Thanks for the heads up from you and Suzidoll regarding this movie. I really believe that your father was having the time of his life in this movie. Wish that he’d had more of a chance to play in comedic roles.

I haven’t seen God’s Little Acre (1958) in about twenty five years (on good old WOR in NYC) but it occurs to me while watching this today that I have never seen Robert Ryan look so genuinely happy in a movie in my life. I also like the way all the characters–particularly Ryan and Aldo Ray–have made a seemingly unconscious decision to turn their back on reality. They are funny and poignant because of their absurd hopes of finding gold, reopening the mill, and having their craving for something better (in the form of Griselda or a better life on that dirt farm), ultimately satisfied.

This being an Anthony Mann film, I can’t help seeing some Grecian parallels–I don’t mean to be too literal minded or pretentious, but I wonder if the director may have had in mind a bit of Aristophanes and Homer’s Odyssey?

Up there with: “Raging Bull” *”Million Dollar Baby”-(though personally I don’t like watching women hit each other), “Cinderella Man” “Body and Soul” (‘47 version of course) & of course *”Rocky”

It’s amazing especially after my first visit to whats left of an empire called HOLLYWOOD, where I stayed all 3 times only about 5 short blocks from the RKO side of the Paramount lot. Now it’s side entrance & where they say *Kate Hepburn used to sit & eat lunch daily when she was dubbed Box-0ffice poison. This was RKO’s frt door until around 1960 & located on Gower. & that they-(though they also had a ranch) built those amazingly seedy sets for “The Set-Up’ just inside. They of course had to use that ranch for 1939’s mammoth “Hunchback of Notre Dame”

During the Paramount tour they try and act as if the other “Dream Factory’ never even existed. But, if you step over a crack on the ground it’s literally the early 1930’s again.

At least the famed Globe is still-standing on the corner of Melrose & Gower, for now anyway?

(TRIVIA: On the actual Paramount Pictures side there is a rather small incased in cement parking lot-(like where say ET’s Mary Hart or even L. Maltin may park.)
When they need it they remove all cars & fill this with a lotta’ water & was not only used for “The Truman Show” “Cheers” & most famous of ‘em all, was actually where Moses-(*Heston) parted the red sea in “The Ten Commandments” (l956) See, it also has a paved wall as backing, so they just paint it like the ocean.

“Smoke & Mirrors”

Thank You & To Suzie, hope things are ok

Some may also know this, but it always deserves repeating due to how asinine the entire debacle was!!!

The *Ginger (Ms. RKO) Rogers vehicle from 1943 “Tender Comrade” (**1/2-out of four stars) was among Joe McCarthy & J. Edgar Hoover’s top examples during Hollywoods Red With Hunt as pure “communism?”

It’s rarely if ever aired?

Same goes-(though I caught it once) of “I. Cometh” & I agree with Leonard Maltin in his review of it that Ryan steals the show.

Aldo Ray-(l926-l99l) thought Ryan was robbed of at least a 2nd nomination for “Little Acre” & I personally think the same of 1963’s powerful “Billy Budd” Instead the AMPAS nommed leading star Terence Stamp in the supporting role?

(P.S. For those also interested in Ray,etc Rush to get-(1st issue is or was FREE) of “Classic Images” & “Films of the Golden Age” The latter is a mag & it’s spring-off.
I save all things movies and typically have issues I recieved when a subsriber for a year in the early to mid ’90’s
It had a large article on Ray & he was no fan of *”The Duke: John Wayne”
& even refused to call him that during “The Green Berets”

Thank you

Btw, I think there are many of us with an Aldo Ray soft spot.