1948 film by Walt Disney
So Dear to My Heart
is a 1948 American
live-action/animated
comedy-drama film
produced by
Walt Disney
and released by
RKO Radio Pictures
. Its world premiere was in
Chicago, Illinois
, on November 29, 1948. Like 1946's
Song of the South
, the film combines animation and live action. It is based on the 1943
Sterling North
book
Midnight and Jeremiah
. The book was revised by North to parallel the film's storyline amendments and then re-issued under the same title as the film.
The film was a personal favorite of Walt Disney, since it re-created on film one of the most memorable times of his life, growing up on a small farm in the
American Midwest
at the turn of the twentieth century. Walt said: "
So Dear
was especially close to me. Why, that's the life my brother and I grew up with as kids out in
Missouri
". Walt had intended that this would be the first all live-action Disney feature film, but his distributor, RKO, convinced him that when audiences saw the word "Disney", they expected animation. Thus they split the difference.
[5]
So Dear to My Heart
was the final film appearance of
Harry Carey
.
Plot
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Set in
Indiana
in 1903, the film tells the tale of Jeremiah Kincaid (
Bobby Driscoll
) and his determination to raise a
black-wool lamb
that was once rejected by its mother. Jeremiah names the lamb Danny for the famed race horse
Dan Patch
(who is also portrayed in the film). Jeremiah's dream of showing Danny at the
Pike County
Fair must overcome the obstinate objections of his loving yet tough grandmother Granny (
Beulah Bondi
). Jeremiah's confidant Uncle Hiram (
Burl Ives
) is the boy's steady ally. Inspired by the animated figures and stories, the boy perseveres.
[6]
Cast
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]
- Bobby Driscoll
as Jeremiah "Jerry" Kincaid
- Luana Patten
as Tildy
- Burl Ives
as Uncle Hiram Douglas
- Beulah Bondi
as Granny Kincaid
- Harry Carey
as Head Judge at County Fair
- Raymond Bond as Pete Grundy, Storekeeper
- Walter Soderling as Grampa Meeker
- Matt Willis as Mr. Burns, Horse Trainer
- Spelman B. Collins as Judge
- Bob Haymes
as Singer Bob Haymes
Voices
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]
- John Beal
as Adult Jeremiah/Narrator
- Ken Carson
as The Owl
- Bob Stanton as Danny
- Marion Darlington as Whistling Sound Effects
- Clarence Nash
as Vocal Sound Effects
- The Rhythmaires as Vocal Ensemble/Bluebirds
Awards and honors
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The film was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song
for
Burl Ives
's version of the 17th-century English folk song "
Lavender Blue
", but lost to "
Baby, It's Cold Outside
" from
Neptune's Daughter
.
Bobby Driscoll
received a special
Juvenile Award
from the Academy, honoring him as "the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949".
[7]
In addition to
So Dear to My Heart
, he had garnered critical acclaim for his dramatic performance in the
RKO
melodrama
The Window
.
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute
in this list:
Production
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The train depot in the film was later relocated to
Ward Kimball's
Grizzly Flats Railroad
in his backyard. After the railroad closed,
John Lasseter
relocated it to the
Justi Creek Railway
.
Critical response
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]
Film critic
Bosley Crowther
wrote on
The New York Times
that "a little aphoristic fantasy (…) has the imagination and special charm which the film, in general, lacks. For, with all its innocence and simplicity, which are commendable on the modern screen,
So Dear to My Heart
is not distinguished by its story or cinematic style. It is just a pleasant fiction for the kiddies who fancy lively pets and for the oldsters who like to vision childhood in an illusory, kerosene-lamp glow."
[9]
Release
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The film returned rentals to RKO by 1951 of $2,775,000 with $2,200,000 being generated in the U.S. and Canada.
[3]
The film was re-released in 1964 and earned an estimated $1.5 million in rentals in the U.S. and Canada.
[4]
So Dear to My Heart
was released on home video in 1986. It was then re-released in 1992 and released on video in 1994 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. The film was originally planned for a US DVD release as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection, but was cancelled, with no particular reason given. Six years after seeing a region 2 DVD release, it was released in the US on DVD in July 2008 as a Disney Movie Club Exclusive.
In Italy,
So Dear to My Heart
was released on home video in 1997.
[10]
It was re-released on DVD format in 2003.
[11]
Trivia
[
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]
In the DVD's bonus material, it is stated that the formerly
Frontierland
Station is an exact replica of the railroad station built for
So Dear To My Heart
and remains in
Disneyland
today, although it now belongs to
New Orleans Square
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Disney Premiere Here to Be Hollywood Style"
.
The Indianapolis News
. January 7, 1949. p. 21
. Retrieved
August 14,
2019
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"109-Million Investment by H'Wood in Current Technicolor Features"
.
Variety
. February 18, 1948. p. 7.
- ^
a
b
"Richard B. Jewell's RKO film grosses, 1929?51: The C. J. Trevlin Ledger: A comment". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Volume 14, Issue 1, 1994. Domestic earnings $2.2 million; Foreign earnings $575,000.
- ^
a
b
"Big Rental Pictures of 1964",
Variety
, January 6, 1965, p. 39. 1964 revenue anticipation: $1.5 million
- ^
Korkis, Jim.
"Behind the Scenes: So Dear to My Heart"
. The Walt Disney Family Museum.
- ^
Lockhart, Jane. "Looking at Movies:
So Dear to My Heart
". The Rotarian. February 1949, p.36.
- ^
"22nd Academy Awards"
.
Oscars.org
.
Archived
from the original on July 6, 2011
. Retrieved
July 6,
2011
.
- ^
"AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
August 5,
2016
.
- ^
Crowther, Bosley (January 31, 1949).
"
'So Dear to My Heart', a Disney Feature-Length Production, New Bill at the Palace"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"Tanto Caro al Mio Cuore - VHS Disney Video Novembre 1997"
. June 15, 2021.
- ^
"Tanto Caro al Mio Cuore - DVD Buena Vista 2003"
. September 8, 2020.
External links
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