Yellowneck (1955)

5 Confederate soldiers desert, make their way through the Everglades and try to make it to Cuba.

Director:

R. John Hugh

Writers:

Nat S. Linden (screenplay), R. John Hugh (story)

Stars:

Lin McCarthy, Stephen Courtleigh, Berry Kroeger

Cast

Cast overview:
Lin McCarthy	...	The Sergeant
Stephen Courtleigh	...	The Colonel
Berry Kroeger	...	Plunkett
Harold Gordon	...	Cockney
Bill Mason	...	The Kid
Al Tamez	...	Seminole
Jose Billie	...	Dead body
Roy Nash Osceola	...	Seminole

Storyline

A disgraced Confederate Colonel who has deserted his command flees to the Everglades where he encounters a disparate group of four other Southern deserters. Togethher they struggle to find their way out of the swamp and resolve their own personal demons under the eyes of hostile Seminoles as they battle to survive the elements and each other.

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Plot Keywords:

confederate soldier | everglades | army colonel | rattlesnake | pistol | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cinq déserteurs

Filming Locations:

Everglades Wonder Gardens, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Empire Studios (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Color:

Black and White (Video) Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The forage caps (or kepis) worn by the deserters are of an 1862 pattern that denoted the soldier's branch of service by the color of the sides and crown (red for artillery, yellow for cavalry and sky blue for infantry).

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Goofs

When Cockney is bitten by a rattlesnake, he instantly dies(1:09:21). Most deaths occur between 6 and 48 hours after the bite.

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Quotes

Sergeant Todd: [to the Kid] You ain't done enough to run away from. Shouldn't have followed me, kid. Shouldn't have started runnin'. I've been runnin' every since I knowed runnin' from... everything how I never liked. Yeah, I reckon there ain't much to like around this world. I've ben runnin' so long I don't know how to stop! It don't do too much good when you stop and figure why you're runnin'. It catches up to you. You can't run away from yourself. Don't run away from nothin', kid. It don't do no good. ...

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Crazy Credits

The MPAA seal appears on the opening Republic Pictures logo instead of its usual place in the credits.

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Soundtracks

"My Old Kenucky Home"
(uncredited)
Composed by Stephen Foster (1852)
Heard briefly when viewing daguerrotype

User Reviews

Escape Through the Everglades

This modestly budgeted oddity from the mid-fifties is as good an example as I can think of of how to make something out of nothing. Set in the waning days of the Civil War, Yellowneck follows several Confederate army deserters in their flight through the Florida Everglades. The actors are all good and the predicament these characters are in is dramatized with a fair amount of realism. Poisonous snakes, insects and alligators abound, as these unfortunate men have gone from the hell of the Civil War into the frying pan of the swamp. They squabble amongst one another a good deal, but their biggest enemy is nature itself, which seems to be conspiring against them at every turn. One comes to like some of these men very much, and despise others. The pathetic nature of their plight is always apparent, and we cannot help but feel for them as they slog through the mud, their hopes diminishing with each passing day. A fine. psychologically provocative piece of film-making, in tone and sensibility, a sort of cross between Ambrose Bierce and Albert Camus.