God’s Little Acre

God’s Little Acre

Year: 1958

Runtime: 118 mins

Language: English

Director: Anthony Mann

ComedyDrama

Set in the sweltering Georgia countryside of the 1950s, a destitute cotton farmer and his two sons dig for the treasure their grandfather allegedly buried on the family land. Their quest is plagued by crushing poverty, marital infidelity, joblessness and heavy drinking, each threatening to tear the family apart.

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Timeline & Setting – God’s Little Acre (1958)

Explore the full timeline and setting of God’s Little Acre (1958). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Backwoods of Georgia, Peachtree Valley, Augusta

The story unfolds across the rural backlands of Georgia, where the Walden farm sits struggling under years of neglect. Nearby Peachtree Valley is a bustling mill town with unemployed workers and social tension. Augusta represents the urban, wealthy center where Jim Leslie’s wealth and influence loom large.

🏞️ Backwoods Georgia 🏭 Mill Town 🏙️ Augusta

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:16

Main Characters – God’s Little Acre (1958)

Meet the key characters of God’s Little Acre (1958), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Ty Ty Walden (Robert Ryan)

A widowed, stubborn farmer who has spent 15 years digging for a family treasure, neglecting the land he must feed. His obsessive quest strains his relationships with Buck, Shaw, Griselda, and Darlin' Jill, while he clings to a fragile faith that God will bless his effort. He ultimately grapples with whether to abandon the search if his sons are to be protected.

🪙 Obsession 👨‍👦 Family 🙏 Faith

Pluto Swint (Buddy Hackett)

Aiming to become sheriff, he shows ambition and street-smarts, using charm to win support. He becomes involved with Darlin' Jill while pursuing political power. His ascent highlights the intersection of law, influence, and personal gain.

🎯 Ambition ⚖️ Law & Order 💘 Affection

Griselda Walden (Tina Louise)

Buck's wife and Ty Ty’s daughter-in-law, she navigates romance, loyalty, and family pressure. Her affair with Will adds fuel to the town’s tensions and to the Walden household’s fragility. She seeks stability but becomes a pivot point in the family’s conflicts.

💋 Infidelity 👩‍👧 Family 🎭 Drama

Dave Dawson (Michael Landon)

An albino man who is kidnapped by Ty Ty to aid the treasure hunt, then uses divination to claim the treasure lies on Ty Ty’s land. He seduces Darlin' Jill, complicating loyalties and signaling the use of outsiders to achieve local aims. His presence embodies themes of otherness and manipulation.

🌈 Outsider 🪄 Divination 💫 Seduction

Farm Hand with Hoe (Davis Roberts)

A minor farm worker involved in the Walden operation, representing the labor force drawn into the family’s schemes. He participates in the rural labor dynamics that undergird the Bales and keeps the farm running amid turmoil.

👨‍🌾 Worker 💪 Labor 🧭 Support

Rosamund (Helen Westcott)

Ty Ty’s daughter living in Peachtree Valley with her millworker husband Will. She embodies the tension between urban and rural life and bears witness to the consequences of the family’s actions. Her presence connects the farm to the town and its struggles.

🏢 Town vs Country 💔 Family 🥀 Loss

Watchman (Russell Collins)

The local watchman who observes the shifting boundaries between law, order, and chaos in the community. His role underscores the tension between authority and vigilante justice.

👀 Observation ⚖️ Law & Order

Shaw Walden (Vic Morrow)

One of Ty Ty’s sons, whose presence adds to the family’s internal strife. His temperament contributes to the explosive confrontations that define the Walden household.

👊 Family 🔥 Temperament

Bill Thompson (Aldo Ray)

A local figure connected to the Walden world; his involvement hints at the broader social and economic networks surrounding the family. His actions reflect the competing interests in the community.

🤝 Local ties 💰 Business

Irate Woman (Janet Brandt)

A sharp-tongued onlooker whose reactions mirror the volatile mood of the town. Her presence emphasizes the crowd’s temper and social tensions surrounding the Walden family.

😡 Public opinion 👀 Social tension

Uncle Felix (Rex Ingram)

A field worker who advises Ty Ty and later chases Dave away, illustrating the practical, often skeptical voices in the community. His actions help steer some of the family’s decisions.

⚡ Authority 🧭 Guidance

Buck Walden (Jack Lord)

Ty Ty’s other son, who channels anger into confrontation and becomes a central figure in the violent clashes within the family. He wrestles with loyalties, honor, and the desire to protect his own interests.

🔥 Temper 👨‍👦 Family

Jim Leslie (Lance Fuller)

The estranged son and Augusta-based cotton broker who plots to take Griselda for himself. His arrogance and threat to the family culminate in a fatal confrontation with Buck.

💎 Wealth 💔 Betrayal ⚔️ Violence

Darlin' Jill (Fay Spain)

Buck’s wife who becomes entangled with Dave and later earns Pluto Swint’s affections. Her actions stir romantic and financial tensions, contributing to the family’s unraveling.

💋 Seduction 💍 Romance

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:16

Major Themes – God’s Little Acre (1958)

Explore the central themes of God’s Little Acre (1958), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🪙 Greed

The treasure hunt drives Ty Ty and others to bend or break rules, eroding trust and decency. Wealth becomes a corrosive force that unsettles loyalty within the family. The pursuit blurs moral boundaries and precipitates violent clashes.

⚔️ Family Conflict

Gutting disputes over money, romance, and power tear the Walden clan apart. Rivalries between Buck and Jim Leslie erupt into open confrontations and threaten the family’s unity. Temporary alignments form and collapse as loyalties shift.

🌾 Rural vs Industry

The film juxtaposes the struggling farm with the reopened mill and the town’s labor unrest, highlighting economic pressures on rural communities. Industry offers a volatile new source of power and danger to traditional life. The mill becomes a flashpoint for hope, anger, and moral compromise.

🙏 Faith and Superstition

Ty Ty’s plans are framed as divinely inspired, even when they lead him astray. Superstitions—like the divining rod—collide with reality and raise questions about piety and legitimacy. The search tests the family’s beliefs and their willingness to trust or resist fate.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:16

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Movies about rural family desperation like God’s Little Acre

Gritty dramas of families collapsing under poverty and obsession in isolated settings.If you liked the gritty family dynamics and oppressive rural setting of God’s Little Acre, explore more movies about families struggling against poverty, obsession, and infidelity in isolated worlds. These stories share a melancholic tone and earthy realism.

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Narrative Summary

Narratives in this thread often follow a family unit fractured by an external pressure—like poverty or a shared delusion—and internal conflicts like infidelity and generational strife. The plot unfolds as the family's desperate attempts to escape their circumstances only tighten the grip of their situation, leading to dramatic confrontations and a bittersweet or bleak resolution.

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Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on the intense, often destructive dynamics within families trapped in rural or isolated environments. They share a gritty, earthy mood, a steady pace that builds tension, and themes of economic hardship and fractured relationships.

Passionate character dramas with bittersweet endings like God’s Little Acre

Character-driven stories where volatile desire leads to ruin and fragile redemption.For viewers who enjoyed the passionate turmoil and bittersweet conclusion of God’s Little Acre, this list features similar character-driven dramas. These films explore how desire and obsession lead to moral decline, ending on a poignant, ambiguous note.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves flawed, passionate characters making a series of escalating bad choices driven by desire, greed, or obsession. The plot is character-driven, with a steady pace that allows the consequences of these choices to accumulate, culminating in a dramatic crisis. The ending rarely offers full resolution, instead providing a bittersweet sense of lessons learned at a great cost.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their focus on the destructive power of human passion, a steady pacing that allows for character depth, and a bittersweet emotional payoff. They balance moments of high drama with a overarching melancholic tone, creating a deeply resonant experience.

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God’s Little Acre Summary

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God’s Little Acre Summary

God’s Little Acre Timeline

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God’s Little Acre Timeline

God’s Little Acre Spoiler-Free Summary

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God’s Little Acre Spoiler-Free Summary

More About God’s Little Acre

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