Erskine Caldwell's steamy novel God's Little Acre was given a film adaptation in 1958. A heavily grayed-up
Robert Ryan plays Ty Ty Walden, the patriarch of a slovenly backwoods family. As Ty Ty digs around his farm in search of gold (which he has yet to find), his son in law Bill Thompson (
Aldo Ray) carries on an adulterous affair with the sluttish Griselda (
Tina Louise). Comedy relief is provided by the dimwitted Pluto (
Buddy Hackett). Others in the cast include future TV stars
Jack Lord as Buck Walden and
Michael Landon as Ty Ty's albino farmhand. A flop when first released, God's Little Acre made back its cost on the TV rental circuit; today, it is in the public domain, available to everyone, even the "under 18s" who were prohibited from seeing it back in 1958. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide