The Son of Rusty (1947)

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.

"Mild Spoilers" Not your usual boy and his dog type of movie "Son of Rusty" is about how we treat those whom we feel are not that hip to what we're all about and at the same time not at all bothering to put ourselves into their shoes in order to see what's really bothering them.Jed Barlow is not at all that likable of a person when he first comes to Lawtonville to live in the Old Gurber Farm that he purchased outside of town. Not at all that talkative and only having a dog, Barb, as a friend it becomes rumored by some of the townspeople that he has something very sinister to hide.This all comes to the surface when he receives a letter from a federal prison that he was just released from.The talk starts to swirl around town about Barlow being dishonorably discharged from the military after serving time behind bars. As a result he's not wanted in town by the town elders and all this was started by a number of youngsters who saw the address, that was forwarded back to Barlow in Lawtonville, that the letter had on it as Barlows previous residence; the federal pen. Spreading around town like wildfire the rumor that Barlow was no good and a danger to everyone made him an almost wanted and marked man to everyone who came in contact with him. Only Danny Mitchell and his dog Rusty had anything to do with the friendless, mostly because of himself, Barlow seeing through the false rumors that's been going around town about him which in effect brought the best of of the troubled young veteran who for once opened up and tried to be social with them. Later even Danny's friendship with Barlow turned sour when he almost killed Danny's dog Rusty in him exploding a tree stump on his property not realizing that the dog was nearby. It was earlier in the movie that both Danny and Rusty came to Barlow's rescue when, after his dog Barb came running for help to the Mitchell home, he came down with a bout of deadly malaria that he contracted in the Pacific Theater of War.Finding a reason to kick Barlow out of town in that his using explosives was somehow against the towns ordinances he's put on trial where it was hoped that all his dirty laundry would be would be brought out into the open. In the end the only dirty laundry that was exposed to the light of day was the intolerance of those who so um mercifully persecuted Barlow by the rumors that they spread all over town about him.A fine lesson in what intolerance is all about and a pretty good civic lesson as well on the part of the town Counselor Franklyn P. Gibson who took on Barlow's case. Gibson showed how ignorance and mob mentality could lead to those who practice it in becoming even worse that the person whom, in believing the false rumors, they directed it against like the innocent Jed Barlow.As for Rusty he found love and happiness in his new girlfriend, Jed Barlow's dog, Barb who together had a litter of puppies. Who one of the cuddly and cute little darlings were given by Danny, who hired him, to Franklyn P. Gibson as his fee for successfully defending Jed Barlow after seeing just how wrong he was about his new friend and neighbor.

I usually let these "kid's movies" play in the background as I go on about Saturday chores, but this one caught my attention because "I love a good mystery." In this entry in the "Rusty" series (Rusty is a German shepherd), young Danny and his friends are saving up to redeem a radio offer of a book on "How to Train Your Dog to be a Detective." The mystery arrives to Danny's corner of small town America in the form of a surly stranger, Jed Barlow (Stephen Dunne), who just wants to be left alone.Conflict arises when the town learns that Barlow has a military record which led to a dishonorable discharge (although they don't know why). The town turns against Barlow, fueling his alienation. Jed and Danny become friends, however, when Rusty takes up with Barlow's own German shepherd.The star of this film, in my opinion, is Thurston Hall as retired attorney Gibson, who not only represents Barlow in the inevitable town-on-trial scene wherein Gibson is charged with a minor offense, but along the way teaches the boys in Danny's club lessons in tolerance, fair play, the rule of law, and patriotism.