The Proud Rebel (1958)

This is the story of a lonely man, his mute son, and cherished dog, Lance, finding a potential new wife and mother, and of a lonely spinster potentially finding a child to nurture, a faithful dog, and a good husband to love her. That's the gist of it. But, of course , there is much more to the story. John Chandler(Alan Ladd) is an ex-Confederate soldier, who lost his wife when some blue bellies burned down his Georgia house. Also, his half-grown son, David(David Ladd) lost his ability to speak in this trauma, in which he was taken to an orphanage in PA. Serendipitously, John traced him to this orphanage, then traveled west, hoping to find a doctor who could cure David's aphobia, and start a new life somewhere. Lance is a superlative sheep herder. It's unclear where he got his training from, as John doesn't include any sheep tending in his resume. They run into the 3 Burleighs, who are herding their sheep through the main street of town, without a herd dog. Lance gets busy herding them so that they don't completely block traffic. The Burleighs are impressed, but John won't sell Lance. The two young men pick a fight with John, whom they surmise is a Confederate veteran. John is knocked unconscious by the father, and unfairly charged with starting the fight. He is fined $30. or 30 days in jail. But, a passerby: Linnett Moore(Olivia de Havilland) takes an interest in the pair, especially the boy, who would be in a bad way if his father were put in jail. She offers to pay the fine, if the pair will work on her crop farm for a spell, as she is a spinster, and has no regular hired help. Unfortunately, the Burleigh's sheep farm is right next to Linnett's crop farm. They covet her farm to expand their sheep herd, but she won't sell. Toward this goal, they secretly burn down her barn, nearly killing her cows, and leaving her with no place to store her coming crops........ Meanwhile, after much soul searching, John decides he has to sell Lance at an exorbitant price to get the money for a trip to the Mayo Clinic in MN. He finds a buyer in sheepman Berm Bates((James Westerfield), then sends Lennett off to MN with David. He stays behind to deliver Lance to his new owner and to begin building a new barn(Where did he get the money for the lumber and fasteners, since Linnett said she had no money, and he gave all his money for the MN trip?) Meanwhile, Bates lost Lance in a card game, to the Burleighs, of all people! Unfortunately, David's operation didn't improve his speech, so John tries to get Lance back somehow. He goes to the Burleighs, with his gun belt, planning to beg for the return of Lance. Father Burleigh finally offers to give Lance up at no cost, since he won't obey any commands without John or David giving them. The 3 Burleighs plan to ambush John as he goes to the toolshed for Lance. In an awkwardly staged shootout, John kills 2 of the Burleighs, with the youngest putting down his rifle. During the shootout, David(who had come by himself) managed to blurt out "Look Out" to his father, and saved his life. John was overjoyed. But it was evident that David still had a long way to go before he might be capable of reasonably normal speech(not mentioned in the film!)....... During the film, there was little overt indication of a serious romance between John and Lennett, although obviously that was the trend of the action. I think both were inhibited in clearly expressing their romantic feelings. Alan Ladd was unusually soft-spoken and understated in this and other of his later films, which bothered me........It was unclear what was going to happen in the John vs. Father Burleigh discussions toward the end. Burleigh might have offered to return Lance if Lannett agreed to sell her farm to him. But, he decided to take the murderous path. Without John or money for other workers, Lannett's barn would remain unfinished, and she would have to sell.......I point out a few other oversights. 1)Why didn't John attempt to defend himself against the charge of starting a fight. If he had won, his adventures with Lennett would never have happened. 2) Like the finale shootout, the melee between David and 3 boys was poorly staged. 3)After John had killed 2 of the Burleighs, the 3rd could have charged him with double homicide, since there were no other witnesses except for David....One other comment: Henry Hull was the charismatic judge, exhibiting his unique dialogue delivery. He helped liven things up for a while, very different from Alan Ladd!

I would very much liked to have given this a very rare rating for me when it comes to Westerns -- an "8". That's how good I thought the story was. It's a somewhat unique Western, with the whole plot based on a boy who became mute after a Civil War atrocity, and his father's sacrifices to find a cure...along the way they meet Olivia de Havilland.BUT, when a film is supposed to be taking place in Illinois, yet it was filmed in the red rock country of Utah...well, I guess I must be missing something, because that makes no sense at all. It's nice scenery -- all that red rock of Illinois. All those mountains off in the distance...must be a clear day to see the Rockies all the way from Illinois.The other odd thing about this film is that while Alan Ladd's character is described as a Confederate (after the war), the Confederacy aspect is virtually irrelevant. In fact, it might have made more sense to have the boy's hysterical muteness caused by an Indian attack. Ah well.But, in addition to the otherwise excellent story line, the acting here is paramount. Alan Ladd is superior as the father. And I would have to say that I appreciated his performance here more than I did in "Shane".It was an odd film for Olivia de Havilland. The role doesn't seem like her...although she plays it well. And, make no mistake, this is Alan Ladd's film.Dean Jagger was a unique character actor. Even in a rather hateful role (like this one), you don't hold it against him.The boy is played by David Ladd, Alan's son. He does it well.Cecil Kellaway plays Cecil Kellaway, here as a Quaker doctor.I was not at all familiar with Tom Pittman, who died tragically at a very early age. But wow...what a long list of film and television credits he had in a very short career (see Wikipedia).A top notch Western that was, in my view, better than "Shane".

Following the US Civil War, Confederate soldier Alan Ladd (as John Chandler), his skittish 10-year-old son David Ladd (as David Chandler) and their dog "Lance" move from Georgia to Illinois. They are looking for a smart Northern doctor to examine young Ladd, who hasn't been able to speak since he witnessed his mother die by fire. The doctor examines the boy's throat and tells Mr. Ladd the muteness is likely psychological. We hear the younger Ladd make noises one would associate with healthy vocal chords, although he mainly communicates with sign language. After visiting the doctor, Ladd gets into a fight with one-armed sheep rancher Dean Jagger (as Harry Burleigh)...The nastiest guy in town, Mr. Jagger tries to dog-nap Lance, correctly realizing the pooch would make an ideal sheepdog. For an older guy, Ladd puts up a good fight against Jagger's strong young sons, Dean Stanton and Tom Pittman (as Jeb and Tom). However, Ladd gets knocked out cold and dragged to the local judge. For being a "Reb" and losing the fight, Ladd is sentenced to 30 days or 30 dollars. Luckily, spinsterish but still good-looking Olivia de Havilland (as Linnett Moore) has arrived for her opening scene. She takes charge of young David and offers to employ dad Ladd on her 200 acre farm, so he can pay his fine. Of course, the Jagger gang causes violent trouble for the trio...De Havilland acts admirably, but the best notices for "The Proud Rebel" went to the younger Ladd. He won the sporadic "Juvenile Actor" of the year from both Film Daily and the Golden Globes. Given an "Introducing" credit, David Ladd had been acting with his father for several years. He even had a minor role in his dad's extraordinary "Shane" (1953). "The Proud Rebel" feigns such similarity, it almost seems like David blurts out "Shane!" at a pivotal point. Of course, he does not. If you haven't seen the earlier film, do so. This one is nicely directed and photographed, by Michael Curtiz and Ted McCord. There's little magic, but just imagine you were a boy born in the late 1940s.****** The Proud Rebel (1958-05-28) Michael Curtiz ~ Alan Ladd, David Ladd, Olivia de Havilland, Dean Jagger

The Proud Rebel is a touching tale, performed simply and effectively with the fine acting talents of Olivia De Havilland, Dean Jagger, Cecil Kellaway and Alan Ladd. The surprising winner is eleven year old David Ladd in his biggest film debut, playing Ladd's mute son, he gives an astonishingly professional and realistic performance. With outstanding cinematography and filmed on spectacular scenic locations in Utah and professionally directed by Michael Curtiz, The Proud Rebel deserves the title of timeless classic. I will not give a synopsis of this film as so many have already adequately done, but I do insist this heartwarming drama must be seen to be fully appreciated. This film will appeal to all fans of Alan Ladd, Olivia De Havilland, Western Films and anyone who enjoys a sentimental story about the love between a boy and his father and the forever loyalty of a beloved dog.