Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

wes-connors In small-town Lawtonville, young teen Ted Donaldson (as Daniel "Danny" Mitchell) and his pals are confronted about building their clubhouse on private property. Luckily, landowner and counselor-at-law Thurston Hall (as Franklyn P. Gibson) is a fine old chap. He sells the boys a 99-year lease for $4.00. That settled, the lads and young Donaldson's German shepherd dog "Rusty" become intrigued with newly arrived mystery man Stephen Dunne (as Jed Barlow). He comes to town with an enormous chip on his shoulder, arousing suspicion and gossip...Amateur detectives Donaldson, Teddy Infuhr (as Michael "Squeaky" Foley), Ronnie Ralph (as Gerald Hebble), Dwayne Hickman (as Nip Worden) and David Ackles (as Tuck Worden) suspect Mr. Dunne has a sinister past. Obviously familiar with the script, everyone immediately assumes Dunne's accompanying German shepherd is a female. "The Son of Rusty" is portended when Dunne's dog "Barb" and Donaldson's "Rusty" sneak out to answer nature's call. The story lines are not related very well, but there are typical good messages for the kids herein.***** The Son of Rusty (8/7/47) Lew Landers ~ Ted Donaldson, Stephen Dunne, Thurston Hall, Tom Powers

calvinnme 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.

lugonian 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)

sol "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.