In 1946 MGM adapted The Yearling into a motion picture starring Jane Wyman and Gregory Peck. Twelveyear-old Claude Jarman, Jr., won a special Academy Award as the finest child actor of the year for his portrayal of Jody, both Wyman and Peck were Oscar nominees for their acting, and the film was nominated for Best Picture. The film is sentimental and ironic, but the rustic dialect which seems to flow authentically in the book sounds artificial on the screen. Ma Baxter's character is softened in the film, and the simple wonder and beauty of nature, an integral part of the novel, is overwhelmed by elaborately produced scenes.