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Zachary Scott, Betty Field, Beulah Bondi, Bunny Sunshine, Percy Kilbride ... see more see more... , J. Carrol Naish , Jay Gilpin , Charles Kemper , Blanche Yurka , Norman Lloyd , Nestor Paiva , Estelle Taylor , Dorothy Granger , Florence Bates , Paul E. Burns , Paul Harvey , Earl Hodgins , Noreen Nash , Jack Norworth , Rex the Dog , Almira Sessions , Jean Vanderwilt

The Southerner was Jean Renoir's favorite of his American films. Shot on location, the film stars Zachary Scott as a sharecropper who yearns for a place of his own. On a tiny, scraggly patch of land, ... read more read more...Scott tries to make a go of things, along with his wife Betty Field, his grandmother Beulah Bondi, and his children Jean Vanderwilt (aka Bunny Sunshine) and Jay Gilpin. Though a proud, independent man, Scott is forced by circumstance to seek help from neighboring farmer J. Carroll Naish, whose life experience have left him bitter and vituperative. The two men become enemies, but are reunited by their mutual love of fishing. Scott suffers a setback when a rainstorm destroys his cotton crop. He is about to go wearily back to working for others (specifically, factory owner Charles Kemper, who also narrates the film) when he is convinced by his never-say-die family to persevere on his own. Director Jean Renoir also wrote the script for The Southerner--in fluent English rather than French, as mental exercise. Told at a leisurely, unhurried pace, the film is the one American Renoir effort that comes closest to his "slice of life" dramas of the 1930s. The Southerner was not a box office hit, but did win the effusive praise of critics, not to mention the Venice Film Festival "best picture" award. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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66% liked it

797 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

11 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Jean Renoir

Release Date: January 1, 1945

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DVD Release Date: July 6, 1999

Stats: 33 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (33)

  • adammahler1
    July 6, 2010
    adammahler1
    Not sure if it was the terrible audio, but I liked this so much more after re-watching. The critical controversy about this when it came out was the question of naturalism, in the geography and in the performances. James Agee thought Zachary Taylor, from Austin, Texas, and Bondi ... read morewere the authentic ones, and Betty Field was awful. Today, people seem to think Taylor is too doe-eyed and Bondi should have been on Hee-Haw. These performances contain their own contradictions. Parts of what Taylor and Bondi did are understated and perfect and contrast with moments which play more like theatrical tableaus. Norman Lloyd, in his role as a slavish hick peon, plays it like Harpo Marx in sackcloth and no props -- with just a little makeup he could be part of the family in Hills Have Eyes. Betty Field may clearly be un-Texan, but she is consistently charming while never playing to the camera, with an unglamorous, non-naive appeal. The style of the film itself compares to Bondi and Taylor. There are many moments, and many close-ups, that seem throwbacks to the upfront emotionalism of silent films. There are quick shots of the earth and the river that would fit within a modern documentary and not as antique inserts. At one point, Taylor leaves his wife crying in the dirt to go speak directly to God, Job-like. There are three angles of Taylor moving across the hot soil, quick shots, and suddenly he's delivering a languid soliloquy in a medium shot, his big eyes pointing up like in early Christian painting, with a blank backdrop for a bland sky behind him -- "Why'd you make it all so purty ..." Maybe the movie becomes beautiful since the audience has to draw out all the naturalism, physical and internal, that's there.
  • webalina
    January 17, 2010
    webalina
    A man and his family -- including a gripey old grandmother entertainingly played by Beulah Bondi -- buy land and try to make it on their own as cottton farmers in Texas. It's very similar to the Good Earth, in that the family endures hardships -- financial, family, health -- alon... read moreg the way to fulfilling their dreams, but The Southerner isn't quite as dark in tone. A little sappy at times, but still a decent film.
  • jjnxn
    April 7, 2007
    jjnxn
    beautifully acted
  • codyfranklin2
    January 3, 2010
    codyfranklin2
    Good film from Jean Renoir about how much it sucks to be a farmer. The film is about a farmer and his family trying to grow cotton in Texas and all of their hardships. It's not as good as Renoir's french work, but is very compelling. Zachary Scott gives a very strong performance ... read moreas the farmer who must work himself into the ground to make his farm work. The film is a little predictable and the print I saw wasn't the greatest, but still worth a watch with good acting.
  • peilo
    December 8, 2008
    peilo
    12/08/08 Downloaded and watched it

    Previously watched it on AMC or TMC, and fell in love with the story and couldn't wait to find a copy

View All The Southerner Reviews

Critic Reviews

May 8, 2007
Variety

It may be trenchant realism, but these are times when there is a greater need. Escapism is the word. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

A rich, unusual and sensitive delineation of a segment of the American scene well worth filming and seeing. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Jean Renoir's 1945 examination of dirt farmers in the American south is probably his finest Hollywood film, which is to say a masterpiece. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 20, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The land is pictured as being so real that you can almost taste it. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 8, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Made while Frenchman Renoir was in Hollywood in exile, this rural portrait is a better film than Swamp Water, showing the helmer's penchant for meticulous attention to detail and lyrical realism, for ... Full Review

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Renoir's most successful American film, loose, free-flowing, honest. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
August 1, 2005
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Essential viewing. Full Review

July 30, 2003
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A remarkably naturalistic portrayal of one family's struggle to start a farm in the South. Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

You can almost feel the land and sense the spirit guiding this most heartfelt of movies. Full Review

Dan Callahan
May 1, 2003
Dan Callahan, ToxicUniverse.com

Jean Renoir is perhaps the greatest of all film directors. He is certainly the most lovable. Full Review

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  • In which movie did Clint Eastwood portray an American Southerner seeking vengeance on the people who murdered his family and destroyed his farm?  Answer »
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