GamerTab That was an excellent one.

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Michael_Elliott Adventures of Rusty (1945)*** (out of 4) Surprisenly fun tale of a young boy (Ted Donaldson) trying to cope with life after his beloved dog is killed and his father (Conrad Nagel) marries a new woman (Margaret Lindsay). Soon he befriends a cruel and rather vicious German Shepherd named Rusty and plans on teaching him how to act right. ADVENTURES OF RUSTY was the first in a series of movies from Columbia and there are so many reasons why this thing shouldn't work but I was surprised to see how effective it actually was. This is more of a coming of age film because the main focus is on the boy and him being unable to accept his new mother and I thought the film made some interesting connections. The boy couldn't relate or get along with his new mother no matter how hard she tried and the dog wouldn't be good to the boy no matter how hard he tried. I thought it was rather interesting that they would be working on two different story lines and both of them were entertaining to the fullest. There are some pretty good moments scattered throughout the film but I think something that is really beneficial is the fact that you can believe all of the situations because this family really does come across as a real one and not just actors thrown together for a movie. Donaldson, Nagel and Lindsay are all extremely good in their roles and the chemistry is certainly there. The only weak thing with the film is a weird subplot about a couple escaped German men but where they escaped from and what their crime was is never explained so I'm really not sure what the point of adding it was. Still, ADVENTURES OF RUSTY should entertaining the young and old.

maryszd I always try to catch this movie when it's on TCM. During World War II, a boy named Danny tames a dog and in the process learns to control his own anger at his new step-mother Ann and fight off German spies along the way. Looking at the film today, it's striking how all the men wear suits and ties--even the German spies wear suits, ties and hats when they land in their lifeboat.Danny's parents are kind-hearted and progressive for their time (Ann even goes to a psychiatrist). But eventually, Danny's anger wears her out, and she moves in with her best friend, Louise. Danny comes over and pleads with her to come back home; he misses having her around to do "women's work." At Louise's, Ann isn't shown wearing an apron or doing housework (as she is when she was living with Danny and his dad). She and Louise spend their time hooking rugs, smoking cigarettes and wearing great clothes. In the end, Danny wins her over and by the end of film she's back on duty taking care of the menfolk. The postwar urge to push women out of the workforce to make way for the returning war vets was already beginning.

Neil Doyle TED DONALDSON (who was the child star in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN as Neely, the little brother), appeared the same year in this programmer, THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, a rather routine little melodrama from Columbia. It's all about a period of adjustment for a boy who just lost his little dog in an accident and has to adjust to his father (CONRAD NAGEL) marrying a new mom (MARGARET LINDSAY).The boy befriends a German Shepherd with a nasty attitude toward others that has to be tamed before his parents allow him to adopt the dog for a pet. But relations between the boy and his step-mom are anything but smooth, with both of them seeking the help of a psychiatrist to help them amend their ways.The last twenty minutes of the story brings a sub-plot involving the arrival of two German men who interact with Rusty. Turns out they're German spies (it takes place before the end of WWII), and the plot has the dog saving the day by pinning the men down so they can be picked up by the Shore Patrol.It's an uneven film, obviously made on the cheap, a quickie that probably played the lower half of double bills in the days of double features at the movies. TED DONALDSON is nowhere as lovable here as he was in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Most of the time he's a sullen little boy who's selfish and completely ill-mannered toward a kindly step-mom who only wants to help him. CONRAD NAGEL and MARGARET LINDSAY do professional jobs in less than convincing roles.Summing up: A trifle hardly worth the trouble to watch--but Ace the Wonder Dog can certainly snarl well on cue.

sol (Some Spoilers) Unusual dog movie about a former German police dog who was brought back to the states by a GI who ends up capturing two German saboteurs. The movie "Rusty" is also about a young boy Danny,Ted Donaldson, who after his mother tragically died has his dad Hugh Mitchell, Conrad Nagel, marry his new love Ann, Margaret Lindsay, which cause friction between him and his step-mother for his father affection and attention. After Danny's dog Skipper gets killed in a traffic accident the boy is left without his best friend as well as losing his dad who now has no time for his after he married Ann. Later Danny spots this vicious German Shepherd, that he later names Rusty, at his neighbors Will Nelson, Robert Williams,home and offer to take the unruly dog off his hands.At the Mitchell home Rusty is both wild and unapproachable and every time Danny goes near him, and tries to pet the dog, he takes a snap at him and once almost tears his hand off. It's obvious that the dog being trained by the German Army during WWII, the movie takes place in 1944, is anything but a Lassie or Rin-Tin-Tin. The only way to treat the poor dog is to be as unfeeling to him as he is to Danny and thus not show him any love or affection since he's unable to respond to it.Rusty felling unwanted and at the same time unable to show any friendliness toward Danny, because of his brutal training back in Germany,breaks away from his lease at the Mitchell's home doghouse and runs off into the nearby woods. It just happens that these two German saboteurs are landed by a U-Boat and they both start to do their work to blow up US military installations. All the Germans seem to do in their attempts to "Blow up America" is just go camping and then steal a number of kitchen utensils as they later run into the lost and confused Rusty. Rusty immediately responds and obeys the two Gremans, like he was trained to back in Germany, whom they use to catch rabbits and chickens from the locals hen houses and chicken coops for food for the saboteurs and Rusty to eat.Danny looking for Rusty with his friends run into him and his new masters, the Germans. Rusty after hesitating to attack Danny and friends, as he was ordered by the Germans, turns on them when one of the Nazis pulls out a gun and is about to shoot his real friend Danny. After almost getting his arm ripped off by the courageous Rusty the other German saboteur is caught by the boys and Rusty after he's hit in the head with a sling-shot by Hurbie (Gary Gray) who's the smallest of the boys looking for Rusty. The two outer Germans are finally saved from the rampaging Rusty, a former comrade of theirs, by the US Navy MP's who just happened to come on the scene. Besides the obvious boy and his dog-type story "Rusty" also showed how difficult it is for a young boy to get along with someone replacing his mom, Ann. In the end both Danny and Ann overcame those difficulties and came together, with Danny's dad Hugh, as a happy and loving family. But that wouldn't have happened if it was not for the brave and selfless Rusty who brought them all together.