The Proud Rebel

Although young David Ladd had actually made a brief appearance in his father's western The Big Land the year before, it was decided that David would make a featured debut in this family picture about a father and son roughing it in post Civil War America.

Alan Ladd, late of the Confederate Army, and a widower has searched for and found his son in an orphanage in Pennsylvania. The Yankee soldiers took him and other kids left without homes to northern orphanages. In David's case he's lost his voice due to the traumatic shock of barely escaping the fire from a Union Army shell that burned down his home and killed his mother while Dad was in the army.

They're together now and working their way west. They run afoul of Dean Jagger and his roughneck sons in Illinois, but make friends of spinster farm lady Olivia DeHavilland and Quaker doctor Cecil Kellaway.

David has a sheepdog who could be valuable. And his father has some critical decisions to make about how to pay for an operation that might cure his son's vocal paralysis.

The casting by Alan Ladd of his son David was a stroke of good fortune as the chemistry between the real father and son proved to be a winner. Also Dean Jagger as the one armed sheepherder who has designs on Olivia's land was also very good and against type.

Playing Jagger's two sons are Tom Pittman and Harry Dean Stanton. Stanton, God Bless Him, is still around today, a very highly respected character actor who never seemed to lack for work. As for Tom Pittman, he was killed in a car crash while this film was out in theaters. John Mitchum in his memoirs Them Ornery Mitchum Boys, spoke very highly of Pittman, said he had a solid career ahead of him. He also described a harrowing experience where Pittman was missing for several days before police found him and his car and the bottom of a ravine where they had gone off the road.

This film marked a reunion of Olivia DeHavilland with Michael Curtiz who directed a whole bunch of her films at Warner Brothers back when she was a young leading lady and favorite leading lady of Errol Flynn. Olivia is older now and delivers a good performance as the wise and compassionate farm woman who takes in the Ladds.

With Ladd also producing and starring in this with his younger son, The Proud Rebel is a good family film in every sense of the word.

Great acting by Olivia DeHavilland (!), Alan Ladd (!), and son David Ladd. Director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) shows his soft side in this family film about a man selling his dog to heal his son's muteness. I loved this film when I was a pre-teen, and watched it again last night with my twelve-year-old, and she was pulled into it faster than I was. (Harry) Dean Stanton as the villain, good photography and effective musical score by Jerome Moross in the "Big Country" mold. Lackluster action scenes aren't bad enough to ruin the mood; but it will remind many viewers of "Shane".

The boy, David, is the focal point of this movie. The movie had a resounding impact on young boys coming of age in the late 50s and into the 60s. Its powerful impact at the time is what made it a successful movie. The many emotional ups and downs throughout the movie dealt with a wide variety of issues faced by a devoted war veteran father from the south, trying hard to steer away from violence as he travels the Midwest seeking medical resolution to his traumatized son who had been struck by aphasia after witnessing his mother's burning death in a Civil War atrocity . Some of the issues viewers are exposed to include the tragedies during and after the Civil War, the western range wars, the disenfranchisement of the southerners, an evil rancher and his evil sons, a frontier love story, and a son-dog-father saga. The traumatized boy-cum-hero is superbly portrayed by child actor, David Ladd, who becomes the film's hero at the climatic gunfight at the end of the movie, saving his father, reuniting with his dog and regaining his voice. The developing love story between the father portrayed by the ever stoic and stiff Alan Ladd and the widower farmer portrayed by Olivia de Havilland, takes second stage to the tear-jerking scenes superbly portrayed by the boy in two scenes: when he learns that his father had sold his dog, and when he regains his ability to speak at the end of the movie. A well-crafted movie and an outstanding performance by David Ladd who was eleven years old when the film was released.

The theme of the skilled gunfighter trying to lead a gun-free productive civilian life but is thwarted and forced back to his firearm to right an injustice, is a theme that recurs numerous times in western movies. In fact, this theme is quite common in the most successful of westerns including this movie, Shane and High Noon. The overriding message of this genre of movies is: if you are unjustly treated (justice commonly portrayed as inept or corrupt), then you may take up arms and take justice into your own hands, even if it means killing others. The hero and his gun are paramount.

The movie concerns a father (Alan Ladd), a Confederate veteran , and his mute son (David Ladd, in real life too) who after framing impeachment by a judge (Henry Hull) he finds himself facing a 30-day jail sentence when he's unfairly accused of starting a brawl in a small town . A local spinster (Olivia De Havilland) pays his fine , as father and son find shelter in a ranch , providing that he works it off on her farm . The veteran is searching for a doctor who can cure his son , as the little boy suffers the emotional impact of the words he longed to tell them . Meanwhile , he soon finds himself involved in the struggle to keep her ranch from a local landowner and they'll have to confront a shepherd family (Dean Jagger and Harry Dean Stanton) and taking on a lot of dangers .

In the film there are glamorous landscapes , family drama , shootouts and agreeable feeling . This is a tale that reaches far and wide as the human life , being based on a story titled "Journal of Linnett Moore¨ written by James Edward Grant . The movie talks upon typical western old theme: fights between settlers and cattlemen . The final showdown amongst the protagonists and enemies is exciting . Runtime film is adjusted, one hour and half approx., it is neither dreary , nor tiring but enjoyable.

Alan Ladd's interpretation is top-notch likeness his son David Ladd (future marriage to Cheryl Ladd and father of Jordan Ladd) . Olivia De Havilland is enticing , gentle and sweet . Support cast is awesome , as Dean Jagger , John Carradine , Cecil Kellaway , Mary Wickes and Harry Dean Stanton (Paris, Texas) , an outstanding actor with a long career that today continues . Ted Mc Cord cinematography is riveting and glamorous . Jerome Moross musical score is fascinating , similar to soundtrack he composed in ¨Big country¨ deemed to be the best western score along with ¨ The magnificent seven¨ . The motion picture well produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr was compellingly directed by Michael Curtiz . The yarn will appeal to western buffs and sentimental plot lovers . Rating : Good , better than average . Well catching .

Alan Ladd plays a widower whose wife died in a fire during the Civil War. His young son (played by his real life son, David Ladd) has not been able to speak after he saw his mother die. Alan Ladd's character is trying to find a doctor to help his son. Ladd ends up with a thirty day jail sentence after being unfairly fined for a brawl which the two sons of an ambitious sheep rancher (wonderfully played by Dean Jagger) intentionally initiate. Olivia DeHavilland is a local unmarried woman who sees the predicament Alan Ladd and his son are in, and she pays the fine so that Ladd will not have to spend thirty days in jail, provided he works it off for thirty days on her farm. Michael Curtiz did a fantastic job of directing this beautiful film. Alan Ladd, Olivia DeHavilland and David Ladd are all terrific. This movie is a bit different than Ladd's classic film,"Shane", although there are some similarities. Ladd is once again the strong silent type, although he is more human in this film. David Ladd is perfectly cast as his son who can't speak. Olivia DeHavilland has just the right touch as a lonely but strong woman who quickly gets attached to the two new men in her life. The chemistry between the three leads in this film is tough to beat. The supporting actors are very good, including Cecil Kellaway, Dean Jagger, the ubiquitous film star John Carradine and Harry Dean Stanton. This movie works as a family film, which is in the end uplifting. The photography is just beautiful in this movie. "The Proud Rebel" is definitely an overlooked minor classic in the same genre as "Old Yeller", "The Yearling" and even "Shane." It has stood the test of time very well and I truly expect it will begin to grow in stature if it is shown on cable channels and available on DVD. Well worth watching for fans of the Western and Family Film genre. 90/100. Buy it if you have kids! Heck, buy it even if you don't!