God's Little Acre (film)
Encyclopedia
God's Little Acre is a 1958 American
film
of Erskine Caldwell
's 1933
novel
. It was directed by Anthony Mann
and shot in black and white by master cinematographer
Ernest Haller
.
The film was as controversial as the novel, although unlike its source material there was no prosecution for obscenity. Though both book and film were laced throughout with racy innuendo calling into question the issue of marital fidelity, it was the film adaptation that may have been the more alarming, inasmuch as it portrayed a popular uprising - or Marxist
insurrection - in the southern
United States
by laid-off millworkers
trying to gain control of the factory equipment on which their jobs depended. Philip Yordan
was officially given credit for the screenplay
, but it was actually by Ben Maddow
. Since Maddow was blacklist
ed for his radical, and suspected Communist activities during the 1950s Red Scare, working without credit was the only way he could successfully submit screenplays.
When it was first released, audiences under eighteen years of age were prohibited from viewing what were perceived to be numerous sexy scenes throughout, though in recent decades the film's scandalous reputation has diminished. Though ultimately a box office
failure upon first release, the film has frequently been aired on television.
), a widower, and his two daughters, live in the backwoods of Georgia
during the Great Depression
. While Ty Ty searches for gold
on his farm, his son-in-law Will (Aldo Ray
) cheats on his wife Rosamund (Helen Westcott
) with Griselda (Tina Louise
).
The movie opens with Ty Ty and his sons digging a deep hole. He has been digging for gold on his land for 15 years. Pluto Swint (Buddy Hackett
) arrives at Ty Ty's farm to let the farmer know he's running for sheriff, and would appreciate it if he'd remember him when it came time to come to the polls and cast his ballot. Swint is invited to come around back where Darlin' Jill (Fay Spain
) is taking a bath in an outdoor bathtub
positioned near a handpump and spigot. She asks him to pump some more water into the bathtub (the camera never dips lower than the top of the bathtub). He is asked to keep his eyes closed, but takes a pleasurable peek.
Ty Ty spends most of his time digging holes in his farm, constantly searching for the treasure his grandfather left him. Consequently the farm has suffered from years of neglect. He could have turned a profit any time during those years if only he had bought some seed and planted it in the fields but, believing that a vast amount of gold
had been buried somewhere on his property, he thinks that it is only a matter of time before he finds where it was buried. (In the book, Ty Ty remarks to Swint that gold nuggets have been found on his land here and there, but never more than a nugget or two. In the movie, however, his constant searching for buried gold appears to be making his farm worth less with each coming year.)
The seductive lure of easy gold a mere shovel or two away is actually leading him to squander his inheritance
. If his real treasure lies in his daughters, the viewer is invited to gauge the depth of that genealogical reserve, inasmuch as Darlin' Jill appears to be a woman of equally easy morals.
In the belief that having an albino with him in his quest for treasure will bring him great fortune, Ty Ty transports and wrongfully imprisons Dave Dawson (Michael Landon
), a man with white hair and pink eyes, demanding that he help him locate the buried treasure. Ty Ty reasons that it is not actually wrongful detainment, because the albino at any time could lead him to the treasure and thereby earn his release. In anticipation of a potential find he changes the location of a plot of land allocated to the church in a tithing relationship (known as God's Little Acre, hence the title), in order to keep any gold found there for himself. He moves the plot's marker, a large, ramshackle cross, to the side of the house. but lo and behold that is exactly where the divining rod in the hands of the albino comes to rest, supposedly indicating where the gold is buried. However, seeing that the divining rod was pulling the albino towards the side of the house, Ty Ty had again pulled the marker out of the ground explaining that God told him to move it, thereby absolving him from giving any gold found in this new spot to the church. He replants the marker farther away on the edge of a pond for it "to be cooler".
In the middle of the night Will leaves his house, followed by Griselda. He breaks open the mill's gates and enters the property. At first she distracts him from his purpose and they kiss. He then escorts her back to the gates and asks the growing (but in the film relatively silent) crowd to restrain her. He reenters and turns on the power, and the machines reactivate to the cheers of the crowd.
Hearing the rioters' assembly and the mill's power turned on, the caretaker comes from an inside office and shoots Will for trespassing. He staggers outside and the crowd's cheers turn to silence. They carry his body back to his house. Griselda enters to tell his wife the bad news, but she cries out that she already knows what has happened.
(Aside from the racy bathtub scene and several shots of Griselda's pounding cleavage, what most prompted calls for "God's Little Acre" to be blacklisted was the storming of the mills. Since the entire town's economy depends on the mills, the dilemma the people face is evocative of the dilemma faced in the 1986 film Gung Ho
.)
Implicitly, at this point the tide in the county elections turns irreversibly. The populist Pluto Swint is elected sheriff, replacing the incumbent.
The Walden family squabble after Will's funeral, particularly over Griselda's actions at the mill, and the numerous affections which she attracts from the other sons. The family ultimately decide to give up searching for gold.
The film ends with them contentedly ploughing for the first time in years. Ty Ty finds the blade of an old shovel in the ground, and speculates about whether the gold might lie in that spot. As he begins digging again, the camera pans to the pond and the final resting place of the marker for God's Little Acre.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
of Erskine Caldwell
Erskine Caldwell
Erskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South like the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was...
's 1933
1933 in literature
The year 1933 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 17 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.* James Joyce's Ulysses is allowed into United States.-New books:...
novel
God's Little Acre
God's Little Acre is a 1933 novel by Erskine Caldwell, which was made into a film of the same name in 1958.The novel was so controversial that the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice attempted to censor it, leading to the author's arrest and trial for obscenity...
. It was directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
and shot in black and white by master cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Ernest Haller
Ernest Haller
Ernest Haller, A.S.C. also credited as Ernie B. Haller, , was an American cinematographer.Born in Los Angeles, California, Haller joined Biograph Studios as an actor in 1914, then began to freelance as a cinematographer...
.
The film was as controversial as the novel, although unlike its source material there was no prosecution for obscenity. Though both book and film were laced throughout with racy innuendo calling into question the issue of marital fidelity, it was the film adaptation that may have been the more alarming, inasmuch as it portrayed a popular uprising - or Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
insurrection - in the southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by laid-off millworkers
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
trying to gain control of the factory equipment on which their jobs depended. Philip Yordan
Philip Yordan
Philip Yordan was an American screenwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s who also produced several films.He was also known as a highly regarded script doctor...
was officially given credit for the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, but it was actually by Ben Maddow
Ben Maddow
Ben Maddow was a prolific screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 70s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began his career working within the American documentary movement in the 30s.In 1936 he co-founded the short-lived left-wing newsreel The World Today...
. Since Maddow was blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed for his radical, and suspected Communist activities during the 1950s Red Scare, working without credit was the only way he could successfully submit screenplays.
When it was first released, audiences under eighteen years of age were prohibited from viewing what were perceived to be numerous sexy scenes throughout, though in recent decades the film's scandalous reputation has diminished. Though ultimately a box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
failure upon first release, the film has frequently been aired on television.
Plot
Ty Ty Walden (Robert RyanRobert Ryan
Robert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
), a widower, and his two daughters, live in the backwoods of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. While Ty Ty searches for gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
on his farm, his son-in-law Will (Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray was an American actor.-Life and career:Ray was born in Pen Argyl, PA, to an Italian family of five brothers and one sister. His brother Mario lettered in football at USC in the years 1952-54...
) cheats on his wife Rosamund (Helen Westcott
Helen Westcott
Helen Westcott was an American stage and screen actor and former child actor....
) with Griselda (Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
).
The movie opens with Ty Ty and his sons digging a deep hole. He has been digging for gold on his land for 15 years. Pluto Swint (Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
) arrives at Ty Ty's farm to let the farmer know he's running for sheriff, and would appreciate it if he'd remember him when it came time to come to the polls and cast his ballot. Swint is invited to come around back where Darlin' Jill (Fay Spain
Fay Spain
Fay Spain was an American actress in motion pictures and television. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona.-Theater apprentice:...
) is taking a bath in an outdoor bathtub
Bathtub
A bath , bathtub , or tub is a large container for holding water in which a person may bathe . Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally waterproof finished wood...
positioned near a handpump and spigot. She asks him to pump some more water into the bathtub (the camera never dips lower than the top of the bathtub). He is asked to keep his eyes closed, but takes a pleasurable peek.
Ty Ty spends most of his time digging holes in his farm, constantly searching for the treasure his grandfather left him. Consequently the farm has suffered from years of neglect. He could have turned a profit any time during those years if only he had bought some seed and planted it in the fields but, believing that a vast amount of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
had been buried somewhere on his property, he thinks that it is only a matter of time before he finds where it was buried. (In the book, Ty Ty remarks to Swint that gold nuggets have been found on his land here and there, but never more than a nugget or two. In the movie, however, his constant searching for buried gold appears to be making his farm worth less with each coming year.)
The seductive lure of easy gold a mere shovel or two away is actually leading him to squander his inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
. If his real treasure lies in his daughters, the viewer is invited to gauge the depth of that genealogical reserve, inasmuch as Darlin' Jill appears to be a woman of equally easy morals.
In the belief that having an albino with him in his quest for treasure will bring him great fortune, Ty Ty transports and wrongfully imprisons Dave Dawson (Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
), a man with white hair and pink eyes, demanding that he help him locate the buried treasure. Ty Ty reasons that it is not actually wrongful detainment, because the albino at any time could lead him to the treasure and thereby earn his release. In anticipation of a potential find he changes the location of a plot of land allocated to the church in a tithing relationship (known as God's Little Acre, hence the title), in order to keep any gold found there for himself. He moves the plot's marker, a large, ramshackle cross, to the side of the house. but lo and behold that is exactly where the divining rod in the hands of the albino comes to rest, supposedly indicating where the gold is buried. However, seeing that the divining rod was pulling the albino towards the side of the house, Ty Ty had again pulled the marker out of the ground explaining that God told him to move it, thereby absolving him from giving any gold found in this new spot to the church. He replants the marker farther away on the edge of a pond for it "to be cooler".
In the middle of the night Will leaves his house, followed by Griselda. He breaks open the mill's gates and enters the property. At first she distracts him from his purpose and they kiss. He then escorts her back to the gates and asks the growing (but in the film relatively silent) crowd to restrain her. He reenters and turns on the power, and the machines reactivate to the cheers of the crowd.
Hearing the rioters' assembly and the mill's power turned on, the caretaker comes from an inside office and shoots Will for trespassing. He staggers outside and the crowd's cheers turn to silence. They carry his body back to his house. Griselda enters to tell his wife the bad news, but she cries out that she already knows what has happened.
(Aside from the racy bathtub scene and several shots of Griselda's pounding cleavage, what most prompted calls for "God's Little Acre" to be blacklisted was the storming of the mills. Since the entire town's economy depends on the mills, the dilemma the people face is evocative of the dilemma faced in the 1986 film Gung Ho
Gung Ho (film)
Gung Ho is a 1986 Ron Howard comedy film, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Michael Keaton and Gedde Watanabe. The film's story portrayed the takeover of an American car plant by a Japanese corporation...
.)
Implicitly, at this point the tide in the county elections turns irreversibly. The populist Pluto Swint is elected sheriff, replacing the incumbent.
The Walden family squabble after Will's funeral, particularly over Griselda's actions at the mill, and the numerous affections which she attracts from the other sons. The family ultimately decide to give up searching for gold.
The film ends with them contentedly ploughing for the first time in years. Ty Ty finds the blade of an old shovel in the ground, and speculates about whether the gold might lie in that spot. As he begins digging again, the camera pans to the pond and the final resting place of the marker for God's Little Acre.
Cast
- Robert RyanRobert RyanRobert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
as Ty Ty Walden, a widower - Aldo RayAldo RayAldo Ray was an American actor.-Life and career:Ray was born in Pen Argyl, PA, to an Italian family of five brothers and one sister. His brother Mario lettered in football at USC in the years 1952-54...
as Will Thompson - Tina LouiseTina LouiseTina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
as Griselda - Buddy HackettBuddy HackettBuddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
as Pluto Swint - Jack LordJack LordJohn Joseph Patrick Ryan , best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord appeared in feature films earlier in his career,...
as Buck Walden - Fay SpainFay SpainFay Spain was an American actress in motion pictures and television. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona.-Theater apprentice:...
as Darlin' Jill - Vic MorrowVic MorrowVictor "Vic" Morrow was an American actor whose credits include a starring role in the 1960s TV series Combat!, prominent roles in a handful of other television and cinema dramas, and numerous guest roles on television...
as Shaw Walden - Helen WestcottHelen WestcottHelen Westcott was an American stage and screen actor and former child actor....
as Rosamund - Lance Fuller as Jim Leslie
- Rex IngramRex Ingram (actor)Rex Ingram was an American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life and career:Born near Cairo, Illinois on the Mississippi River, Ingram's father was a steamer fireman on the riverboat Robert E. Lee...
as Uncle Felix - Michael LandonMichael LandonMichael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
as Dave Dawson, the albino