What a waste of my time!!!

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Georgia cotton farmer Robert Ryan (as Ty Ty Walden) has neglected his crop due to digging numerous holes in his land, searching for a fortune in gold supposedly buried by his grandfather. After fifteen years of digging, Mr. Ryan has not found the gold. After two months of digging, the latest hole seems fruitless. Helping during the opening scene are Ryan's sons Jack Lord (as Buck) and Vic Morrow (as Shaw). Mr. Lord is married to tempting Tina Louise (as Griselda). Making her movie debut, Ms. Louise is highly arousing. Ordering some great "bend over" camera angles, director Anthony Mann and his team offer a generous look up and down Louise's beautiful bosom, especially during her first scenes...Louise brings out the beast in brother-in-law Aldo Ray (as Will Thompson), who is suffering due to his cotton plant closing. Also involved in the story is rotund Buddy Hackett (as Pluto), who is running for Sheriff and wants to be part of the family by marrying Ryan's nubile daughter Fay Spain (as "Darlin'" Jill). Believing all-white albinos have magical powers, Mr. Hackett suggests Ryan use Michael Landon (as Dave Dawson) to find where his grandfather's gold is buried. Looking more like a peroxide blond than an albino, Mr. Landon leads the family to an area Ryan has dubbed "God's Little Acre". Landon also finds himself on top of Hackett's girl. Passions involving even more family members lead to a big climax...****** God's Little Acre (8/13/58) Anthony Mann ~ Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Tina Louise, Buddy Hackett

I love Anthony Mann and Robert Ryan is somewhere in the top three of my all time favorites male actors, so I watched this last night on demand. All I could think of was "over the top", "You have got to be kidding me", etc. As preposterous as this movie was to me, the reviews from people who take this movie seriously is even more so. I thought that I was watching a black and white cartoon. I agree with the reviewer who felt that the attempt of the movie's second half to switch to "Tennessee Williams mode" made it feel schizoid. This also weakens the argument of some reviewers who feel this movie is a satire because it switches to a drama. "Entertaining," does not necessarily equal good, and like a train wreck, I had to watch this movie to its satisfactory ending. Satisfactory ending because it was over! Buddy Hackett as a candidate for Sheriff? Yeah, maybe in Brooklyn! Each character seemed on the verge of laughing out loud at the absurdity of their actions and dialog, and the plot had more holes in it than the lawn around God's Little Acre. In a word, embarrassing!

In 1933 while America endured the Great Depression, Erskine Caldwell published his controversial novel " God's Little Acre. " Condemmed, reviled and even Banned, the book continued to sell, but not without consequences. While the author was arrested and jailed, his novel went onto the silver screen and revealed the painful secrets many wanted to keep secret. By today's social standards, the book and the forbidden Black and White scenes in the movie are mild and considered hardly exciting. Yet, in the Baptist south and most of the religious, conservative towns, these scandalous scenes often lead to dangerous censorship. Viewed by Modern audiences, little in the story is shocking. Erskine's book tell of Ty Ty Walden (Robert Ryan), a poor George farmer who inherited his father's farm and a dubious story of buried gold hidden somewhere on the farm. Together with his sons Buck (Jack Lord) and Shaw (Vic Marrow) they spend years seeking the treasure. Ty Ty's daughters Griselda (Tina Louise), Darlin' Jill and Rosamund (Helen Westcott) have their own problems but handle them accordingly. Griselda is aware of how much her former boyfriend Billy Thompson (Aldo Ray) desires her and encourages him. Jill is an exciting and playful scamp who plays to whomever is around, earning her a sinful reputation, especially with Plato Swint (Buddy Hackett), the Sheriff to be. Michael Landon is surprising as 'The Albino' Dave Dawson. The story is simple enough, but it's scandalous nature created a aura of sex and debauchery, that insured a Classic in movie circles. A good vehicle for Robert Ryan and it's Nice to see him as a good guy for once. ****

I saw this movie soon after it was released when I was seventeen. Recently, I caught it again on late night TV; now, over fifty years later, I still count this one as one of the most interesting collection of oddball characters ever put to film. And all wrapped up in a timeless story about human frailties, family values and impossible dreams.Without doubt, this is the film that launched Tina Louise's lacklustre career into a series of B-movies of the late fifties and early sixties, followed by seemingly endless appearances in mindless TV drama and sitcoms over the next thirty-five years. What a shame: because I think her debut film role as Griselda Walden set a new standard for the term 'sex appeal' – and once seen, never forgotten, especially her first appearance with sunlight behind her, outlining her entire body through her thin, cotton shift. So, see this film for Tina Louise in action, if for no other reason.Erskine Caldwell's whole story is definitely worth watching, however. Actually, there are a number of stories beginning with old man Ty Ty Walden (Robert Ryan) and his fifteen-year, frenetic search for his grandfather's gold, supposedly buried somewhere on his farm: with that underlying scenario, Caldwell satirically skewers the lust for wealth that trap too many of us in ephemeral dreams which blind us to the reality around us. Robert Ryan gives his all, in what I regard as one of his best roles.Interwoven with Ty Ty's quest, we see unfold the bodily lust that Will Thompson (Aldo Ray) has for Griselda, the wife to embittered and jealous Buck Walden (Jack Lord). When Will has the hots for Griselda on a feverish summer night, and they stand in darkness, fingers entwined, at the corner of the house, sweat steaming off their bodies, you see one of the finest pieces of bodily eroticism ever put to film – and an image that's still used today, as the above poster on this page shows.The lust for power is given its comic turn with Sheriff wannabe Pluto Swint (Buddy Hackett) trying to get votes from all and sundry. With a name like Pluto – on the edge of society physically, mentally and emotionally – how far can he get? Well, he's also pining for the hand in marriage of Ty Ty's other daughter, Darlin' Jill (Fay Spain). With Pluto, Darlin' Jill pulls off an open-air, erotic bathtub scene that must be seen for its bawdy humor and Freudian overtones. Not to be missed...Wrap all that around Will Thomspon's efforts to power up the bankrupt local cotton mill again, add Ty Ty's visit to his only financially-successful son (to ask for money), Jim Leslie (Lance Fuller), and you have a succession of vignettes that pretty much cover the whole gamut of what it means to be human. Watch for very young Michael Landon (as the albino) and Vic Morrow (as Shaw Walden). Happily, with such an interpersonal imbroglio to appreciate fully, the cast fully delivers. Some argue it's over the top; and so it is, because it's mostly social satire.One puzzlement: the mise-en-scene looks and feels Depression era, but the presence of mid-1950s autos belies that. One wonders if that was a deliberate ploy by the producer and director. The black-and-white photography is exquisite; the sound track is appropriate, given the social milieu of the times, but I could do without it.Overall, it's a classic film which, despite winning no awards, should still be seen by all film lovers.