I recently viewed the 1946 MGM production of The Yearling for the first time. I'm not really sure why I decided to rent it at my local video store and I have to admit that I was a bit embarrassed to be renting what I thought to be a sickeningly sentimental piece of mush.
 
However, from the opening shot of the beautiful Florida countryside, I was completely engrossed. The story was at once amusing, depressing, frightening and of course undeniably touching. The characters were wonderfully flushed out and one in particular -- Ma (Ory) Baxter -- was the most compelling for me. This was largely due to the wonderful performance by Ms. Jane Wyman.

Many would site her sensitive portrayal of the title character in Johnny Belinda as her greatest achievement, and though I agree it is an excellent performance full of nuance without uttering a single word, I would say her Ma Baxter is her moment of perfection on the screen. In The Yearling, she begins as a seemingly cold-hearted and bitter woman who shows no signs of being in the running for mother of the year. She has lost three of her children to death and in order to endure, she decides to lock away all emotion so that she cannot be hurt again.
However, as the film progresses, her steely facade gradually softens until she is able to love again. The beauty of this transformation is that it makes complete sense. It is not executed in a sloppy or contrived way in order to create a happy ending, but rather truthfully changes based on various events.

Of course, this character arc is due in large part to the wonderful direction of Clarence Brown and the script based on Marjorie Kinnan  Rawling's novel. And Wyman's characterization perfectly conveys the complex emotions of this changing character.

The first of Wyman's scenes wonderfully sets up her character. She is seen being rather short with Jody and his idle ways of frolicking with 'critters' rather than doing his chores. Pa poignantly says to Ma, 'Don't be afraid to love the boy.' We next see a slow pan showing three children's gravestones and the camera eventually rests on Wyman's distraught face. She does not display any histrionic behavior but simply stands perfectly still and sheds one single tear. This is a beautiful moment that subtely illustrates the reasoning for Wyman's seemingly cold demeanor. Also, Wyman's wonderful gift of displaying intense, but understated emotion is terrifically captured here.

A later scene begins with Pa and Jody returning from a trip to town to get various supplies. While in town, the two were involved in a fight defending the honor of their friend Oliver. Instead of showing concern upon seeing her young son with a scratched face, she is annoyed and angry and Pa's similar appearance elicits the same reaction.

However, when Pa informs Ma that he has saved enough money so that he can buy tobacco seed and use the money from that to build her a well right outside the door, her demeanor completely changes. In her first expression of happiness in the film, Ma shows her excitement for the prospect of her very own well.

However, staying true to character, Wyman smartly decides to play this moment in a very understated manner but is still able to convey Ma's happiness. After going on about the new well for a few moments, she realizes that she is allowing herself to feel too much and immediately attempts to hide her joy by accusing Pa and Jody of not getting everything she ordered. She then opens one of the parcels and sees several yards of material to make a dress out of. Initially, she seems pleasantly surprised to see it, but again refuses to yield by showing gratitude and instead scolds her husband for wasting money 'on such foolishness.'

However, Pa sees right through this act and he and Jody exit the house to leave her to herself. Wyman plays this last little section so brilliantly. She doesn't say anything, but we see her petting the beautiful new material and she is crying. Their family has gone through hard times and she is not used to so much good news -- first a well and now her first new dress in years. It's more than she can handle, and Wyman displays this sentiment perfectly.

After admiring the material for a moment, she sits down in her chair and sobs into her hands. In a space of no more than five minutes, Wyman was able to convey anger and annoyance at her son's and husband's fight, excitement over the new well, false disappointment in the wasting of money on material for a dress and finally expressing tears over the overwhelming amount of good fortune presented to her. Though it seems these varied emotions would create a disjointed scene, Wyman is able to make them flow naturally and believably.

The final scene in the film is when Ma's metamorphosis into a more warm and compassionate character is fully realized. Jody had run away because he was forced to kill his beloved deer, Flag, because Ma attempted the task but was unable to make a clean shot. As a result, Jody was extremely resentful toward his parents and decided to try and run off and join the family friend Oliver in Boston.
 
Jody, however, has understood the reasoning behind his parents' action toward Flag and has come back home. While he is having a heart-to-heart with Pa, Pa tells Jody how Ma has been looking for him day and night indicating her changing ways. At this point, we see Wyman standing in the door listening to their conversation. She is teary eyed but obviously out of relief to see her son home safe.

Though this scene could have been played out in a rather conventional fashion, Wyman adds several touches that create a more complex and believable moment. For instance, as Jody goes off to bed (he didn't notice her standing in the doorway), we see Ma's intense reaction to having her boy home after worrying that she had lost her last surviving child. Wyman, once again, plays this scene to perfection. She has not let out very much emotion before this moment and all that she has held back in the past several years is now coming out in such a way that it's almost choking her. Her sobs seem to be coming faster than she can emote them which beautifully illustrates Ma's pent-up emotion she has been hiding. As Pa consoles her, she eventually controls herself and goes in to Jody's room to see him.

This is another moment when Wyman adds a little subtle touch in order to humanize her character and make her actions seem realistic. When she walks to Jody lying in his bed, she lovingly caresses his head. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but the way Wyman decides to do this simple act is very telling. She seems a bit unsure of herself at first which makes sense since she hasn't shown him any affection in quite a long while and is perhaps a bit rusty. The way she plays with his hair is very sweet because of her seemingly lack of confidence in her sign of affection. However, after a brief moment, she dramatically takes Jody in her arms and that hesitation is gone and she is finally able to show true compassion for her young son.

Though this brief essay has focused on Ms. Wyman's contribution to the film, the other performances by Gregory Peck and Claude Jarman Jr. cannot be forgotten. They infuse their roles with just the right amount of warmth and sentiment. I felt compelled to write a few words about Wyman's performance because I feel that she is often times forgotten for her wonderful contribution to the art of film acting.

She is a woman of amazing range who is equally adept at drama, comedy and even musicals. The Yearling is, I believe, her greatest achievement displaying an amazing gift for being able to display powerful and diverse emotions with very little dialogue. The film itself is required viewing for any fan of classic movies, and Wyman's performance is just one of the many memorable aspects of this beautiful film.