French director Jean Renoir (Grand Illusion) made five features in Hollywood between 1941 and 1947; The Southerner is considered the best of them. Zachary Scott plays the Texas farmer who endures a year of harsh weather, unfriendly neighbors and family crises to start his own cotton farm. William Faulkner helped Renoir adapt George S. Perry's "Hold Autumn in Your Hand." The film's three Oscar nominations include one for Renoir as Best Director.