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The Southerner
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Synopsis
The Southerner was Jean Renoir's favorite of his American films. Shot on location, the film stars Zachary Scott as a sharecropper who yearns for a place of his own. On a tiny, scraggly patch of land, Scott tries to make a go of things, along with his wife Betty Field, his grandmother Beulah Bondi, and his children Jean Vanderwilt (aka Bunny Sunshine) and Jay Gilpin. Though a proud, independent man, Scott is forced by circumstance to seek help from neighboring farmer J. Carroll Naish, whose life experience have left him bitter and vituperative. The two men become enemies, but are reunited by their mutual love of fishing. Scott suffers a setback when a rainstorm destroys his cotton crop. He is about to go wearily back to working for others (specifically, factory owner Charles Kemper, who also narrates the film) when he is convinced by his never-say-die family to persevere on his own. Director Jean Renoir also wrote the script for The Southerner--in fluent English rather than French, as mental exercise. Told at a leisurely, unhurried pace, the film is the one American Renoir effort that comes closest to his "slice of life" dramas of the 1930s. The Southerner was not a box office hit, but did win the effusive praise of critics, not to mention the Venice Film Festival "best picture" award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Beulah Bondi Granny Tucker
Betty Field Nona Tucker
Jay Gilpin Jot Tucker
Dorothy Granger Party Girl
Charles Kemper Tim, the Narrator
Percy Kilbride Harmie Jenkins
J. Carrol Naish Henry Devers
Nestor Paiva Bartender
Zachary Scott Sam Tucker
Bunny Sunshine Daisy Tucker
Estelle Taylor Lizzie
Blanche Yurka Ma Tucker
Norman Lloyd Finlay Hewitt

Production Crew

Lucien Andriot Cinematographer
Werner Janssen Composer (Music Score)
Jean Renoir Director
Gregg G. Tallas Editor
David L. Loew Producer
Robert Hakim Producer
Hugo Butler Screenwriter
Jean Renoir Screenwriter
Nunnally Johnson Screenwriter
William Faulkner Screenwriter
Eugène Lourié Set Designer
George Sessions Perry Short Story Author
George Sessions Perry Short Story Author
Jack Whitney Sound/Sound Designer
Year: 1945
Runtime: 91
Country: USA
MPAA Rating:
Category: Feature

Genre
Drama

Produced by
United Artists

Release
by United Artists

Awards
1945 - Best Picture - National Board of Review
1945 - Best Picture - National Board of Review
1946 - Critics' Prize for Best Film - Venice International Film Festival