Goodbye, My Lady

Due to popular demand, Warner Home Video has released for the first time on video this 1956 William Wellman classic. Based on the book by James Street, this heartwarming tearjerker tells the story of a young boy named Skeeter (Brandon de Wilde) who lives with his Uncle Jesse (Walter Brennan) in the Mississippi swamps. When the boy tracks and catches a strange animal that laughs and cries but is obviously a dog, he names her Lady and sets about teaching her to be a birddog. The local grocer and hunter extraordinaire Cash (Phil Harris) scoffs at the idea, but Skeeter persists and shows triumphantly that his Lady can whomp all over Cash's pride and joy Millard Fillmore (the dog, not the President). Eventually, the boy learns that his dog is a rare African breed known as a Basenji, and he must decide whether to contact the people who lost her. Modern audiences are likely to wince a bit at Skeeter's sometimes rough treatment of Lady (having a birddog was important in terms of food), but most will probably be caught up in this fine coming-of-age story. Recommended. (R. Pitman)