I saw this in a movie theater when it first was released. Like all other boys at the time, we pretended not to cry at the end. Hydrophobia was a reality on the frontier and when Yeller gets sick, we know what's coming. The best part of the movie is how the old yellow dog ingratiated himself to the boy who has become, for the time being, the man of the house. Once Yeller saves a life, that's it. He's part of the family. Dad, played dully by Fess Parker, is off earning money. The family lives in a sanitized Disney Old West. The wife seems a bit Eastern to be out there on the prairie. Her articulation seems odd, like she is in a voice and diction class. Tommy Kirk does a decent job as Travis but Kevin Corcoran's portrayal of Arliss gets old really fast. Still, it's a nice movie, one I would like my kids to see.
Review of Old Yeller
