Old Yeller (1957)

A teenage boy grows to love a stray yellow dog while helping his mother and younger brother run their Texas homestead while their father is away on a cattle drive. First thought to be good-for-nothing mutt, Old Yeller is soon beloved by all.

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Fred Gipson (screenplay), William Tunberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, Tommy Kirk

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dorothy McGuire	...	Katie Coates
Fess Parker	...	Jim Coates
Jeff York	...	Bud Searcy
Chuck Connors	...	Burn Sanderson
Beverly Washburn	...	Lisbeth Searcy
Tommy Kirk	...	Travis Coates
Kevin Corcoran	...	Arliss Coates

Storyline

Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860's. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog. After a series of scrapes involving raccoons, snakes, bears, wild hogs and wolves, Travis grows to love and respect Old Yeller, who comes to have a profound effect on the boy's life.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | rabies | dog movie | 19th century | shooting a dog | 

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Taglines:

All the heart, all the excitement of a great frontier adventure!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sein Freund Jello

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$21,909,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A print ad from the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, February 11th, 1958 shows that this film was widely distributed on a double bill in 21 area theaters. Most of the indoor theaters co-featured Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958) starring Scott Brady, and all of the drive-in theaters co-featured Underwater! (1955) starring Jane Russell and Richard Egan.

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Goofs

After Travis scolds Old Yeller and Arliss for being in the drinking water, the next scene shows Old Yeller laying down perfectly clean and dry.

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Quotes

[Old Yeller has contracted hydrophobia and must be put down; Katie brings out the gun]
Travis Coates: No, Mama!
Katie Coates: There's no hope for him now, Travis. He's suffering. You know we've got to do it.
Travis Coates: Yes, Mama. But he was my dog. I'll do it.

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Alternate Versions

In the 1991 VHS release, part of the "Walt Disney's Studio Film Collection" series, the theme song reprise at the end, about "Young Yeller" is re-recorded with a different vocalist, though Jerome Courtland's singing of the main song in the beginning remains the same.

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Connections

Featured in Disney Sing-Along-Songs: The Bare Necessities (1987)

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Soundtracks

Old Yeller
Lyrics by Hazel George (as Gil George)
Music by Oliver Wallace
Sung by Jerome Courtland

User Reviews

Best Doggone Dog Anywhere

One of Walt Disney's most enduring films in popularity will continue to be Old Yeller. There's something in the saga of the Coates family and that yellow mutt that touches the kid in all of us.

Fess Parker, wife Dorothy McGuire, and sons Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran are the Coates family scratching out a living on a small ranch on the Texas frontier. Dad has to drive their herd to market in Kansas and he leaves the other three behind. Parker though he's second billed in the cast has barely fifteen minutes of screen time in the film. He leaves before the main action starts and returns really as anti-climax. Nevertheless he was a big name back in 1957, coming fresh off his triumph as Disney's Davy Crockett. Didn't hurt him at all to come from Texas for this part.

So McGuire is left to cope with the kids, the farm, and a newly found stray yellow dog that both the boys take to. His coloring makes his name a natural and he proves quite a useful dog, earning more than his keep on the ranch.

Sad to say though that Old Yeller provides the saddest moment in any Disney film since Bambi's mother was shot by the hunters. I really can't say too much more, but the Coates boys prove to be made of stern stuff and Dad provides some sound country wisdom as he gets back from his cattle drive.

Because the setting is out in the wilds there are few human speaking parts. All the players here are well cast, but the one who's the best by far is Jeff York as the Coates neighbor Mr. Searcy. York appeared in a whole bunch Disney features and usually stole scenes in every one of them. York's a guy who's full of wisdom in his own right, he'll dispense with advice at the drop of a hat, but when there's work to be done is usually elsewhere. McGuire does remark it's no accident he's not on the cattle drive. When she needs help on the ranch, York delegates his daughter Beverly Washburn to stay behind. She's a sweet kid and a good worker and Tommy Kirk doesn't mind having her around at all.

Chuck Connors is also in this as a visiting trail boss and I wouldn't be surprised if his appearance here in this family feature led to his family television series, The Rifleman.

Fifty years after it was released Old Yeller is still good entertainment and will be making young folks dream about that idyllic boyhood the Coates kids have on those Texas plains.