''Good-bye, My Lady'' is a 1956

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film adaptation of the novel '' Good-bye, My Lady'' (1954) by James H. Street. The book had been inspired by Street's original 1941 story which appeared in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

''. Street was going to be the principal advisor on the film when he suddenly died of a heart attack.The Inside Story of ''Good-bye, My Lady''
/ref> A boy learns what it means to be a man by befriending and training a stray

Basenji The Basenji ( /bəˈsɛndʒi/) is a breed of hunting dog. It was bred from stock that originated in central Africa. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale places the breed in the Spitz and primitive types. The Basenji produces an unusual y ...

dog and then is forced to surrender her to its rightful owner. Both readers of the story and film-goers found the boy's eventual loss of the dog unexpected. Directed by

William A. Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on avi ...

, the film starred

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

and

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...

, with Sidney Poitier and

Phil Harris Wonga Philip Harris (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American actor, comedian, musician and songwriter. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with ''The Jack Benny Program'', then in '' The Phil Harr ...

in supporting roles. Brennan and Harris previously co-starred in 1951's ''

The Wild Blue Yonder ''The Wild Blue Yonder'' is a 2005 science fiction fantasy film by German director Werner Herzog. It was presented at the 62nd Venice Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI Award. It was screened in competition at the Mar del Plata Internati ...

'', and Brennan and deWilde would reunite for the cameras in 1965 for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

in ''

Those Calloways ''Those Calloways'' is a 1964 American family drama film, adapted from the 1950 children's novel ''Swiftwater'' by Paul Annixter. The film was produced by Walt Disney and directed by Norman Tokar. It was the last credit for veteran film composer ...

''. That same year, deWilde would play producer John Wayne's son in ''

In Harm's Way ''In Harm's Way'' is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal, with a supporting cast featuring Henry Fonda in a lengthy cameo, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanle ...

''. The film was produced by John Wayne's Batjac Productions.

Plot

Young orphan boy Skeeter (

) is being raised in a Mississippi swamp cabin by his poor and toothless Uncle Jesse Jackson (

). One night, a mysterious noise is heard. They later discover that the noise was caused by a strange breed of dog (My Lady of the Congo) they do not recognize. Rather than a bark, the dog has a yodel or laugh. The animal has keen senses, and they decide to train her for bird hunting. In time, Skeeter learns that an ad had been placed for a female Basenji which had been lost in their swamp months earlier. Skeeter arranges for a telegram to be sent, and a representative (

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor r ...

) of the dog's rightful owner appears to take it back. Skeeter is forced to "

come of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be ...

" and surrender the animal. With the $100 reward money given, he is able to purchase Jesse the false teeth that he needs and put a down payment on a 20 gauge shotgun.

Cast

as Uncle Jesse Jackson *

as Cash Evans *

as Claude "Skeeter" Jackson * Sidney Poitier as Gates Watson *

as Walden Grover *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servant ...

as Bonnie Drew

The dog

Chosen for the film was My Lady of the Congo, a six-month-old

puppy of Miss Veronica Tudor-Williams of

Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retai ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. My Lady was flown to Hollywood, to be followed later by four young dogs as doubles, including her little brother My Lord of the Congo and Flageolet of the Congo, subsequently an International

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

. As it was, My Lady wound up doing most of the scenes. When not filming with then 13-year-old deWilde, the dog spent all her time with him, and an attachment developed between them. Unknown to theater-goers that saw boy and dog parted in the film was the fact that the written agreement supplying the animal stated that My Lady would become the personal property of Brandon deWilde upon completion of filming. The rare breed of dog had been unknown to most Americans. Affected by either the story, the novel or the movie, many people were inclined to become Basenji owners at this time.

Music

Song: "When Your Boy Becomes a Man". Music by Don Powell, lyrics by Moris Erby.

Home media

''Good-bye, My Lady'' was originally released on VHS in the United States by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

, on December 13, 1993. On December 10, 2010,

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released ''Good-bye, My Lady'' as a manufactured on-demand

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

wide-screen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

DVD-R release. In an interview for

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

, Gretchen Wayne, the daughter-in-law of John Wayne and current president of Batjac Productions, was asked about a DVD. "I'm not sure who owns ''Good-bye, My Lady'' -- it might be

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. It's a charming story and it should be released," she said.

References

External links

* * * * {{John Wayne 1956 films 1950s coming-of-age drama films Batjac Productions films American coming-of-age drama films Films about dogs Films about orphans Films based on American novels Films produced by John Wayne Warner Bros. films 1956 drama films 1950s English-language films Films directed by William A. Wellman 1950s American films American black-and-white films