User Reviews

For whatever reason the producer's decided that God's Little Acre should be set in no specific time rather than in the dust-bowl thirties where and when it belongs, it kept the film from being a great film. It's still a good film to watch, but it misses greatness by a length.

Erskine Caldwell wrote this and set in firmly the Depression. And for rural America, the Depression did not begin when the stock market crashed. It began after World War I when the demand for our farm produce dropped with the coming of peace. Agriculture had no price support system then, it was the beginning of the end of the family farm, be it corn or cotton. The stock market crash just exacerbated the situation.

But this Walden family has its own set of problems starting with the head of the family, Robert Ryan. As Ty Ty Walden, he's digging up the farm rather than working it, looking for some buried gold left from Civil War days. He's got three sons and two daughters and one fetching daughter-in-law, Tina Louise who is married to one son, Jack Lord, but has her heart set on her sister Helen Westcott's husband Aldo Ray.

Before she was movie star Ginger Grant and a castaway, Tina Louise was quite the sex object, she's also got another son, Lance Fuller all hot and bothered over her. He's gotten away from his family of rustics, he married a wealthy widow who up and died and left him well fixed. Of course he has the least amount of character among the whole bunch.

Jack Lord and Vic Morrow are the other sons. Lord in his days before he was telling Danno to book 'em played a lot of nasty types on screen. Here he's not nasty, but he's one powerfully jealous fellow. Fay Spain had a brief career as a young sex pot due to this film as the youngest in the family and one flirtatious young thing.

This film was loaded with TV stars in the making. Michael Landon has a very nice part as an albino these rustics believe has special powers that can divine where gold is. He's captured by them and put to work tramping all over Ryan's acres looking for the buried gold. He's a true innocent that Fay Spain seeks to seduce while she's still being courted by Buddy Hackett who's a local politician running for sheriff. Michael Landon or Buddy Hackett? I mean, really, who would you choose?

Though some of the left-wing polemics were drained from the film, this was the fifties, Anthony Mann still managed to get his cast to deliver a powerful and entertaining film.

I will say this about the ending, the audience gets the message for sure about what's important in life, but it looks Ryan never will.

Apparently, when "God's Little Acre" first came out, much of it was cut for the theatrical release. Watching the unedited version, one can see why (needless to say, it's all pretty tame to us in the 21st century). Part of it is Tina Louise's very presence - I mean, what man wouldn't want to be stranded on an island with Ginger Grant? - but there's also a scene where Buddy Hackett works a pump for a woman in a bathtub (if that scene isn't a double entendre, then I don't know what is!).

As for the movie itself, this story of a Georgia farmer (Robert Ryan) getting convinced that thar's gold in them thar holes in his garden does quite well. The idea of him tearing up his garden is an effective parallel for how the family gets torn up in the process. As for his friendship with the African-American guy, it's probably debatable whether they were sugar-coating race relations, or if they were encouraging tolerance. There could even be debates about how the movie portrays the South in general (the characters do come across as hicks).

But overall, I recommend this flick. Usually, it would sort of weaken the movie to know that some of the cast members later became famous on TV shows - especially since one was known for seducing romantically incompetent men on a certain island - but they all do very well here. This is certainly a movie worth seeing. And the theme song will probably get stuck in your head. Also starring Aldo Ray, Jack Lord, Fay Spain, Vic Morrow and Michael Landon.

Wowza! For 1958 this would have been a "must see" for any man or child past puberty just to see the lustful but married Griselda Walden (Tina Louise) in her first film role where she has three (3) horny men vying for her attention. the three (3) men who were hot and horny for Griselda were her husband Buck Walden (Jack Lord), the already married Will Thompson (Aldo Ray), and her slimey widower brother-in-law Jim Leslie (Lance Fuller).

This film had several actors/actresses who went on to much bigger A-lister stars of both television and film. Stars such as Michael Landon, Jack Lord, Tina Louise, and Vic Morrow. Additionally the film had veteran film stars such as Robert Ryan who was the widowed clan leader named Ty Ty of the misfortune Walden clan, as well as Buddy Hackett and Fay Spain.

Although the story focuses on the clan father Ty Ty Walden's fixation that he has a pile of gold buried somewhere on his farm land by his own grandfather, Ty Ty has spent the past fifteen (15) years digging crater sized holes all around his farm with two (2) of his sons who he insists they help him dig to eventually reap the benefits.

The real gold mine though really lies in the gorgeous body of Ty Ty's busty daughter-in-law Griselda Walden (Tina Louise), who has her husband seeded in deep jealously that Griselda still has eyes for her brother-in-law Will Thompson (Aldo Ray), and her other brother-in-law Jim Leslie (Lance Fuller) who has disowned his own family after marrying into money only to become a wealthy widower who tries to bully and buy the sexy Griselda away from her husband (and his own brother) Buck.

I thought the best scene in the film is late one hot and steamy night when the sexpot Griselda steps outside in a flimsy slip showing off all her curves and wares and she sponge bathes herself from the water well while her lusting brother-in-law Will Thompson cannot bear it any longer watching her from a distance and pining for her embrace, so they cautiously hide on two corners of the farm's outer walls hoping not to be discovered and then we see it...the embrace and the groping and then "the kiss". It is a lustful moment where every man and boy in the theater watching this film must have broken out in a maddening cheer, wishing they were Will Thompson groping Griselda.

Back to the gold digging and the rest of the dysfunctional Walden clan who decide they have had enough digging for some fictitious non-existent gold who finally decide to sow their farm land and grow crops and live happily ever after. But wait, while digging the soil up to plant seed father Ty Ty hits something below the land surface that tinged a metal sound. What will he find below this time?

I give God's Little Acre a 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.

Never mind that the front yard has more holes than no-man's land after a WWI artillery barrage. Or that Pluto's up-and-down pump appears to drive Darlin' Jill into censored delight. Or that the rotund Pluto appears to be running for sheriff of Disneyland. No, this is not the deep South of Rhett and Scarlett; it's the cartoon South of Dog Patch and Lil' Abner. Take drop-dead sexy Griselda who delivers water to sweating boys in a see-through dress. Or, patriarch Ty-Ty, God's very own real estate agent. And, of course, mustn't forget Darlin' Jill with her own ideas about how to integrate the South. Don't get me wrong—this first half is mildly amusing with its exaggerated characters and heavy breathing, much like an R-rated cartoon.

And, had the screenplay followed through with this comedic style, a mildly memorable movie could have resulted. But it's like someone suddenly decided the movie needed to really "serious up". So, we get a second half that's more like over-heated Tennessee Williams than Al Capp's riotous Dog Patch. I don't know if all that contrived staging around the cotton mill is supposed to deliver a "message", but it's sure as heck heavy-handed and out of sync with the first half. Plus, there's that typical 50's ending that ties up every loose end in unbelievably happy fashion. I don't know which of the many versions (thanks to censors of the time) I saw, but I doubt any combination of this bi-polar disorder could work. Too bad, since it's a rare stab at departure for that strait-jacketed decade.

(In passing—I do like how Ty-Ty's manic mining for his father's gold gets resolved. We discover that despite appearances, he knows there's no buried gold. Instead, he keeps digging in order to "keep the family together" and the memory of his dad alive. He's not crazy— he just has a wacky way of expressing his "family values". Still, I don't think I'd hire him to do my gardening.)

I saw this movie soon after it was released when I was seventeen. Recently, I caught it again on late night TV; now, over fifty years later, I still count this one as one of the most interesting collection of oddball characters ever put to film. And all wrapped up in a timeless story about human frailties, family values and impossible dreams.

Without doubt, this is the film that launched Tina Louise's lacklustre career into a series of B-movies of the late fifties and early sixties, followed by seemingly endless appearances in mindless TV drama and sitcoms over the next thirty-five years. What a shame: because I think her debut film role as Griselda Walden set a new standard for the term 'sex appeal' – and once seen, never forgotten, especially her first appearance with sunlight behind her, outlining her entire body through her thin, cotton shift. So, see this film for Tina Louise in action, if for no other reason.

Erskine Caldwell's whole story is definitely worth watching, however. Actually, there are a number of stories beginning with old man Ty Ty Walden (Robert Ryan) and his fifteen-year, frenetic search for his grandfather's gold, supposedly buried somewhere on his farm: with that underlying scenario, Caldwell satirically skewers the lust for wealth that trap too many of us in ephemeral dreams which blind us to the reality around us. Robert Ryan gives his all, in what I regard as one of his best roles.

Interwoven with Ty Ty's quest, we see unfold the bodily lust that Will Thompson (Aldo Ray) has for Griselda, the wife to embittered and jealous Buck Walden (Jack Lord). When Will has the hots for Griselda on a feverish summer night, and they stand in darkness, fingers entwined, at the corner of the house, sweat steaming off their bodies, you see one of the finest pieces of bodily eroticism ever put to film – and an image that's still used today, as the above poster on this page shows.

The lust for power is given its comic turn with Sheriff wannabe Pluto Swint (Buddy Hackett) trying to get votes from all and sundry. With a name like Pluto – on the edge of society physically, mentally and emotionally – how far can he get? Well, he's also pining for the hand in marriage of Ty Ty's other daughter, Darlin' Jill (Fay Spain). With Pluto, Darlin' Jill pulls off an open-air, erotic bathtub scene that must be seen for its bawdy humor and Freudian overtones. Not to be missed...

Wrap all that around Will Thomspon's efforts to power up the bankrupt local cotton mill again, add Ty Ty's visit to his only financially-successful son (to ask for money), Jim Leslie (Lance Fuller), and you have a succession of vignettes that pretty much cover the whole gamut of what it means to be human. Watch for very young Michael Landon (as the albino) and Vic Morrow (as Shaw Walden). Happily, with such an interpersonal imbroglio to appreciate fully, the cast fully delivers. Some argue it's over the top; and so it is, because it's mostly social satire.

One puzzlement: the mise-en-scene looks and feels Depression era, but the presence of mid-1950s autos belies that. One wonders if that was a deliberate ploy by the producer and director. The black-and-white photography is exquisite; the sound track is appropriate, given the social milieu of the times, but I could do without it.

Overall, it's a classic film which, despite winning no awards, should still be seen by all film lovers.

The jaunty title song belies what lies beneath this southern Gothic drama from the ever reliable director Anthony Mann who loads this film with various subtexts.

Robert Ryan gives a marvellous performance as patriarch Ty Ty Walden who has spent years digging up his farmland looking for gold buried by his grandfather sometime in the civil war. Maybe things would had been better if Waldens farmed the land as the family might have turned out better with tighter morals.

Ty Ty has three sons and two daughters. One of the son, jealous, hot headed Buck is married to sultry Griselda but she always had a thing for Will Thompson. He lost her but ended up marrying TY Ty's daughter Rosamund but Will has always pined for Griselda and the closed down mill in the town.

Darlin Jill the youngest daughter is a fee spirited filly who is being courted by Pluto, a fat man running for the job of Sheriff.

Jim Leslie is the son who got away, married into wealth and lives in Augusta but he also has the hots for Griselda and does little to hide it. As Ty Ty comments, some of the men in the family are far from chivalrous when it comes to handling women.

Only Shaw the youngest son tries to keep everyone together but in this pot boiler with different vignettes it is Ty Ty who eventually realises that his quest for gold and digging holes in his field has crated a chasms in his family.

Director Mann brings out fine performances from his cast and I think he had the censor sweating over some of the playful and sensual scenes.

Erskine Caldwell's two most popular books ("Tobacco Road" and "God's Little Acre") were both made into controversial films, though John Ford's 1941 adaptation of "Tobacco Road" made it to the screen with memorably eccentric characters, smoothly segueing from absurdity to pathos. Anthony Mann's work on "God's Little Acre" is appropriately uneven (which is Caldwell's tone, after all), however the switch from ridiculousness to high drama is fitful here and doesn't come off. The performers shouldn't be faulted: Robert Ryan makes a big effort to be loose as patriarch of a Georgia dirt-farm family looking for buried gold on his land, Jack Lord and Vic Morrow are fine as his sons, and Tina Louise is torrid as his daughter-in-law who is not-so-secretly in love with Aldo Ray, an unemployed factory worker. Ray's desperate, lusty character is really the hero of this story (and with his big hairy arms, Ray is more than adept at taking on all comers), but the pacing is slow and a sub-plot about an albino youngster (Michael Landon!) doesn't lead anywhere. The picture is all over the place, but only when it settles into a tight, melodramatic groove near the end does it take on some meaning. For the first hour, "God's Little Acre" is a big, empty hole. **1/2 from ****

The controversy that surrounded this movie, along with the scandal associated with the novel upon which it is based, may not have added up to box office success, but the film has become a classic nonetheless.

Author Erskine Caldwell and Viking Press, his publisher, were actually charged and tried for obscenity for releasing God's Little Acre in 1933 after pressure by a New York literary board who wanted the book censored. A quarter of a century later, in 1958, when the movie was released, it was actually banned in some theaters and audiences under eighteen years of age were prohibited from viewing what were perceived to be numerous obscene scenes throughout. The on screen sexual exploits are rather tame by today's standards, but the sexual tension of men standing and watching naked women pushed the limits in its day.

Robert Ryan stars as Ty Ty Walden, a farmer who believes there's gold buried on his land. A devout man, he has set aside a small plot of land promising God anything that comes from it. With typical human frailty, he is prone to move God's Little Acre whenever he fears it may contain his fortune, an obvious allegory for the shifting faith we all suffer.

Ty Ty has singlehandedly raised three hot headed sons and a lovely daughter, who is his treasure and, it turns out, an almost irresistible sexual force. Throw in Grisleda, the sultry wife of one of the sons, and her ex-lover, Will, and a subtext of complex sexual entanglements and betrayals lead to tragedy and eventual destruction of the family.

Caldwell, by showing Ty Ty destroying his farm in search of quick riches, meant to comment on the destructive attitudes of the South with regard to the land. Although Ty Ty could have turned a profit at any time by farming, he does everything but farm. Eventually he enlists the aid of an albino, played by a delightfully young Michael Landon, whom Ty Ty believes has magical divining powers, and demands that he find the gold, which, of course, he cannot do, since there is none. Vic Morrow, Jack Lord and Buddy Hackett round out the supporting cast, as the entire family living around the edges of Ty Ty's dream.

The real story, however, revolves around Louise, stunning in her first major role, and Aldo Ray, a classic machismo who put the "man" in leading man. Their adulterous tryst generates more heat than the oppressive dog days of the southern summer. You've got to see the water pump scene, if you can find a copy that hasn't melted from heat of it.

Originally, the novel was intended to dramatize the strike and eventual shutdown of a textile mill in Gastonia, North Carolina. Caldwell thought of the novel God's Little Acre as a proletarian manifesto that would call attention to the plight of non-unionized textile workers, lintheads, as they were called, in the Depression Era South. That the film got made at all in the age of McCarthyism is astounding. In fact, the nominal screenwriter, Philip Yordon, was actually a front for the real screenwriter, Ben Maddow, who had been blacklisted in the Hollywood Red scare.

The Marxist ideas of Caldwell's novel are mostly lost in the film adaptation, although discerning viewers will see their remains in the brutish Will's desperate attempt to seize control of and reopen the textile mill on which the entire local economy depends. Without giving too much of the story away, this is classic transgressive fiction in which following the dark side of life leads inevitably to destruction.

Although the movie is a uniquely satisfying experience, please don't let this classic prevent you from reading the book by Erskine Caldwell. The novel, one of the best selling in history, is a literary touchstone and deserves a good read, and reading is in danger of becoming extinct. But do watch this movie, when it's hot and you're feeling a bit nostalgic.

Funny, sad, rambling story of a family whose fate is tied up with the patriarch, Ryan, who's convinced his grandfather's gold is hidden somewhere on the farm he willed him. To find the gold, he digs holes all over the land and eventually kidnaps an albino (Landon) who he has been convinced by his neighbor, the sheriff-to-be (Hackett, in good form), will find the gold for him through magic. He doesn't but he has Ryan digging right under his house while he messes around with his blonde daughter. One of the only hillbilly style comedies I've seen to handle the South more or less fairly. Memorable character performances make the film a joy to watch; Morrow's bit as an out of work factory man is a bit overwrought and too sincere, but that's not his fault (I don't think).

I can't believe Anthony Mann directed this. A director known for tense, psychological, character-driven stories. There's not an authentic character in the movie. They're all ridiculous stereotypes and caricatures. Not that they aren't enjoyable on some unintentionally funny camp level. Robert Ryan plays his role in such a way I can't tell if he's being serious (and acting badly) or intentionally hamming it up (and doing quite well). Tina Louse is extremely sexy and the highlight of the movie is her character constantly flaunting her heaving cleavage. Aldo Ray thinks he's in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Michael Landon is unrecognizable but amusing as Dave the albino.

The film's plot is about a farmer who keeps digging up his land looking for his grandfather's buried gold. All the while his daughters and daughter-in-law are in a perpetual state of heat. There's also a silly Marxist subplot about mill workers revolting and taking back a closed mill.

Those who view this as a camp film and enjoyable on that level, I sort of see their point. I mean, I didn't like it that much even for camp value. But I can see where some might. However, those reviewers here who seem to think this film is legitimately good perplex me. God's Little Acre is completely over the top, with no subtlety or intelligence about it. However, I will give it a passable score of 5 due to the camp and corn value some will get from it.

The Caldwell bestseller about a dysfunctional Southern family becomes an entertaining potboiler. The familiar cast features at least three actors who would go on to star in popular TV series (Louise, Lord, and Landon, the last playing an albino!). Ryan has a field day as the patriarch of the family, obsessed with finding gold on his land. Louise makes a lusty film debut as Lord's unfaithful wife. Her ample bosom gets so much screen time that it should have received no lower than third billing. Using gritty black and white, widescreen cinematography, Mann does an effective job of conveying the passion and the greed of these low-life characters.

In 1933 while America endured the Great Depression, Erskine Caldwell published his controversial novel " God's Little Acre. " Condemmed, reviled and even Banned, the book continued to sell, but not without consequences. While the author was arrested and jailed, his novel went onto the silver screen and revealed the painful secrets many wanted to keep secret. By today's social standards, the book and the forbidden Black and White scenes in the movie are mild and considered hardly exciting. Yet, in the Baptist south and most of the religious, conservative towns, these scandalous scenes often lead to dangerous censorship. Viewed by Modern audiences, little in the story is shocking. Erskine's book tell of Ty Ty Walden (Robert Ryan), a poor George farmer who inherited his father's farm and a dubious story of buried gold hidden somewhere on the farm. Together with his sons Buck (Jack Lord) and Shaw (Vic Marrow) they spend years seeking the treasure. Ty Ty's daughters Griselda (Tina Louise), Darlin' Jill and Rosamund (Helen Westcott) have their own problems but handle them accordingly. Griselda is aware of how much her former boyfriend Billy Thompson (Aldo Ray) desires her and encourages him. Jill is an exciting and playful scamp who plays to whomever is around, earning her a sinful reputation, especially with Plato Swint (Buddy Hackett), the Sheriff to be. Michael Landon is surprising as 'The Albino' Dave Dawson. The story is simple enough, but it's scandalous nature created a aura of sex and debauchery, that insured a Classic in movie circles. A good vehicle for Robert Ryan and it's Nice to see him as a good guy for once. ****

IN this era, when sex is easy, it's great to see all that inhibited lust steaming out over the screen. Aldo Ray and Tina Louise did one jam-up job of showing their passion for one another. Actually, Robert Ryan almost upped the ante from his '7 Days in May' stint where he lectured on the devil women sucking out the vital juices from the soldiers under his command. (That's true, you know. We women would rather suck out vital juices than just about anything.) Anyway, see this back to back with Tobacco Road, and you'll understand completely why all these Yankees think we're products of incest and can barely put 4 grammatical phrases together. No wonder, I am continually fighting off the prejudices of people who are amazed that I wear shoes and didn't marry my 1st cousin.

The writing in here is great: Robert Ryan plays a beautiful balance between an obsessed redneck who is trying to find his grandpappy's gold on his property, and his restrained longing for his son's daughter. His goodness screams out in his scene with his cotton broker son, who made it big. As my own evangelist cousin says, "We call him 'MMM"...our Miserable Millionaire Miser."

And Michael Landon, as the albino teen-ager, scared of the violence from these raging men who have kidnapped him to divine the gold.....what a sight!! Jack Lord, in his pre-Hawaiian Eye days is all wrathful, as he watches his beauteous wife with the NATURAL cleavage longing for the drunken Aldo Ray. Hard to believe the change, but the analogy between the tearing up the yard and sacrificing the peace of his family for the gold hunt...and today's all materialistic, 'if it ain't business, it ain't nothing', lifestyle.....is fantastic....rite smart writin'.

Check it out for a movie that SHOULD be colorized if ever there was one. And that house looks just my Aunt Mattie Seals' home in Talbot County, jawja!!!!! Boy, do I miss it!

A well-made and interesting movie. Notice the use of the bizarre piles of dirt and holes as decoration for what becomes an abstract and striking set design. The movie is toned down quite a bit from the book, in which Aldo Ray's lust-maddened character rips the clothes completely off Griselda, in front of his wife and her sister! Then he drags her into a bedroom. You know, this story is ready for a remake, and I would definitely buy a ticket.

I just wonder about alicecbr, who says above, "Actually, Robert Ryan almost upped the ante from his '7 Days in May' stint where he lectured on the devil women sucking out the vital juices from the soldiers under his command." Robert Ryan? In "Seven Days in May?" Devil women? Can she be thinking of Sterling Hayden in "Dr. Strangelove" talking about the Commie plot to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids? I can't think of any other movie that comes anywhere near that description, but if there is, I'd love to see it.

This movie, about a poor Georgia cotton farmer and his sons who search for the gold presumably buried on the farm by their great-grandfather, is an okay comedy movie.

I like the characters dynamics, and the actors prove it. Each character has their own personality, which doesn't make the dialogues unpredictable and interesting. Since it's a comedy, there are some funny moments, but in terms of story, it's pretty dragging. Sometimes it feels like the story isn't going in any direction, and that made me have a mixed experience.

While this movie boasts engaging character interactions, its meandering plot hinders its overall appeal. The movie's comedic moments fail to compensate for its slow-paced narrative, leaving a mixed impression.

I have to weigh in on the errors in alicecbr's review, since it's featured here on IMDB. I refer to the first paragraph. Robert Ryan wasn't in "Seven Days in May." And there's no lecture in that movie about women sucking juices out of soldiers. The closest thing I can think of is Sterling Hayden in "Dr. Strangelove," who tells Peter Sellers about the Commie plot to sap and impurify our bodily fluids by fluoridating the water. Nothing in it about women, though, just Commies. I'm voting it...unhelpful!

Underrated actors Aldo Ray and Robert Ryan are outstanding in this eccentric bit of Americana from the novel by Erskine Caldwell, which was banned in some towns. The setting on the farm with random holes and piles of dirt is almost surreal in appearance. And there's Tina Louise, and Little Joe Cartwright plays an albino.

An all star cast delivers a potent drama based on a book, but with the definite look of a stage drama, about a poor Southern family. The main focus of the father, Robert Ryan (who excelled at roles as diverse as John the Baptist, World War Two Generals, and Western outlaws mostly) is to find a treasure he knows is buried on his property. But despite his obsession, he never loses sight of the important things in life, and he is quite aware of the subplots and the turmoil going on with a love triangle involving his oldest son. Ryan gives an outstanding performance. Of course he is helped along with excellent writing, so you have the best of both worlds. The rest of the cast is also splendid. Too many big names to mention here, but you'll be amazed at the star power. Lots of raw emotion stifle any prejudice you might have about Southerners or the treatment of Southerners. This is not an action movie. It is a thinking piece. And it is heartfelt drama.

I had this for ages. The presence of my new favorite classic movie actress TINA LOUISE made me watch it recently.

The film is about the family politics among a bunch of gold searching share croppers.

Its an account of their superstitions, beliefs, lusts and passions.

It was good for the most part. TINA LOUISE was hot as hell. She plays a character named GRISELDA who is the object of every mans affection.

I wonder whether CALDWELL was a bit of a feminist because GRISELDA in CHAUCER's THE CANTERBURY TALES is an utterly submissive woman who bows down to her husbands whims and fancies.

(7/10)

Ty Ty Walden, a widower lives in the backwoods of Georgia with his daughters.For the last 15 years he has been searching for gold from his land.This man doesn't know the words give up.God's Little Acre (1958) is a movie based on the novel by Erskine Caldwell.It's directed by Anthony Mann.The title song heard in the beginning is awfully cheerful.The movie shows us some fantastic characters played by great actors.Robert Ryan plays the part of Ty Ty.Aldo Ray plays Bill Thompson.Jack Lord is Buck Walden.Vic Morrow plays Shaw Walden.Helen Westcott is Rosamund.Tina Louise plays Griselda.Michael Landon plays the part of Dave Dawson, the albino.It's hard to recognize him as the same guy of Little House on the Prairie.Fay Spain is Darlin' Jill.The funny guy Buddy Hackett is Pluto Swint, Sheriff Candidate.The scenes between Pluto and Darlin' Jill are often hilarious.There's that certain erotic atmosphere there in many scenes.That combined with serious drama and funniness you have a good movie.

Georgia cotton farmer Robert Ryan (as Ty Ty Walden) has neglected his crop due to digging numerous holes in his land, searching for a fortune in gold supposedly buried by his grandfather. After fifteen years of digging, Mr. Ryan has not found the gold. After two months of digging, the latest hole seems fruitless. Helping during the opening scene are Ryan's sons Jack Lord (as Buck) and Vic Morrow (as Shaw). Mr. Lord is married to tempting Tina Louise (as Griselda). Making her movie debut, Ms. Louise is highly arousing. Ordering some great "bend over" camera angles, director Anthony Mann and his team offer a generous look up and down Louise's beautiful bosom, especially during her first scenes...

Louise brings out the beast in brother-in-law Aldo Ray (as Will Thompson), who is suffering due to his cotton plant closing. Also involved in the story is rotund Buddy Hackett (as Pluto), who is running for Sheriff and wants to be part of the family by marrying Ryan's nubile daughter Fay Spain (as "Darlin'" Jill). Believing all-white albinos have magical powers, Mr. Hackett suggests Ryan use Michael Landon (as Dave Dawson) to find where his grandfather's gold is buried. Looking more like a peroxide blond than an albino, Mr. Landon leads the family to an area Ryan has dubbed "God's Little Acre". Landon also finds himself on top of Hackett's girl. Passions involving even more family members lead to a big climax...

****** God's Little Acre (8/13/58) Anthony Mann ~ Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Tina Louise, Buddy Hackett

A crazed Southern patriarch spends all his time digging on his property for gold that he insists that his grandfather hid somewhere on their property and he gets his two dim sons to him on this never-ending quest. As a result, they really do no productive work--they just dig and dig. As for the women, they are all horny and trashy and spend most of their time writhing about like they are in heat! My goodness, this is an incredibly shrill and awful movie. It's a shame, as I wanted to like it since it starred Robert Ryan (one of my favorite actors) but it was almost like watching a movie starring the characters from "The Beverly Hillbillies" played in a manner even less subtle than the comic strip! I am pretty sure that most Southerners cringe when this film comes on TV, as it's nothing but horrid stereotypes and Hee-Haw style acting! Aside from Rex Ingram, no one in the film seemed the least bit real. Robert Ryan just yelled like a moose in heat and the rest of the cast weren't much better! The movie is simply terrible and trashy from start to finish.

Other than to watch sexy Tina Louise or because you detest Southerners and want to look down on them, I honestly can't see any reason at all to waste your time with this one.