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Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr., Chill Wills, Forrest Tucker ... see more see more... , June Lockhart , Donn Gift , Margaret Wycherly , Arthur Hohl , George Mann , Clem Bevans , Joan Wells , Matt Willis , Jeff York , Victor Kilian , Houseley Stevenson Sr. , Henry Travers , Dan White , Jane Green , Frank Eldredge , Robert Porterfield

Based on the novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling is set in post-Civil War Florida. Claude Jarman Jr. plays Jody Baxter, the lonely son of just-getting-by farmers Pa and Ma Baxter (Gregory ... read more read more...Peck and Jane Wyman). With all of his siblings dead and buried, Jody yearns to have a pet of some sort. When Pa is forced by circumstances to kill a doe, the animal's fawn-the yearling of the title-is adopted by Jody. The boy's love for the animal does not alter the fact that the fawn is eating all of the Baxters' crops. Sadly, Pa tells Jody that he must kill the yearling before all their crops are destroyed. Jody can't bring himself to do this, so he sets the animal free in the wilds. Time and again, however, the yearling returns to the farm. Finally, Ma Baxter, who'd been against having the fawn on the property in the first place, shoots and wounds the animal. Now, Jody has no choice: rather than see his beloved yearling writhe in agony, he kills it. Though this results in a rift between himself and his family, Jody at last realizes that, by taking the responsiblity of saving the farm at the expense of his own feelings, he has also taken the first step towards manhood. He himself is a "yearling" no more. MGM had intended to film The Yearling in 1941 with a different cast and director, but a series of personality clashes delayed production for five years. Watching the inspired performances of Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman and Claude Jarman Jr., it is nearly impossible to imagine the film with its originally intended cast of Spencer Tracy, Anne Revere and the unknown Gene Eckman. The studio had also intended to lens the film on location in Florida, but in the end it proved more practical and expedient to shoot in the studio and its environs. Oscars went to the Technicolor photography of Charles Rosher, Leonard Smith and Arthur Arling, and to the art direction/set decoration work of Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse and Edwin B. Willis. Originally released at 128 minutes, the film was reissued in a butchered 94 minute version; steer clear of this one and opt for the still-available original. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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70% liked it

3,565 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

12 critics

G, 2 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: Clarence Brown

Release Date: December 18, 1946

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DVD Release Date: September 3, 2002

Stats: 158 reviews

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Gregory Peck in The Yearling Gregory Peck in The Yearling Yearling Claude Jarman Jr. (Kid) Oscars2 The Yearling Oscars1 Autobioghaphy The Yearling Ma holding son The poster Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman in The Yearling The Yearling Jane Wyman in The Yearling Jane Wyman in The Yearling
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Flixster Reviews (158)

  • fb733768972
    January 27, 2010
    fb733768972
    WOW! FANTASTIC! Good thing OZ was made in year 1939, because that would have stolen the prize but, I have to say that this movie is comparable to the Wizard of Oz!
  • dreamfaeries
    October 17, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    Wow... I so cried at the end.
  • jakkijelene
    June 13, 2008
    jakkijelene
    Nice family film about a boy and his bond with a deer. The relationship cultivates after his Father's life is saved at the expense of the fawn's mother. The boy feels obligated to care for the baby Fawn and learns many important and difficult life lessons in the meantime. Clau... read morede Jarman Jr. shines as the child actor and Gregory Peck gives one of his finest performances. A good, wholesome film for anyone to see!
  • terryc1000
    February 20, 2008
    terryc1000
    From the auther, Margerie Rawlings, this classic is by far one of the most wonderful movies of it's time about a young boy coming of age and learning the heartache of suvival and making painful adult choices in life.

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Critic Reviews

Nell Minow
December 29, 2010
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media

Thoughtful adaptation of the prize-winning novel. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
June 20, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A heart-warming 19th-century family drama about surviving in the Florida wilderness. Full Review

Steve Crum
March 30, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Family classic, beautifully realized, involving a pet deer.

Emanuel Levy
January 30, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Along with Lassie Come Home, this is one of MGM's classic family-animal melodramas, based on Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' novel, beautifully acted by Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman and Claude Jarman Jr.(in his... Full Review

Carol Cling
March 10, 2006
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Classy family classic of the old school.

Staci Layne Wilson
January 12, 2005
Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com

A forever young, forever fresh family film. One of the best. Full Review

James Sanford
January 23, 2004
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette

A classic tearjerker, photographed in heavenly Technicolor

John J. Puccio
October 21, 2002
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

...a family classic in every sense of the word.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

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The Yearling Trivia

  • Marjorie Rawlings classic about a boy finding a young orphaned deer?  Answer »
  • He was nominated for Best Actor for 1946's "The Yearling".  Answer »
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