Yellowneck

This is a strange little film about five confederate deserters trying to make their way through the Everglades to escape capture. They find the wilderness to be a less merciful enemy than the union, as they battle hurricanes, snakes, Senecas, quicksand, and each other. Essentially, this is a raw, real - but not realistic, struggle for survival pitting men who have been branded cowards against nature and other men.

Although the film is over-acted, over-dramatized and over-long, it made a lasting impression on me as an adolescent. I first saw Yellowneck when I was between 9 and 12 years old. When I watched it last night, I remembered having seen it then about a quarter of the way through the film. There are aspects of this film which, at a very young age, I found frightening. As an adult who frequently works in environments such as the one depicted in the film, I can only reflect on my own (and the writer's) ignorant fearfulness today.

The script has too many soliloquies and generally over-dramatizes most of the story. The acting is OK, but the script forces almost all of the cast members to go overboard frequently. Lin McCarthy and Bill Mason both turn in solid performances. The directing, cinematography and editing are all good, but the film could have been 10-15 minutes shorter and just as good. As much as I appreciate character development, a few of the soliloquies and conversation scenes might have improved the film had they been left out.

Weakly recommended.

What this really needed was a star... He needn't have been an A-lister, but it really required a lynch-pin character to hold it together. As it is, it hasn't, so is little better than a mediocre swamp adventure film that follows a band of fleeing Confederate soldiers trying to escape the war and traverse the treacherous Everglades heading for Cuba? The photography is colourful but that's about it. None of the characters are interesting, likeable or remotely engaging; the plot and the dialogue are weak and by half way through I found myself wondering if they could even swim! Not good, sorry....

Five Confederate soldiers in Florida have deserted from their units and head out for the coast with the hope of finding a ship which will carry them to Cuba. But in order to get there they have to contend with the dangers presented by the swamps along with hostile Seminoles who are fully aware of their presence. Now, I generally like movies of this type and this particular one had some good points and some bad ones. First, I liked the fact that it was filmed in color because, even though it cost quite a bit more back in the 50's, it enabled the director (R. John Hugh) to take full advantage of the beautiful scenery. On the other hand, while the movie flowed adequately from one scenario to another, the ending left much to be desired as it seemed to end too abruptly. Likewise, I never really felt anything for any of the characters. Of course, the fact that they were deserters and not necessarily worthy of any respect or concern may have had something to do with it. Still, it would have helped the film if there had been a bit more character development. It also would have helped if they had shown more misery created by the lack of food and water than they did. It would have added to the realism. All things considered then I rate it as slightly below average.

An interesting plot premise is killed with poor direction and a lot of overacting with Yellowneck. There's also a distinct lack of characters who you really root for to get out of the Everglades.

Republic released this film in 1955 about five men who are Confederate Army deserters and not some of the greatest specimens of manhood you'll ever want to encounter. Lin McCarthy, Billl Mason, Harold Gordon, and Berry Kroeger are the deserters and from some of the names you know that by the type of roles they've played. Later on they're joined by Stephen Courtleigh, a colonel who deserted the Star And Bars. He's got pretensions, but deep down he's no better than the other four.

For the one and there is only one who makes it there is then the minor problem of crossing 90 miles of ocean to Cuba. Still it is an achievement to have survived the Everglades and all that inhabit it.

If you care to watch you can find out which one survives.

This modestly budgeted oddity from the mid-fifties is as good an example as I can think of of how to make something out of nothing. Set in the waning days of the Civil War, Yellowneck follows several Confederate army deserters in their flight through the Florida Everglades. The actors are all good and the predicament these characters are in is dramatized with a fair amount of realism. Poisonous snakes, insects and alligators abound, as these unfortunate men have gone from the hell of the Civil War into the frying pan of the swamp. They squabble amongst one another a good deal, but their biggest enemy is nature itself, which seems to be conspiring against them at every turn. One comes to like some of these men very much, and despise others. The pathetic nature of their plight is always apparent, and we cannot help but feel for them as they slog through the mud, their hopes diminishing with each passing day. A fine. psychologically provocative piece of film-making, in tone and sensibility, a sort of cross between Ambrose Bierce and Albert Camus.