautiful, particularly in the mornings. And, the acting here is fine, both on the part of Gregory Peck and the child.One of my complaints about this movie is how such a loving father would be married to such an old grump of a mother. I guess it's possible, but it just seems somewhat unlikely. And, personally, I just didn't care for child actor Claude Jarman.Maybe I'm just a softie -- even though I'm a retired school principal -- but in different ways I found both of these parents to be cruel-hearted. So, thumbs down to the story and the film...at least that's my view.

I like a good coming of age movie but this movie is just too melodramatic and sappy for my taste. I mean, just look at the movie its cover and it should tell you enough. However the movie was still a greatly compelling one, which was mostly due to its visuals.This movie simply has some superior Technicolor camera-work in it. The colors are incredible and it's simply beautiful all. It's not surprising that both the cinematography and the art-direction won an Academy Award for this movie. It sets the right tone for the movie its atmosphere and the soul and heart of the movie its story.Well, the movie still mainly has a good main plot-line in it, that tells a good story but it's just that everything around gets presented a bit too over-the-top in terms of its drama. Nevertheless the story for most part will still work out as a compelling one, though it probably will not grab or touch you emotionally.it's pretty nice that this movie has some many great actors in this as well. They surely help to uplift the movie and make it a perfectly watchable one. This movie was one of Gregory Pecks's earliest roles and although it also was far from his best or most memorable one, it shows some of the things to come, from his future acting career. The child-actor Claude Jarman Jr. was also pretty good and credible enough in his dramatic role. I wasn't too fond of Jane Wyman but that had more to do with her character than her acting skills really.The story tends to get a bit messy at times, when it starts to drift away and tries to put too much emotions and drama stuff in it but luckily the movie knows how to restrain itself for most of the time and it keeps its main focus on the father-son relationship of the movie. So it's a pretty well directed movie as well, despite all of the complaints I'm still having about this movie.Certainly a good but above all beautiful movie to look at.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/