Walt Disney wouldn't make his first live action film until 1950, although his True-Life Adventures nature film series begins with Seal Island in 1948. And oddly enough this excellent film about animal friendship and bonding with an ecological message that looks like some kind of fusion between Walt era Disney and gangster era Warner Brothers came from 1930s Golden Era MGM.
There are no big human stars in it - probably the most recognizable actors are Ed Brophy who has a bit part as a forest ranger and Samuel S. Hinds as the author and dad of Toni (Jean Parker). And even then, you'd have to be a real old movie buff to recognize them. But then Clark Gable and Jean Harlow would have just been a distraction in this situation.
This is the story of the deer Malibu and puma Gato who are orphaned as infants, found and adopted by a 17 year old Toni while dad is trying to write his next book, raised together, and released back into the wild as adults, and always remain friends. In the background a romantic relationship results over a several year period between Toni and a sympathetic forest ranger, Bob, as Toni and her dad periodically return to their cabin in the wilderness. The humans in the story are here more as background and support for the animals as they are relentlessly and often illegally pursued by hunter and guide Bergman, a truly hissable villain. He and his companion are often saying how they have to eat too, but Bergman sure does seem to enjoy the actual slaughter of the animals he hunts.
Lots of times the film is like a silent movie, just showing the deer and the puma as they live their lives through the years and sometimes reunite. As for the ending - let's just say it is a good thing the production code did not apply to animals! I still can't figure out how they did the wonderful scenes of the puma and deer licking and preening each other given the limited technology of the time. Highly recommended.
