Really Surprised!

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The Son of Rusty (1947) ** 1/2 (out of 4)The fourth film in the series has Jed Barlow (Stephen Dunne) coming to live in the small town when gossip ruins his reputation. He's befriended by Danny (Ted Donaldson) and Rusty but when an accident goes horribly wrong, the former GI has charges brought against him, which has more to do with the gossip than anything else. THE SON OF RUSTY is a step up from the previous entry and if you're a fan of the series then you should find yourself entertained throughout the short 69-minute running time. I think the story itself was a pretty good one as the message is certainly loud and clear that gossip can lead to nothing good. The screenplay did a pretty good job at getting this message across and thankfully it never got too preachy and the film made the right decision to not beat the viewer over the head with its message. Another strong thing here are the performances. Donaldson is certainly at ease in his role and even Tom Powers was much better here as the father. Ann Doran returned to the role of the mother and did a nice job as well. Dunne was extremely good as the former GI who finds himself in a new battle in the small town. Thurston Hall easily steals the film as a good-hearted lawyer who befriends the children. As the title implies, a lot of the running time is devoted to Rusty and the GI's female dog. The "relationship" is cute to say the least but I'm a little surprised that the production code at the time allowed all the obvious sexual references between the two. It's certainly nothing offensive but I think older viewers will get the hints. Either way, THE SON OF RUSTY is a decent entry in the series.

Here the title somewhat gives away the conclusion to the film, but actually producing a "son of rusty" is a very minor subplot to the film. The major subplot involves the damage gossip can do and basically preaches the maxim "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes".With Ted Donaldson getting a little too old to play the troubled little kid, and with Tom Powers and Ann Doran settling comfortably into their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, attention in this film turns to a mysterious new member of the community. However, he wants nothing to do with anyone else, is rude bordering on hostile, is holed up all alone at the Gruber farm claiming to be sharecropping but has ordered a large amount of explosives and is behaving somewhat suspiciously.Danny Mitchell and the new stranger, Jed Barlow, cross paths and lock horns when Danny's dog Rusty develops a crush on Jed's female Shepherd, Barb. Jed's rough treatment of Rusty when he shows up at his farm deepens Danny's suspicions about Jed, and it doesn't help that Danny and his friends have become regular listeners of a radio show involving crime, mystery, and a dog detective. What is the story behind this mysterious stranger? Are Rusty and Barb doomed to be a canine version of Romeo and Juliet? Watch and find out.Central to the success of this entry in the series is Thurston Hall as Franklyn P. Gibson, a famous defense attorney, basically retired, who is enjoying small town life and lends a helpful hand and good advice to Danny and his friends. Lots of times he would play blustery wind bag types, but here he is all heart. The film had me wishing I lived in a small town myself where a few good people can turn the hearts of an entire community.

THE SON OF RUSTY (Columbia, 1947), directed by Lew Landers, the fourth installment in the series featuring a boy and his dog with a plot element making this to be by far the most satisfying entry revolving around the Mitchell family and the town of Lawtonville.The story's main focus is on a stranger in town named Jed Barlow (Stephen Dunne) who arrives with a female German shepherd, Barb, and settling down on the Groover farm in the outskirts of Lawtonville. The moment Barlow arrives, his unfriendly attitude towards everyone and wanting to keep mostly to himself creates suspicion. Barlow is equally unfriendly towards Danny Mitchell (Ted Donaldson) mainly because his dog, Rusty, can't stay away from Barb. (Can you blame him?). Rusty even travels four miles from home to be with his new companion. In spite of warnings to keep Rusty away, changes occur when Barlow's dog comes to the Mitchells for help, with Danny and Rusty following to find Barlow suffering from malaria. He contacts Doctor McNamara (Harlan Briggs), who tends to his needs. Because of his help, Jed agrees to have Danny and Rusty come over whenever they want. Regardless of their friendship, vicious gossip spreads about Jed, leading to talk about him being a convict from military prison, and containing explosives on his property that nearly kills Rusty as well as his friendship with Danny. Further complications find Barlow placed in jail awaiting his trial, while the citizens, especially Luther Hebble (Matt Willis), the one most responsible for gossip spreading who earlier socked him for not being patriotic, would want nothing more than to run Barlow out of town, with Councilman Franklin P. Gibson (Thurston Hall) being criticized for defending his case.Stephen Dunne, the central character of the story, makes a fine mystery man, and considering he's not a relatively well-known actor, his performance appears more like a natural person. He would return to the series in RUSTY SAVES A LIFE (1949) assuming a different portrayal but no different than the one of Jed Barlow. Also in support are Rudy Robles as Gibson's Filipino chauffeur, and Dick Elliott as the Mayor.In spite of the opening credits reading "Original Screenplay by Malcolm Stuart Boylan," the story overall seems to be far from original, in fact, too similar to an earlier screenplay used for JUDGE PRIEST (Fox, 1934) starring Will Rogers under the direction by John Ford, where its plot revolves around a stranger (David Landau), who takes up residence in town, keeping to himself and acting very unfriendly towards his neighbors. Because he's very secretive about his past, he falls victim to malicious gossip as well, and faces trial after defending himself from a physical attack. Regardless of similarities between these two films, both are equally good bearing a moral lesson of how damaging gossiping can be.Although this entry may sound overly melodramatic, there are lighter moments thrown in for good measure. The story opens amusingly as Danny and his friends (Mickey Maguire, Dwayne Hickman, David Ackles and Teddy Infuhr) take a "private property" sign belonging to a city counselor Gibson, and placing it on the door of their clubhouse where they are found by Gibson listening to a weekly radio program featuring Fang, a dog detective, sponsored by Vitabark Dog Food. After Gibson confronts the boys, he agrees on letting them hem have their meetings on his property by renting them a shed for $4.25 along with a 99 year lease. In another set at the 4th of July celebration gathering, Danny's father, Hugh (Tom Powers), a city attorney and public speaker, boring the citizens as well as his wife, Ethel (Ann Doran), with his reading of "Man With a Country" by Edward Everett Hale. Zzzzzz.With much of the screenplay revolving around the humans, dog lovers will be glad to know that there are notable scenes where Rusty and his mate have the screen to themselves where they are playing, roaming in the woods, as well as showing love and affection towards one another. Rusty also shows his smartness by responding to Danny's commands by doing dog bits such as sitting up and barking.What does this entry have to do with the son of Rusty? Nothing, really, except for its few minutes late into the story where Rusty (Flame) and Barb becomes parents to a litter of puppies with the camera giving a closeup to one particular doggie standing out among the others, the son of Rusty. For Rusty's sake, let's hope he's the father!Out of circulation from the television markets since the 1960s, THE SON OF RUSTY was finally returned to television with a June 2, 2007 showing on Turner Classic Movies. This and others in the series make fine family viewing. Next in the series: MY DOG RUSTY (1948) (**1/2 bones)

Malicious gossip about a war veteran (STEPHEN DUNNE) is at the center of this routine story in the Rusty series starring TED DONALDSON as the boy who tries to befriend the veteran only to have the friendship cut short by an accident involving explosives that hurt Rusty.STEPHEN DUNNE gives an earnest, likable performance as the misunderstood veteran soldier and THURSTON HALL does a nice job as a helpful and trusted lawyer Gibson who defends the man accused of a misdemeanor for using explosives/ The final courtroom scene tends to be too preachy in its summation of small-town American values, as well intended as it is, even though Thurston Hall delivers it well.But the story essentially is a weak one, bolstered only by the likable performances and the amazingly well trained canine mentioned in the title. The only real interest in the story comes from the mystery surrounding Dunne and his erratic behavior, which is only solved by the courtroom testimony he's forced to give about his background. Summing up: A small trifle about a small-town incident used to showcase the abilities of a dog named Rusty and his owner, Donaldson.