La bourrasque

"All Mine to Give" is based on a real story, so it definitely has realism on its side. It's the story of a hard luck family living in Wisconsin during the mid-19th century. You see Mr. and Mrs. Eunson create a family and work hard to raise them until ultimately both parents die from illnesses--leaving six kids and the oldest was only 12. It is then the sad duty of this oldest boy to find homes for each of his siblings on Christmas.

If the film sounds incredibly depressing and awful, well, you'd be right. It's exceptionally made, well acted and worth seeing...but it's also the type film that might send you over the edge! It is not a film for anyone to see who's suffered a recent loss or is dealing with depression. It's definitely a film to see with Kleenex nearby. And I really did marvel at some of the child actors in this one...they were amazing. Though, once again, I should point out that this is one of the most painful films you could see....remember this when you choose to see the movie.

By the way, although I did enjoy the film and do haltingly recommend it, I was left wondering WHO created the fake eyebrows worn by Cameron Mitchell in the film. Could it have been Jim Henson?

This is a very affecting movie. I can't watch it for two minutes without crying. I always seem to catch the last few minutes of it but those have more meaning and human feeling than the vast majority of movies made recently. In my opinion, the oldest boy of the family is the main reason it's so good. I remember being jarred by his English accent when the other kids had none, but his touching performance and captivating looks soon overcame that problem. The first time I saw the movie, I couldn't believe anyone could be as strong as Robbie, I couldn't believe what was happening in the movie,and I kept waiting for the Hollywood ending that didn't come. After seeing the movie again today, I searched for the name of the boy, Rex Thompson, and was disappointed to see that his career ended quite some time ago. What a waste. I'd really like to know what happened to him.

When my family watched this we had gotten very attached to the characters and wanted to know the whole story (today's films would have followed the tale with "So-and-so went on to do such-and-such"). Knowing that the tale is TRUE made it more powerful but unfulfilled at the end without following up. The local Wisconsin online historical societies had the best coverage of the Eunson's. The writer (who lived to be 98) is one of the grandchildren of the parents in the story.... Clark County Press usgennet.org is where I found what we wanted to know when the film 'ended'. Could be a good propaganda piece for vaccinations!

I took a quick look at the career of director Allen Reisner who worked at Studio One before taking on this feature film. Reisner went back to working mostly for television after All Mine To Give. But never in his career did he come close to doing anything as good as this film. Very few have.

All Mine To Give has become a Christmas classic in its own right as well received as It's A Wonderful Life. The story though is one of the most depressing you'll ever see and yet it's about an unconquerable spirit present even in our children.

The film is the story of the Eunson family, Scottish immigrants who settle in frontier Wisconsin in the 1850s. The parents are Cameron Mitchell and Glynis Johns who then raise five children, the oldest being Rex Thompson.

All Mine To Give while showing the Eunsons and most of the rest of their neighbors as decent folks is a no frills, uncompromising look at frontier life in those days. So many diseases we've conquered now were present back then. When both Mitchell and Johns fall to them the orphaned Eunson kids are left in a terrible fix. It's up to Thompson to decide their fates.

And this is all happening at Christmas time which has made All Mine To Give a staple on TCM in December. The story is based on a true incident at the time this story is taking place. It also is strikingly similar to what happened to Herbert Hoover and his two siblings when they were orphaned.

Such fine character players as Sylvia Field, Reta Shaw, Royal Dano, Alan Hale, Jr. play some of the townspeople. All Mine To Give will pull on so many emotions at once you'll be drained with a single viewing. Filmed during the last years of RKO Studios, All Mine To Give is a flawless holiday classic with a great story and a wonderful cast to tell it.

This is a tissue-tugger if there ever was one! I haven't seen this movie in several years but growing up, I always made a point of seeing this movie. It is one of the few movies that as a young man and an adult that I have watched multiple times. I always found it very moving and an emotional experience. I don't normally cry at movies but this one always made me misty. I looked for it for several years, telling my wife what a great movie it was to see and how I wanted to share it with her. I finally wrote to several of the TV networks and got one to respond with the next time it was going to be on television. It was a big night in our household, popcorn popped, tissues handy, and kids to bed as we watched the movie. As the finally credits start rolling and I'm holding back from getting misty, I look to my wife, ask her what she thought and she answered with, "Is that all there is to it?" I was crushed to say the least.

At any rate, it still moved me, though I hadn't seen it in years. You feel for the struggles of the family, the harshness of the wilderness and the era for growing family. You see how adversity makes the family more close-knit and the bond between one another grows. No TV, no Nintendo, none of the amenities of today but the love and understanding that builds in a large family that relies on each other.