When I got this film, I sort of discounted it because I did not think there would be much to it (that it would be just another child's film based on a Kate Douglas Higgin children's book), but I was in for a surprise. It is the story of a little boy searching for a home, not so much for himself, but for his sister. Dickie Moore is marvelous as the little boy. It left me with an upbeat feeling, that there is still good in this world. Not many movies strive for that feeling anymore. It really should be a children's classic.
2 Reviews
A very American Dickens story.
mark.waltz30 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Absolutely superb, this sound version of a Kate Douglas Wiggin novel is a story that I am surprised has not been remade at least for TV. Dickie Moore is adorable as Timothy, an orphan determined to protect his younger sister, Sally Martin, and at least find her a suitable home. When they comes across a very religious community, they are instantly snubbed by the very judgmental Esther Dale and her young daughter, Virginia Weidler, but by chance are taken in by the crotchety spinster Elizabeth Patterson hope for some reason does not like little boys but slowly comes to love Moore. (How could you not?)
Patterson's ward, Eleanore Whitley, is kind from the start, but Patterson's coldness towards the male gender in particular has had a profound effect on her. With Dale's name as Hitty Tarbox and the abusive legal wards of Moore and Martin having the last name of "Cudd", you get the idea of who these people are. Slowly but surely, Patterson comes around, showing a heart that is cold but not completely frozen. This is one of those classic family tales of a long gone era where troubled children searching for love truly touched the heart but have been labeled as schmaltzy and cloying. Like Patterson, watching this melted my cynical heart thanks to excellent performances, adorable children whose personalities are hard to find out in the open, and hard hearted adults who finally find the key to open it back up. Now if that isn't a feel-good story, I don't know what is.
Patterson's ward, Eleanore Whitley, is kind from the start, but Patterson's coldness towards the male gender in particular has had a profound effect on her. With Dale's name as Hitty Tarbox and the abusive legal wards of Moore and Martin having the last name of "Cudd", you get the idea of who these people are. Slowly but surely, Patterson comes around, showing a heart that is cold but not completely frozen. This is one of those classic family tales of a long gone era where troubled children searching for love truly touched the heart but have been labeled as schmaltzy and cloying. Like Patterson, watching this melted my cynical heart thanks to excellent performances, adorable children whose personalities are hard to find out in the open, and hard hearted adults who finally find the key to open it back up. Now if that isn't a feel-good story, I don't know what is.
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