All Mine to Give

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.

We take for granted a lot of things in our lives. The struggle of the first settlers of this country is something we don't tend to think much about, yet, what these people endured during the XIX century, is something most of us, today, are not prepared to do, myself included.

The film is a sweet account to a Scottish family settling in Wisconsin. As directed by Alan Reisner, it makes us look into the past as this family decides to take root in a hostile environment. It was a surprise to hear the score by the great Max Steiner in the background, as it helps the film tremendously.

The acting by Cameron Mitchell, Glynis Johns, and the rest of the cast is predictable. The children are wonderful, as they decide to continue the legacy of their parents.

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!

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.

I've seen this once- many years ago, buried in a package of old movies the local station owned. For most of the way, it's a good, realistic view of frontier life, like something out of the Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. At the end, however, it becomes something much more special than that. I call the end of this film the "Rock Test". If you can watch it and not cry, you're a rock. The thing that makes it work is that it's not maudlin, just real and human. A rare gem, the sort of thing that makes it worth scanning the TV listings looking for it. Believe me, if you find it, it will be the best thing on the page.