A Girl Named Sooner

I have to echo the statements of *almost* everybody else. This movie will STICK WITH YOU. It's VERY haunting but I have to wonder... do I really want to feel haunted?? It's not pleasant! Seriously, it was a weird movie. So weird it drew me here to the internet almost 30 yrs later to look it up cause it was WEIRD and scary. I remember being COMPLETELY tormented by my wanting to watch it but being repulsed by the depressing aspects.

The bird scene is devastating. I don't really remember much of anything else in the movie but I know there were some happier parts. While I do have a "thing" for having my children experience some of my own childhood memories I've Disneyland, etc.. I don't know if reliving A Girl Named Sooner is something I want to burden them with! Just like I was torn when I watched it so many years ago, I'm torn now wondering if I should share it with somebody else!

Funny, how like the other reviewers, I still remembered this movie and have a great desire to see it again. After seeing this movie when I was only about 10, my mom said that I told her I wanted to adopt. Now, I don't remember saying that, but I do think it was funny that, not remembering that being said, I grew up to adopt a sib group of 3. I guess that says how much a movie can seriously affect a life, or many lives. I have been looking off and on on the web to see if I could find the movie to purchase and I have finally found a place. Not knowing the company, I know I am taking a chance on ordering it, but to me it is worth the chance. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://www.onlyclassicmovieworld.com/Agirlnamedsooner.html

Despite having been about four at the time I saw this movie, I still remember it. Set around the depression, it involves Sooner, a neglected child raised by a backwards, crazy old woman. Sooner is given to a couple to raise, and the drama comes from seeing this formerly isolated and ignorant little girl learn about love and family. Chloris Leachman deserved an Emmy as her portrayal of the wagon-driving, wily old woman--I can still remember her screeching at the people who want to take Sooner from her. The movie has a sort-of WALTONS feel to it, and that's not a bad thing at all. Too bad somebody hasn't released this on video; I think many people would love it.

I am from Switzerland County where this movie was filmed. Sooner lived with the old woman on a hill in a small town called Bennington. The Hill was called Schuel Hill. Bennington was around six miles from Vevay. That is where Sooner lived with the married couple who had no children. The school that Sooner attended in the movie is called the old gym and is still used today for basketball games and carnivals. My sister in law was an extra in this film. She was a little girl on the playground. It is wonderful to watch a movie and to be familiar with the surroundings. This is a very touching film. You will laugh and cry while watching it.

When I think back to my childhood, this movie stands out above all others. It first aired when I was 8 yrs old. I watched it every opportunity I had after that. The teasing Sooner encountered, esp the crow scene, connected with my own life experience of being teased endlessly.

The wonderment of Sooner at the fair also stands out in my mind. These scenes were so well shot that I remember feeling like I was see through Sooner's eyes and feeling her wonderment.

I wish this movie was available in video so that I could share it with my daughter.