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This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Thanks for the memories!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

In the days before Disneyland & old retirement homes. Florida was best known for the savage and brutal swamp land call the Everglades. Directed by R. John Hugh, the movie showcase how violent, the land can be. The movie tells the story of five Confederate deserters AKA Yellownecks trying to get a sympathetic Seminole to guide them south to the ocean, where a British blockade runner awaits to ferry the fugitives to Cuba. As the five argue at their first meeting, a mortally wounded Indian guide stumbles upon them. Now they have no choice, but to blindly travel through miles of swamp known as the Everglades, using only the sun as reference. This small group encounters many dangerous hazards: a tropical storm, alligators, rattlesnakes, a bobcat, malarial mosquitoes, hostile natives, and quicksand. Can they survive their ordeal or will Mother Nature get the upper hand? Without spoiling the movie, too much, despite its main characters being soldiers, Yellowneck feels least than a war movie and more like a survivor movie. The movie really makes Florida look like, the worst place to be, at the time. I think the movie works in that survival concept. It's hard to root for cowards, but similar civil war films like 1951's The Red Badge of Courage & 2003's Cold Mountain made it work, but giving their audience something in their characters to hook on, mostly redemption or the will to love. It's too bad, that the film felt to make their characters as unlikeable as possible, without giving much to root for. I guess the movie was trying to portray sinners going to the depths of hell. The movie shows their vice, and their punishment for that crime. First off, you got the Colonel (Stephen Courtleigh), whom suffer from alcoholism. His crime was giving drunk orders on the field of battle, which cause many of his men to die. His punishment, was a drought that make him, hallucinating to the point, that he might get himself killed in battle with a Seminole tribe. It's really brilliant if you think about it. The second man, nickname Cockney (Harold Gordon) for his odd English cockney accent that felt like jarring, happens to be very homicidal, and willing to strike anybody that get in his way. His castigation mirrors his actions. While, he's quick on trying to get his comrades killed, he finds himself, paralyzed in fear, in front of snakes. Can he survive or will he die in a lame, but funny death scene? Berry Kroeger stars as the strained and paranoid gold theft, Plunkett. He's by far, the worst of them all in hideous way, but the most humorous character in the film. Without spoiling too much, about what happen to him, let's just say, the price of his crimes isn't worth it. While, Plunkett is the worst character and well developed, the movie two best characters weren't. They don't even have names nor characteristics. One is known as the Sergeant (Lin McCarthy) and the other is just 'the Kid' (Bill Mason). Since, there was no strong reasons to root for any of these guys. The ending of the film felt very anti-climax. I give the movie, some credit. It really did capture, the harsh life in the Everglades. The scenes that take place during a storm were actually shot during a hurricane that visited Florida during the shooting schedule. It's by far, the best part of the film. The Snakes and Alligators were real, but it was awkwardly shot, with the actors. The film really did lost its menace look, when the alligators look like they didn't want, no part in this film. Another problem of the film with the film copy. Since the movie is public domain, most of the DVDs are in poor production. Lots of the footage hasn't aged well. Lots of film dust and scratches in the visuals. The music score by Laurence Rosenthal was alright, but the audio is a bit out of sync. It make it difficult or even painful to get through. While, Technicolor process were expensive and difficultly in the 1950s. There were versions of this film that were in color. The original film was made in Trucolor and released by Republic Pictures, but the copies of that version are rare. The version, I got on my DVD, wasn't in color. It was in black and white. It really hurt the film. The problem lies in that fact that the Everglades had plenty of color contrast, but without dark and light contrasts, the black and white footage looks flat and white-wash. Overall: Yellowneck was an interesting premise that could had better. Left Much to Be Desired. Hope, one day, it gets the remade, it deserves.

An interesting plot premise is killed with poor direction and a lot of overacting with Yellowneck. There's also a distinct lack of characters who you really root for to get out of the Everglades.Republic released this film in 1955 about five men who are Confederate Army deserters and not some of the greatest specimens of manhood you'll ever want to encounter. Lin McCarthy, Billl Mason, Harold Gordon, and Berry Kroeger are the deserters and from some of the names you know that by the type of roles they've played. Later on they're joined by Stephen Courtleigh, a colonel who deserted the Star And Bars. He's got pretensions, but deep down he's no better than the other four.For the one and there is only one who makes it there is then the minor problem of crossing 90 miles of ocean to Cuba. Still it is an achievement to have survived the Everglades and all that inhabit it.If you care to watch you can find out which one survives.

This is a strange little film about five confederate deserters trying to make their way through the Everglades to escape capture. They find the wilderness to be a less merciful enemy than the union, as they battle hurricanes, snakes, Senecas, quicksand, and each other. Essentially, this is a raw, real - but not realistic, struggle for survival pitting men who have been branded cowards against nature and other men.Although the film is over-acted, over-dramatized and over-long, it made a lasting impression on me as an adolescent. I first saw Yellowneck when I was between 9 and 12 years old. When I watched it last night, I remembered having seen it then about a quarter of the way through the film. There are aspects of this film which, at a very young age, I found frightening. As an adult who frequently works in environments such as the one depicted in the film, I can only reflect on my own (and the writer's) ignorant fearfulness today.The script has too many soliloquies and generally over-dramatizes most of the story. The acting is OK, but the script forces almost all of the cast members to go overboard frequently. Lin McCarthy and Bill Mason both turn in solid performances. The directing, cinematography and editing are all good, but the film could have been 10-15 minutes shorter and just as good. As much as I appreciate character development, a few of the soliloquies and conversation scenes might have improved the film had they been left out.Weakly recommended.

First movie my father co-produced with R. John Hugh. Used color as a first since many movies were in b/w in 50s. Although I was too small to remember this movie being made, I played with rolls of cutting room floor scraps for years.This was Laurence Rosenthal's first movie music score. He was a student at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. He went on to score more movies and several TV shows in the 90s. Interestingly, a promotion still picture my father had of him was in the newspaper 40 years after it was originally taken. Guess no one ages in the movie business.The scenes that take place during a storm were actually shot during a hurricane that visited Florida during the shooting schedule. Snakes used in the scenes came from a local tourist trap called Alligator Farm. Many of the exterior scenes were made in Altamonte Springs area.The quicksand scene was actually a pit that was dug about chest deep and filled with leaves, etc. The actor got in and faked the sinking part. The hand going down was actually a closeup of him just pulling down his arm (trick photography 50s style). The Florida panther that jumps out of the tree was a fake that was pushed from behind by a guy with a pole. Looks real though.Yellowneck was R. John Hugh's first stab at writing, directing, producing, et AL, a movie in Florida. The world premiere was held at the former Astor Theater in Orlando. I have the still pictures of the premiere. Lin McCarthy was on hand for the opening night. He later went on to do television.