Rusty Leads the Way

By now Ted Donaldson, who played Danny Mitchell in the series, was obviously too old to be the center of some childhood angst - in fact in the first scene not only is Ted noticeably taller, but his voice has changed! Other changes include John Litel playing Hugh Mitchell, and he certainly seems more like an attorney and reliable father figure than predecessor Tom Powers did in the same role. This is good, since Hugh Mitchell's job as city attorney figures prominently into the plot. Ann Doran remains as Mrs. Mitchell, Danny's stepmom. However, other than a little typical teenage/parental conflict in the first ten minutes, you don't see much of Danny or Rusty in the rest of the film, at least not as its focus. Quite by accident, Rusty and Danny meet Penny Waters (Sharyn Moffett) as a girl of thirteen who was blinded two years prior in an accident. Since then she has kept to herself and never really returned to school. From this point forward she is the focal point and the lead character of the film.

The school board has decreed that Penny must attend school, and not only that, the state school for the blind. Penny is willing to talk her mother into quitting her job and leaving town to avoid that fate. Danny suggests a compromise solution - that Penny get a guide dog, thus making it safe for her to attend the public schools. Danny's father, as city attorney, gets the school board to agree. Will everything work out? Watch and find out.

At first the whininess of the main character in this entry, Penny, had me somewhat annoyed. Then I began to think - most 13 year old girls whine and some even run away from home over an outbreak of acne, this girl actually did have her life turned upside down by anyone's measuring stick by blindness. This would be the likely reaction of anyone her age. In fact her reaction is probably much more realistic than other films in which the handicapped put on an all-too happy face considering their adversity.

I'd recommend this if you're in the mood for a family film of the post-war era, but this time there's not only a smaller dose of Rusty than normal, but of Danny Mitchell too.

In small-town Lawtonville, teenage Ted Donaldson (as Daniel "Danny" Mitchell) decides to run away from home, after a scolding from father John Litel (as Hugh). All is forgotten due to the lure of goulash cooked by mother Ann Doran (as Ethel). While out on a walk with his dog "Rusty", young Donaldson meets newly arrived Sharyn Moffett (as Penny Waters), from Carmel, California. The 13-year-old piano player is somewhat sheltered, but warms up to Donaldson and Rusty. Donaldson is surprised to learn that Ms. Moffett has not enrolled in the local school due to her disability. She is blind...

The Mitchell family urges Moffett to attend the regular school with her non-blind peers, but she is rejected for safety reasons. Donaldson suggests Moffett get a Seeing Eye dog. She is sent to the "Reed Foundation" to work with Paula Raymond and learn about Seeing Eye dogs. Everyone hopes Moffett will be able to participate in regular activities with a guide dog, but she has trouble bonding with "Tubby" the boxer. Rusty and Tubby help in the story's resolution. This is an above average entry in the "Rusty" series, with the film's message nicely presented for young viewers.

****** Rusty Leads the Way (7/22/48) Will Jason ~ Ted Donaldson, Sharyn Moffett, Paula Raymond, John Litel

Rusty Leads the Way (1948)

** (out of 4)

Bland and forgettable sixth entry in the series has Danny (Ted Donaldson) becoming friends with a 13-year-old blind girl (Sharyn Moffett) but she and her mother soon find themselves in trouble because she's not in school. The public school refuses to allow her in so Danny comes up with the idea of a guide dog and of course Rusty is the subject. RUSTY LEADS THE WAY is a pretty bland entry and I'd say it's the worst film in the series so far. There were several reasons for this but the biggest is the screenplay, which seemed to have been written so fast that they didn't bother trying to come up with anything original or interesting. At just 57-minutes, this is certainly the shortest film in the series and not much ever really happens. We're introduced to the blind girl and then we get back and forth dialogue sequences where the debate on what type of school happens over and over again. None of this dialogue is very interesting and it certainly doesn't help that none of the characters are written to where you really care about them. Once again Donaldson is good in his role as is John Litel as his father. Ann Doran is pretty much wasted in her role of the mother. Moffett isn't too bad as the blind girl but her character is probably the worst written in the film. With such a short running time everything seems rushed and it's clear that no one bothered coming up with a better story. The forced ending really comes out of nowhere and is rather embarrassing.

Ace the Wonder Dog ended his starring career and is replaced by Flame in this continuation of the 'Rusty' series. The plot is, as always, well-meaning, concerning itself with a blind girl and her efforts to get a seeing eye dog.

The adult cast is excellent, including the ever-dependable John Litel, but the dialogue is very stiff, particularly as spoken by the child actors.

Flame has a different set of tricks from Ace. Ace was good at baring his teeth and looking menacing. Flame does a lot more capering.

While not an awful movie, there isn't really that much entertainment here, although the movie's social conscience may make it worthwhile for the concerned moviegoer.

RUSTY LEADS THE WAY (Columbia, 1948), directed by Will Jason, the sixth installment in the "Rusty" series starring Ted Donaldson, is another misleading title with a more dramatic story coping with a character's blindness and the adjustment for a seeing eye dog which turns out not to be Rusty (though it's Rusty who lead the way to the idea) but a bulldog named Tubby.

The story opens with an air-view focus of the town of Lawtonville with an off-screen narrator giving the description of its landmarks, ranging from city hall to a public school where the camera moves into a gymnasium with teenager Danny Mitchell (Donaldson), accompanied by his dog, Rusty (Flame), gathered together with his friends (Teddy Infuhr, Mickey McGuire, Dwayne Hickman and David Achley) to a game of basketball. During a conversation, he tells them that he doesn't let his parents tell him what to do. To make good on his word, he purposely forgets to pick up his father's suit at the cleaners. This later leads to a dispute at home followed by a father (John Litel) and son talk and mother (Ann Doran) serving Danny's favorite meal, goulash. With these little technicalities out of the way, the plot leads the way to its sole purpose. Penny Waters (Sharyn Moffett), a 13-year-old girl with a talent for piano playing, has recently moved into the neighborhood from Carmel, California, with her mother (Peggy Converse), an assistant librarian. The girl happens to be blind, having lost her sight in a car accident two years years ago. Her piano playing of Frederic Chopin's Pelude in "A" attracts the attention of Danny, who comes over to greet his new neighbor. Unfriendly towards Danny at first, Penny soon warms up to him and Rusty, which pleases her mother who wants her to have friends. Problems arise when members of the board of education feel Penny should be attending a special school for the blind instead of a regular school. Against their wishes, but at the urging of Danny, Penny attends the Reed Institute with Louise Adams (Paula Raymond) as her instructor and Tubby as her guide dog. While Penny struggles to become independent, she misses the comforts of home, especially the company of her best friends, Danny and Rusty.

For this entry, there's more involvement towards Penny than the Mitchell family, giving an indication of being a pilot for a possible spin-off movie series. In fact, there are times viewers are lead to believe they're watching an entirely different movie altogether since Rusty and the Mitchells are off screen for long periods of time. When the story shifts back to Danny, it finds him reading one of Penny's letters on how she's doing at the school, with a montage centering upon her outcome. Overall, a good story for children about patience and coping with handicap issues such as blindness and how finding good friends can make everything better. As for dog Rusty, he is given little opportunity to lead the way, first with a chasing of a cat that leads to Danny and Penny's meeting, and later running to the rescue to save Tubby, but on a whole, this story rightfully belongs to Sharyn Moffett.

Moffett's performance is quite remarkable and real, especially during her traumatic experience where she's put to the real test by leaving the school grounds with her seeing eye dog to go waking through the city alone, with Miss Adams not so far behind. Although she tries hard, she becomes all confused by her surroundings, frightened of people walking pass and around her, the sudden noises of cars and construction work that even puts the poor dog into a panic as the animal finds he's unable to follow her commands.

RUSTY LEADS THE WAY puts a lot of effort and situations in its tight 59 minutes. Not a bad movie by any means, but better direction (by its director, not the guide dog) and a more structured story might have placed this as a top entry in the series. With Penny being an addition to the series as Danny's new friend, and possibly female companion, her character doesn't reappear in future installments.

Rarely seen in recent years, RUSTY LEADS THE WAY was resurrected on Turner Classic Movies on June 9, 2007. Recommend viewing for adults, children and dogs alike. Next in the series: RUSTY SAVES A LIFE (1949). (**1/2)