...Still 'Yeller' After All These Years...

Revisiting the memories of long-ago love can be sobering. As one grows, changes, hopefully(?) matures, relationships that were once ruled by primeval surges of hormones morph into cold transactions that can be coolly analyzed in terms of profit and loss. Randomly firing neurons that once sought to burst into self-consuming flame now bring only smoky memories that figuratively slap one with a wet 'what-was-I-thinking' towel.

But there are a few things that invoke memories of relationships exactly as we wish to be recalled. A snippet of a song heard from a passing car that instantly transports us back 25 years, as no time machine could. The sound of young lovers speaking of 'someday' over the noise of the city. The familiar feel and mood of a movie enjoyed many years ago at a Saturday matinee.

"Old Yeller" is a memory of love as fresh as today.

Behind the intro and the swelling music extolling "the best doggone dog in the West!", this film opens with the dog Old Yeller romping through the fields and ponds of the Texas countryside. (It was actually filmed at various locations and soundstages in California.) Old Yeller is obviously a dog without a care.

CHARACTERS
--Yeller--
A stray mutt who shows up at the Coates place one day. "The best doggone dog in the West!" But hard to prove from his first encounters with the family. Portrayed by Spike, a mongrel dog reputedly rescued from an animal pound.

--Jim and Katie Coates--
Fess Parker and Dorothy McGuire star as the 'still-in-love' parents of the Coates family. Parker plays the typical wise 1950s dad, sans the suit and time-warped back to the 1860s. Mcguire plays the 'stay-at-home mom' when 'stay at home' was cool, both in the 1950s and the 1860s. They are comfortable with each other and secure in their common love.

--Travis Coates--
Tommy Kirk stars as the teenage son, struggling to find his place in the family. Strong, smart, kind, and resourceful. Wants nothing more than a horse to codify his becoming an adult.

--Arliss Coates--
Kevin Corcoran plays the prototypical mischievous young boy. Acting on his immediate desires and wondering why the world does not fulfill these desires. His main passion in life is collecting various reptiles and amphibians. And bugging his older brother to the point of distraction.

--Bud and Lisbeth Searcy--
Father and daughter played by Jeff York and Beverly Washburn. Residents of the area. Father serves as comic relief in the middle of the movie as he does his best to imitate the ambition and drive of Pa Kettle. Elizabeth serves as an un-noticed love interest for young Travis. She also owns the dam that bears Yeller's progeny.

--Burn Sanderson--
Chuck Connors stars as the rightful owner of Yeller who comes to claim him. But he realizes the boys' love of the dog and allows young Arliss to swindle him by trading a 'hornie toad' and a home-cooked meal for Yeller. Also warns Travis of the presence of 'hydrophobia' in the wild animals in the area and the need to destroy any animal suspected of being infected.

STORY LINE
The story opens with Jim joining the men of the area in a cattle drive to Kansas. All are apparently going in pursuit of "hard cash", a rare commodity in post Civil War Texas. Young Travis is left to be the man of the house in his father's absence. His main charge, as delivered by his father, is to properly tend to the family corn plot. Travis has been "...aching all over for a horse to ride" which will be his reward for a job well done.

Our first encounter with Old Yeller is watching him chase a rabbit through the prized corn plot, spooking the mule who proceeds to drag the plow through many feet of fence, knocking down a gate and generally raising havoc and destruction.

Old Yeller proceeds to invite himself into the family. He is welcomed by the youngest child who says "I need me a good hunting dog." Keeping Yeller is resisted by Travis because of the destruction he caused to the corn plot and fencing. And because he still fondly remembers a dog from his childhood and will accept no substitute. Of course Mother reminds him of that dog and that Arliss deserves to have a dog also. She welcomes Yeller with "looks like we got a dog."

The older boy, Travis, tests the dog by leaving some meat hanging outside to cure. He purposely hangs the meat low so Yeller can easily reach it. He knows if Yeller eats it, he can easily get rid of the dog. But Yeller easily passes the test, Mother chides Travis for making the challenge so obvious and Travis warms to including Yeller in the family.

To condense the story line, Yeller helps the youngest boy catch fish, protects the family from a cow, bears, pigs, raccoons, a wolf, and lions. Oops sorry, no lions. In one memorable story line he protects young Travis by fighting off a number of wild pigs while the youth makes his escape from them. He is badly injured--'hog cut'--and hidden by Travis from the pigs and vultures. He returns home and brings his Mother back to rescue the near-death Yeller. She performs field surgery on him and the family treks homeward with the fallen hero.

Yeller's final act of courage, fighting off a wolf that attacked the women, leads to him being quarantined for 'hydrophobie'.

When Yeller does in fact succumb to the 'hydrophobie' it is Mother that brings the gun to do what is necessary. But Travis realizes that "he was my dog, I'll do it." A very powerful and well-acted moment.

The rest of the movie is almost anti-climactic from this point. Yeller is buried. Father returns home, bringing gifts for all. Once he is 'caught up' on the Yeller story he has the obligatory father-son talk with Travis about being a man and moving on from pain.

The movie ends with Travis accepting the challenge of raising, and loving, the pup of Yeller.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS FOR ME
The first scene I point out is one of Travis supposedly hunting deer. Endless minutes (or so it seems) are wasted with a sequence of chipmunks or squirrels or whatever chasing each other up and down and around and under a tree while Travis sits there dumbly smiling at their antics. Great small animal training but adds nothing to the movie.

Another is late in the movie when Father returns home. He presents young Arliss with a full blown, feathered, bright yellow Indian headdress. Seems totally out of place in this 1860s Texas locale. Is hard to believe that such a bright, garish headdress would really exist, yet alone be purchased for a child's gift.

The last I will mention is Jim interacting with his wife when he returns home. He gives her the promised "store-bought" dress and she presses it to her form. Jim says "I've been aching to see it on ya." I'll bet. He's been on a cattle drive for months and has finally returned to his home and wife. I'll bet he is aching. A strong line that totally eluded me many years ago but speaks passionately to me now.

MY CONCLUSION
"Old Yeller" is a surprising piece of film history from the Disney Studios. Touted as a family film, it has a fair amount of violence and pain. I would think that young children who have not experienced the death of a pet might find that part of the film challenging.

But that dang dog is just so lovable, just as much today as he was 40 years ago. "Best doggone dog in the West." Indeed.

-----------------------------------------------------
Submitted as an entry in the OVER FORTY WRITE-OFF, Valentines Day, 2002 sponsored by BrendaMetcalf, Granniemose, and Artbyjude. Please be sure to search out the other entries of we 'old folks' !!

Search out heck...I stole the list from another user and will add them now. Do not know why I didn't think of that earlier...:-)

bonniesayers / smithswoodside / beckish / nanct
james23 / pogomom / reviewer12 / susie-34668
jo.com / roxymarie / mr_calcul8r / arthur.rubin
donnie013 / 4rhodes / ed_grover / lorace
Mike.Holmes / ginzo / joydrop26 / frazzledspice
platypus55 / gransurfer1 / altaloma / Saxguy
sweetsue_98 / sherrywilliam / diverpam / sparkospunky
gaelkm / sleeper54 / donnie013

And our genial hostesses:

artbyjude / granniemose / brendametcalf

Please enjoy them all.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older