For the Love of Rusty

No need to recap the plot. Dog and horse stories were especially popular following WWII, perhaps because of MGM's highly successful Lassie series. This installment of the Rusty series is on a tight budget. The one outdoor set is more dream-like than natural, but fits the mood surrounding the ethereal F.X. Fay (Mather) who camps in the hollow. When Danny (Donaldson) comes over the hill, it's as if he's entering a different world. Fay's an interesting character, unfailingly polite, understanding and wise. In short, he serves as the answer to the Mitchell family's problems. And if I picked up correctly, there are hints that he may not be mortal, but sort of a diplomatic angel serving as an animal doctor.

Be that as it may, the cast is an interesting one. Just count the number of smiles from Ted Donaldson, who's unusually dour as the boy. We don't have to imagine his Danny Mitchell is unhappy—he really appears to be. Add to that actor Tom Powers, best known as the cranky fall-guy in the noir classic Double Indemnity (1944), who seems to have specialized in cold, unfriendly characters. The result is a distance between father and son that appears unusually real for a movie of any type. We have no difficulty believing there's a gap here to be overcome. Then there's a very pretty young Ann Doran as Danny's mom. I'm used to seeing her in one of her many later character roles. Here, her understanding nature knows how to deal with both son and husband (note how cleverly she influences Dad), but can't overcome the gap between them. What a fine, fine actress she was.

Note too, the volunteer fire department bringing together diverse elements of the community into a harmonious weekly poker night. It may be idealized, but comes at a time when small town values were still celebrated. Anyway, the movie's a slender little exercise that manages not to get too sentimental, the pitfall for films for this type. But, more importantly, it's the kind of gentle family drama that has largely disappeared from both big screen and little. And we're all the poorer for that.

For the Love of Rusty (1947)

** (out of 4)

John Sturges directs this third entry in the series, which finds young Danny (Ted Donaldson) fighting with his father (Tom Powers) but growing close to an elderly man (Aubrey Mather) who has moved his camper in the woods. The elderly man tries to teach Danny and his father the importance of their relationship while the dog Rusty ends up having to come to the rescue. FOR THE LOVE OF RUSTY is pretty run of the mill stuff as there's really nothing overly good here, although the entire film at least remains mildly entertaining. It's clear that after a very strong first film that the studio just started pumping these out to make kids happy and not really to win any awards. I think the story was mildly interesting but the problem is that it's just not really told in a way that makes it entertaining. We pretty much had these same issues going on in the first film and it was done in such a better way that you can't help but have a "been there, done that" feel. I think Donaldson is once again good in his part and Ann Doran is good as his mother. I wasn't overly impressed with Powers who just never struck me as having any chemistry with the rest of the cast. Aubrey Mather easily steals the film as the wild old man. The final sequence of drama is well directed by Sturges but the rest of the film lacks any of his magic touch.

... In the first Rusty film, "Adventures of Rusty", Mrs. Mitchell's first name is Ann. The second Rusty film, "Return of Rusty", is very rare, thus I haven't seen it, and just has Mrs. Mitchell billed as Mrs. Mitchell. Here her first name changes to Ethel. No wonder Danny Mitchell is so troubled, with Mom changing names so frequently. But I digress.

Besides Mrs. Mitchell, Danny's stepmom, the film is also misnamed. After being a central character in the first film, Rusty, Danny Mitchell's trusty German Shepherd dog, is barely a prop here. Instead the film focuses on Danny's dissatisfaction with his relationship with his father. He finds that satisfaction in a new friendship with Dr. Francis Xavier Fay (Aubrey Mather), a distinguished older fellow in the tradition of Edmund Gwenn. Dr. Fay is a veterinarian and for some reason is traveling with a local carnival. He is knowledgeable in many things, and his warmth and insight and exciting vagabond lifestyle have Danny treating him more like a dad than his own father, setting up jealousy and conflict between Danny and his actual dad.

This is where the casting and characterization hurt the film. Here Tom Powers plays Danny's father. At the time this film was made Mr. Powers was 57, looked more like Edgar Kennedy playing an irascible cop than anything else, and just didn't come across like the erudite lawyer as Conrad Nagel did in the first Rusty film as Hugh Mitchell. Maybe this casting was done on purpose though, because Hugh Mitchell pulls a bunch of bone headed stunts worthy of Edgar Kennedy in his RKO comedy shorts before the film ends. Ann Doran, however, is lovely and easy going as Danny's stepmom, first name faux pas aside. Ted Donaldson was 14 by the time this film was made and was getting a little too old to play the cute little kid that needs a gentle nudge to get back on track.

Overall, this is an OK family film of the 40's that actually foreshadows the format of TV family dramas of the 50's. Just don't expect a very big dose of Rusty in this one or you will be disappointed.

Small town Laytonville teen Ted Donaldson (as Daniel "Danny" Mitchell) is irritating father Tom Powers (as Hugh Mitchell). The boy has used the new can opener to take out the bottoms of his mom's two coffee pots, for his wagon. No coffee before Mr. Powers' amateur firemen meeting. Young Donaldson has also used all the soap to make a statue of his dog "Rusty", and he is working on blowing an electric fuse. Understanding mother Ann Doran (as Ethel) takes it in stride, but Powers blows his top. In order to mend the generation gap, Powers cooks up a "father and son luncheon," but Donaldson and the other boys are bored. Father and son seem irreconcilable...

Luckily, veterinary physician Aubrey Mather (as Francis Xavier Fay) has arrived in town from Cambridge, for a one week visit. He's a God-send - literally, if you're paying attention. Immediately sensing the love between Donaldson and his dad, Mr. Mather sets out to bring the father and son together. "Rusty" helps. Before it all ends, a terrible accident puts man and dog in danger. Watch and see how it all turns out. Of the men who played his part in the "Rusty" films, Powers looks like he really could be Donaldson's father. The outdoor set is very nice. Most interesting is the story's delicately subversive religious (Christian) allegory, cleverly written by Malcolm Stuart Boylan.

****** For the Love of Rusty (5/1/47) John Sturges ~ Ted Donaldson, Tom Powers, Aubrey Mather, Ann Doran

**SPOILERS** Plesent little movie that has to do with the alienation of a young boy Danny Mitchell, Ted Donaldson,from one's parents but mostly his dad Hugh, Tom Powers, at a time when he need them most. Just before he reaches his teens and needs a father figure to guide him along and through the hard knocks in life.

With only his dog Rusty, who's more attentive to Danny that his father is, to talk to about his problems Danny becomes even more withdrawn from society, his friends in school as well as his school work and music lessons, then he already is. It's not until almost by accident Danny meets, through his stray in injured pooch Fuller, this whack-a-doodle kind of guy who's a combination veterinarian physician astronomer and all around country, as well as city, gentleman Dr. Francis Xavier Fay, Aubrey Mather. After that nothing will ever be the same again not just for Danny & Rusty but his mom Ethel, Ann Doran, and his stuffed up and always busy, for everything and everyone but Danny, dad Hugh as well.

Dr. Fay's gentle demeanor and kindness and understanding toward both Danny and his dog Rusty has him win the young boy over by getting him to do his homework not by punishing him like his father Hugh in having Danny stay in his room after classes and even threatens to take Rusty down to the pound if he doesn't behave himself. Rusty later cause Hugh a king size headache in having him pay for damages that he causes at the local fair by attacking this kitchen appliance and snake-oil salesman Moe Hatch, Sid Tomack. Who during a demonstration of his "world famous" potato peeler piled a batch of potato peals on top of, an angry and sneering, Rusty's head.

It turns out that Dr. Fays attention and understanding of Danny, which at first angered his father Hugh, did in effect draw Hugh close to his son with him showing Danny, like Dr. Fay, that he's not ignorant in the finer things in life. Like the wind sea and stars and what they have to do with whats the entire scheme of things in the boundless and unending universe of both space and the human mind. Thats really heavy stuff for a twelve year-old boy but nevertheless a lot more interesting then staying at home and trying to figure out a slew of algebra equations. Or the use of English verbs and adjectives as builders in the proper constructing of English sentences.

Touching as well as exciting ending to the movie "For the Love of Rusty" with Dr. Fay falling asleep in his trailer as he leaves the gas stove on which gets extinguished, by the boiling water in the coffee pot overflowing, with the doc together with his sweet little pooch Fuller in danger of being suffocated to death. As you would have expected in the end Rusty, even though he get's badly banged up in the process, together with Danny and his dad Hugh came to their rescue.