Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)

Just perfect...

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I prefer this original version to the remake. I remember watching this version on television with my father during a Saturday afternoon movie matinée when I was a young child. The authentic setting, combined with the beautifully sung score (anyone know who sang it?) and touching storyline deliver a movie that makes an impact on any dog lover. There is something enduring about the portrayal of Billy. My son is a huge dog lover and I see so much of him in Billy's character (even the doe eyes Billy makes at dogs and puppies). From the moment the opening music sounds, tears fill your eyes because you know what's coming. One of the scenes I liked best from the original wasn't in the remake: the scene where Billy is training his dogs and his mother inadvertently lays a raccoon scent trail across the kitchen floor...and both dogs, kids, and mother end up slipping and sliding across a kitchen floor covered in suds and water. Hilarious! This film has several excellent messages. It addresses determination and work ethic, but it also addresses the power of love and family. A must have for everyone's collection. Although the remake is quite good and true to the original, I recommend this original version to anyone wishing to own a video companion to the novel.

The 1974 version of "Where the Red Fern Grows" was shot in Tahlequah, OK at the time I was director of Theatre Tulsa, not far away. Norman Tokar, Director, came to me and asked if I would help find local children to be in the film, and I had about 200 of them sitting in my theater the next Sat. for him to choose from. He picked the two young girls from that bunch. As a gesture of appreciation, Norman gave me the role in the film that he had intended to play, himself -- the Stationmaster. Lyman Dayton, the producer, decided he'd make a new version some 25 or 30 years later, and he called me to ask if I'd reprise my role as Stationmaster in this new filming. I said, "Yes." It turned out that I was the only member of the original cast who repriced his role. There's a lot more to this story, but that'll suffice for now. Bob Telford

We saw this one last night after my wife rented it from the local library. Making fun of it was a hoot! It really should have been on MST3K with Mike & the Bot's.A good sleeper if you want to have some fun...

this movie was very old when my students and i watched it in the fourth grade after reading the novel. The first few minutes go really slow and then about thirty minutes in the movie it starts to get really great. I believe the only thing wrong was that some of the acting was poor. I give this movie a **-out of-*** !!!