Where the Red Fern Grows

Posted on Apr 28, 2008 By Julia Szabo

Sterling Entertainment, 1974, 98 minutes

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This movie is in the FetchDog Top 20

This film adaptation of Wilson Rawls' beloved autobiographical novel about a poor young boy in the Ozarks who dreams of having a pair of purebred hunting hounds - and works hard to realize that dream - is a cinematic high-water mark in terms of respect for dogs.

Billy Coleman (Stewart Petersen) wants a coon hound, but his dad can't afford to buy him one, so he offers to buy him a Collie pup; Billy refuses. After his grand-dad (played by James Whitmore, who as usual doesn't appear to be acting, just completely inhabiting his character with utter believability) tells him he has to "meet God halfway," the boy dedicates himself to taking every odd job he can find, amassing the $40 he needs to mail-order a pair of pups, whom he names Dan and Ann.

Although set in the Great Depression, this film bears several stamps of the 1970s - for one thing, the theme song was written by The Osmonds and sung by Andy Williams. And OK, so the DVD's production values are as homespun as the old dress Billy's mother wears (which, incidentally, is way too short by 1930s standards but fine according to seventies style) - in one scene, the boom microphone is clearly visible at the top of the screen. But the dog values are spot-on, and that's what counts.

Billy loves his dogs and works hard to prove that love. Rather than growing bored with the hard work of keeping dogs, as many kids do, the boy has endless reserves of patience and the heart to see things from his dogs' perspective. When Dan and Ann tree a raccoon, he promises them he'll cut down the tree - and refuses to quit even when chopping it proves a much bigger challenge than he expected.

Throughout, the dogs are accorded a level of respect that's rare for movies of any era. So the climax, reminiscent of Old Yeller, packs a double whammy. (There, I said it - don't say you weren't warned.)

The film was re-made beautifully by Disney in 2003; that version boasts much higher production values, plus performances by Dave Matthews as Billy's dad and Kris Kristofferson as grownup Billy, so it's worth checking out both tellings of this important tale - especially for those kids (you know who you are!) who enjoy repeat viewings.

Presence of dogs: