Good-bye, My Lady (film)
| Good-bye, My Lady | |
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 Good-Bye, My Lady DVD Coverbox |
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| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | John Wayne |
| Written by | James H. Street, Novel Albert Sidney Fleischman, Screenplay |
| Starring | Walter Brennan Brandon De Wilde William Hopper Phil Harris Sidney Poitier Louise Beavers My Lady of the Congo |
| Music by | Laurindo Almeida George Fields |
| Cinematography | William Clothier |
| Editing by | Fred MacDowell |
| Studio | Batjac Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | May 11, 1956 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Good-bye, My Lady is a 1956 American film adaptation of the novel Good-bye, My Lady (1954) by James H. Street. The book had been inspired by Street's original story appearing in The Saturday Evening Post. As written, the story takes place in Mississippi, but was Hollywood changed to the state of Georgia, where some on location filming occurred. Street was going to be the principal advisor on the film when he suddenly died of a heart attack.[1]
The film was produced by John Wayne's Batjac Productions. Directed by William A. Wellman, it starred Walter Brennan and Brandon De Wilde, with Sidney Poitier and Phil Harris in supporting roles.
Music composed and played by Laurindo Almeida (guitar) and George Fields (Harmonica). Song: "When Your Boy Becomes A Man". Music by Don Powell and lyrics by Moris Erby.
A boy learns what it means to be a man by befriending and training a stray Basenji dog and then is forced to surrender her to its rightful owner. Both readers of the story and film-goers found the boy's eventual loss of the dog unexpected.[2]
Chosen for the film was My Lady of the Congo, a six-month old Basenji puppy of Miss Veronica Tudor-Williams of Molesey, England. My Lady was flown to Hollywood to be followed later by four young dogs as doubles, including her little brother My Lord of the Congo and Flageolet of the Congo, subsequently an International Champion. As it was, My Lady wound up doing most of the scenes. When not filming with then 13-year-old De Wilde, the dog spent all her time with him and a real attachment developed between them. Unknown to theater-goers that saw boy and dog parted in the film was the fact that the written agreement that supplied the animal stated that My Lady would become the personal property of Brandon De Wilde upon completion of filming.[3]
The rare breed of dog was heretofore unknown to most Americans. Affected by either the story, the novel or the movie, many people were inclined to become Basenji owners at this particular point in time.[4]
Brennan and De Wilde would unite again for the cameras in 1965 for Disney in Those Calloways. That same year De Wilde would play producer John Wayne's son in In Harm's Way.
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[edit] Plot
A young orphan boy Skeeter (Brandon De Wilde) is being raised in a swamp cabin by his poor and toothless Uncle Jesse (Walter Brennan). One night a mysterious noise breaks the silence. They later discover that the noise was caused by a strange breed of dog (My Lady of the Congo) unknown to them. Rather than a bark the dog has a yodel or laugh. The animal has keen senses and they decide to train her for bird hunting. In time the rightful owner (William Hopper) of the animal appears and due to the rarity of the breed wants it back. Skeeter is forced to "come of age" as it were and surrender the animal. With the reward money given, he is able to purchase Jesse the false teeth that he needs and is able to get himself a hunting rifle, remembering then that Lady is no longer with him.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Walter Brennan | Uncle Jesse Jackson |
| Brandon De Wilde (as Brandon deWilde) | Claude Jackson (Skeeter) |
| William Hopper | Walden Grover |
| Phil Harris | Cash Evans |
| Sidney Poitier | Gates Watson |
| Louise Beavers | Bonnie Drew |
| My Lady of the Congo | Lady (a basenji dog) |
[edit] Home media
Good-bye, My Lady was originally released on VHS in the United States by Warner Home Video, on December 13, 1993. On December 10, 2010, Warner Archive Collection released Good-bye, My Lady as a manufactured on-demand remastered wide-screen DVD-R release.
In an interview for Turner Classic Movies Gretchen Wayne, the daughter-in-law of John Wayne and the current president of Batjac Productions, was asked about a DVD. "I'm not sure who owns Good-bye, My Lady -- it might be Warner Brothers. It's a charming story and it should be released," she said.[5]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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