The Proud Rebel (1958)

Wonderful character development!

Simply A Masterpiece

Absolutely Brilliant!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Try as I might this was one of those films that I honestly couldn't bring myself to get too enthused about. Although I thought that the the acting was more than adequate the fact remains that the overall story just didn't entertain me that much. If anything I thought most of it was kind of depressing. But that's just my opinion. Now, I understand that this movie is highly rated and that David Ladd won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Juvenile Actor" in his role as "David Chandler". It was well deserved. On that note, I also liked the performance of Alan Ladd (as "John Chandler") and Olivia de Havilland ("Linnett Moore"). I even liked the dog named "Lance" (King). But the drama was drawn out a bit too much for my liking. Along with that I thought the story was also somewhat predictable. As a result I have to give this movie a score that might seem quite low to some viewers.

I have long complained because there must have been a million western movies made over the years by Hollywood and practically all of them are variations on the exact Fsame half dozen (or less) themes. As a result, most westerns are repetitive and dull. Fortunately, this one is a bit different--with enough that is not familiar to make it worth viewing.The film begins with a father and son (Alan Ladd and his real life son, David) traveling across the country. They are Southerners but have left Atlanta following the Civil War in order to locate a doctor who might be able to cure the boy. It seems that following witnessing his mother's death the child has been mute.In one of the towns, the father meets up with a couple dirt-bags who pick a fight with him. However, it is Ladd himself who is convicted of assault and is sentenced to spend 30 days in jail or pay $30--which he just doesn't have. A local spinster (Olivia de Havilland) takes pity on them and offers to pay the fine if the father comes to her farm to work off the debt.Once on this farm, it's obvious Olivia's having problems with the same dirt-bags that attacked Ladd earlier in the film. In this case, the men are trying to force her to sell them her struggling farm. Along the way, Alan comes to her aid in this struggle and it's also obvious that some real affection is forming--and it's hardly a surprise when the two decide to stay.While the story is not monumental in scope, it's a nice story about people. It helped that an exceptional director (Michael Curtiz) and many excellent actors appeared in the film. In addition to the main characters, veteran character actors such as Cecil Kellaway, Dean Jagger, Henry Hull and Harry Dean Stanton appeared in the film as well--giving it nice color. Plus the writing was very good and made for an appealing film.By the way, the sign language that David Ladd uses throughout the film isn't perfect, but it IS essentially correct. So, when he is trying to tell Alan that there is a fire, that IS what he is signing. It's actually funny, but several times during the movie the dad didn't seem to know what the kid was saying--and I clearly understood and felt like yelling out what he was signing! I especially liked when the boy was trying to tell de Havilland how much he liked her but no one seemed to understand that he was saying how much he liked her. The film makers COULD have just as easily had the kid just make some nonsense signs and hardly anyone every would have known. It's nice to see that they tried. Now here is the rub, however, the DVD is NOT captioned at all!!! So, deaf people who COULD understand the boy cannot watch the film and enjoy it.Also, while not a huge mistake, in one scene late in the film the three leads are in town and it's pouring down rain--so much so that they need to stay there until it clears. Yet, when they arrive back at the farm, it's 100% dry--the same dessert-like place it's always been with dirt, dirt and more dirt.

I grew up watching "Family Classics with Frazier Thomas", a program that featured a wide variety of family friendly movies. This was one of them(so was TOBOR THE GREAT but we won't get into that-I just finished reviewing that clunker a few minutes ago). Alan Ladd plays Civil War veteran John Chandler, who is seeking treatment for his mute son(played by real-life son David Ladd), and meets up with a town spinster (Olivia DeHavilland), who takes both of them in when Chandler is falsley accused of starting a brawl, facing thirty days in the town jail. In the meantime, a sheep herder (Dean Jagger) and his juvenile-delinquent sons attempt to force DeHavilland off her ranch. Chandler must also make the tough choice to sell young David's beloved dog to a breeder in order to pay for his treatment.The performances are first-rate. Alan and David have one of the best father-son chemistries in movie history-(along with Jon Voight and Ricky Schroeder in THE CHAMP twenty or so years later). Also, Olivia DeHavilland, Dean Jagger, and veteran actor Harry Dean Stanton help make this one a must-see for all. Even horror veteran John Carradine makes a cameo appearance in the opening scene.Sadly, this family classic makes the untimely death of Alan Ladd a few years later all the more tragic. Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

'The Proud Rebl' has some heartwarming moments involving a boy and his strong loyalty to his dad and his dog--but it is not quite satisfying in that the Ladd-de Havilland relationship is never completely explored. A stronger dose of romance might have livened up some of the slower moments. Children will be drawn to the theme of boy/dog and man/son relationships--but adults may find it not quite as heartwarming as it strives to be. Ladd plays a tight-lipped man ready to brawl when he has to -- Shane in a minor key -- and David Ladd is the mute son traumatized by the death of his mother in a fire. De Havilland has some good moments as the woman who has both Ladds on her farm, helping her deal with villainous neighbor (Dean Jagger) and his outlaw sons. The technicolor photography makes the most of Utah locations and the background score by Jerome Moross is distinctive--but somehow the overall effect is simply that of a low-key family film, "a man, a boy and a dog" sort of thing that falls short of its intended mark. The missing element seems to be romance--it is barely hinted at in the relationship and should have been emphasized more, for there is good chemistry between Ladd and de Havilland and this would have given the story the adult appeal that it lacks.