“Old Yeller” 1957

 

"Old Yeller" from 1957 was a live-action Walt Disney favorite for generations.

As a ‘70s kid, I thought Old Yeller was the best movie ever, filled with humor and heartbreak. This film came out two years before I was born, but it was a perennial TV favorite growing up, on The Wonderful World of Disney. I watched this Walt Disney favorite recently for the first time since I was a teen, after I had just lost my dog to cancer.

How does Old Yeller compare today to my memory? Let’s just say everything’s pretty black and white in this beautiful color movie. Perhaps if Uncle Walt had hired a William Wyler or John Ford to direct, Old Yeller may have had more nuance and resonance. But Disney typically hired competent journeymen directors like Robert Stevenson, for stringent control over cash and creativity.  

Still, Old Yeller is a solid “boy and his dog” movie. And for me, the dated aspects of the film are not central to the action. I’m not hung up that the mother defers to the husband, that the family uses guns, or that the settler family live near Indians after the Civil War. This is a ‘50s movie about a past era, made by conservative Walt Disney—I wasn’t expecting a progressive documentary. Yes, it’s a grimace today that the little brother gets an Indian headdress and tomahawk as a gift from returning Pa. But I was not overly perturbed since I was probably the last generation of kids who played Cowboys and Indians, back in the early ‘70s in Upper Michigan.

"Old Yeller" soon becomes a valued part of the Coates family.

In a nutshell, Old Yeller comes into the Coates family’s lives after father Jim leaves on a long cattle drive. At first, Old Yeller has a reputation as a loveable scoundrel, stealing food and getting after female dogs. But the rogue changes his ways as he bonds with the family, first with little brother Arliss, who is as much a wild thing as Old Yeller. However, the dog eventually gets the approval of older brother Travis, who is looking after the family in his father’s absence.

Though Old Yeller’s original owner shows up, he can see how strongly the dog has bonded with the boys, and lets them keep him. Old Yeller’s great at fending off wild or unruly animals, but meets his fate when a rabid wolf injures him while trying to protect Katie Coates and a neighbor girl. Against the mother’s better judgment, she lets Travis put Old Yeller in quarantine. After a couple of weeks, the boy is horrified to see that his beloved dog is now snarling and foaming at the mouth. Standing in as the man of the family, Travis feels it is his job to put Old Yeller out of his misery.

"Old Yeller" gets rabies after fighting off a sick wolf to protect Mrs. Coates.

Old Yeller, based on the best seller by Fred Gipson, was snapped up by Walt Disney, and Gipson co-wrote the screenplay. Old Yeller was Disney’s Christmas movie for ’57 and was a huge hit, and enjoyed several re-releases.

I must say that half of the scrapes that Old Yeller rescues the Coates family from are because of their own foolishness. Especially Arliss, who chases after bear cubs and tries to let rabid Old Yeller out of his pen. Even Travis, going after wild boars, just after he’s told that rabies is rampant in their neck of the woods. Not only do they attack Travis, but nearly kill Old Yeller.

In my house, our beagles wouldn't have passed the test of being tempted with venison!

As a kid, I was fascinated by rabies, since it turned up as a plot line for several TV shows. First Old Yeller, then reruns of Mom’s fave hip western The Monroes, where their community was terrorized by a rabid wolverine in “The Forest Devil.” I was riveted because my Michigan’s state animal is the wolverine! There was also a Bonanza episode, “A Time to Die,” with Ben Cartwright’s lady friend afflicted by rabies. She’s played by Vera Miles, who I’ve joked was the favorite TV female guest star during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Both episodes are on YouTube. Yeah, I was that weird kid who rushed home to watch Dark Shadows!

Spike as Old Yeller was incredibly expressive and energetic!

The action sequences with the animals hold up remarkably well and that is a tribute to famed animal trainers Rudd and Paul Weatherwax. Rudd was especially renowned, via his work with Lassie. And the performance they achieve with Spike, who plays Old Yeller, is terrific. Watching this dog perform, I loved him more than ever—a belated Oscar for Spike, please!

Dorothy McGuire, in her first Disney outing, as Katie Coates in "Old Yeller."

Old Yeller was the first time top-billed Dorothy McGuire appeared in a Walt Disney movie, which she followed up with Swiss Family Robinson in ’60 and Summer Magic in ’63. Some scoffed at the ‘40s dramatic actress now playing mother roles, but these big budget films were even bigger hits. At 41, Dorothy looks realistic as a pioneer woman, yet is attractive as ever. I do wish there was a bit more toughness in Dorothy’s Katie Coates as there was with her Katie Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Bathing in the family's drinking water with "Old Yeller" is just one of Arliss' antics!

Kevin Corcoran's Arliss listens to a deal for "Old Yeller," made by his former owner.

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This was the first time up to bat in feature films for Disney TV stars Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran—they eventually co-starred in five films together. I realize that Kevin Corcoran was directed to play Arliss as a “lovable” little devil, as he became popular on Disney TV playing a similar character, “Moochie.” A little of Corcoran’s Arliss, with his caterwauling voice, brash behavior (walking on the kitchen table?), and lack of common sense (tackling a baby cub to claim as his own!), goes a long way. As a kid, we thought Arliss was a hoot, but as an adult, I wished that Arliss would get a time out.

Tommy Kirk as Travis Coates. The scene where he realizes "Old Yeller" has rabies.

The real gem of a performance is Tommy Kirk as Travis Coates. I vaguely recall him from various Disney movies on TV and Tommy seemed personable, but didn’t make a strong impression. Kirk was from a past Disney generation, like Annette Funicello, and I then thought the cool Disney stars were Kurt Russell and Jan-Michael Vincent! When I watched Old Yeller just recently, I was amazed at how natural Tommy Kirk was as Travis, especially compared to Corcoran’s over-the-top Arliss. Kirk’s regular guy appeal, humor, and empathy shine throughout, especially in the scenes where he tries too hard to hold down the fort while Dad’s away. And once Travis bonds with Old Yeller, Kirk is most endearing when the farmer boy and the trusty dog work together. When Old Yeller gets rabies, Kirk’s acting is powerfully real, with the climactic scene where he must do the deed.

Try not to get a tear in your eye during this famous death scene in "Old Yeller."

Fess Parker, Disney’s Davy Crockett, plays father Jim Coates. He’s second-billed but only appears at the beginning and end of Old Yeller. During the film, he is on a cattle drive. Still, Parker gives the fatherly pep talk to Travis, who mourns Old Yeller. Parker later went on to another hit western, Daniel Boone. And Chuck Connors, as Old Yeller’s original owner, did so well holding his own against kids and a dog, that TV producers made him The Rifleman the following year.

Fess Parker as Jim Coates urges Travis to see the "good parts" of life in "Old Yeller."

As a kid, most folks in the Upper Michigan town I grew up in didn’t have money to take their pets to the vet. So, when their time came, the older boys or men in our families would take them out in the woods and shoot them. That seems horrifying today, but that’s the way it was back then, and Old Yeller’s fate had a powerful effect on me as a kid.

Travis Coates and his trusted companion, "Old Yeller."

Recently, I had to euthanize my very own Old Yeller, my golden Cockapoo, named Ginger. She was diagnosed with lymphoma this spring. With medication, Ginger made it until June 12, living 14 ½ years, a great run for her breed. She was not in pain, but my sweet girl didn’t want any of her favorite foods, but only wanted to sleep. Making the decision to end Ginger’s life was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And Old Yeller immediately sprang to my mind. I’m grateful that I didn’t actually have to pull a trigger. At the vet’s office, Ginger was in my lap, where the doctor first sedated her, and finally gave her a shot to euthanize her. It was peaceful for Ginger, but such a jolt for me, when I felt Ginger’s body go still.

Like Travis, I have struggled with getting over the “bad parts,” lamenting that people-loving Ginger and I were cooped up for a year during the Covid shut down. Still, as hokey as Jim Coate’s advice sounds, it’s really just that simple: look for the “good parts” of life and not let the “bad parts” take over entirely.

As old-fashioned as Old Yeller may seem to some folks today, the basic story of human beings love for their animal and the obligation to do right by them, no matter how hard, is still true.

Here's my "Old Yeller, " Ginger the Cockapoo. She was 8 here, cooling off in
Lake Superior, when she was first back full-time in Upper MI. 

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