Cross Creek (1983)

In 1930's Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editor and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature.

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (book), Dalene Young (screenplay)

Stars:

Mary Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mary Steenburgen	...	Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Rip Torn	...	Marsh Turner
Peter Coyote	...	Norton Baskin
Dana Hill	...	Ellie Turner
Alfre Woodard	...	Geechee
Joanna Miles	...	Mrs. Turner
Ike Eisenmann	...	Paul
Cary Guffey	...	Floyd Turner
Toni Hudson	...	Tim's Wife
Bo Rucker	...	Leroy
Jay O. Sanders	...	Charles Rawlings
John Hammond	...	Tim
Tommy Alford	...	Postal Clerk
Norton Baskin	...	Man in the Rocking Chair
Terrence Gehr	...	Store Keeper

Storyline

In 1930's Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editor and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature.

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Plot Keywords:

florida | swamp | writer | year 1928 | backwoods | 

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Taglines:

The true story about the woman who wrote "The Yearling"!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1983 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Cross Creek - Ich kämpfe um meine Freiheit

Filming Locations:

Alachua County, Florida, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was selected to screen in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings: [voiceover] My journey to maturity began in New York, in 1928. I was married to Charles Rawlings, the newspaper man and yachting enthusiast. I had been trying to write stories that I thought would be most likely to sell - gothic romances were extremely popular - and I had written dozens. I was desperate to express myself. Even as a child I'd been consumed with the desire to be a writer.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' (1996)

User Reviews

A Wonderful Movie

Assuming this movie is based on events in the life of the central character, I can only think that she probably was considered too genteel to exist in those surroundings, but apparently she did. I think too, that some, if not all, of the "colorful characters" referred to were real people. Do we want to change these people, and the way they were, just to try and make the characters more compelling than they actually were? If it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it. All of the actors have done an excellent job of bringing their characters to life, particularly Rip Torn. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to finally see this movie. But, in my opinion, it was certainly worth the wait.