jtaraba-1

Three words: Turner Classic Movies! Uncut and no commericals. Anyway, I saw this lovely movie last night and just loved it. The movie is a definite "animal" movie as the kid not only talks to horses, but dogs, chickens and other animals as well. The whole family is a little eccentric and Spring Byington fits that bill perfectly and was perfectly cast as the head of household and a woman with a truly open mind- ready to at least consider just about any possibility- rather than just shouting "NO" at any unusual idea. I try to be more like that- with the ability to accept change for what it is: inevitable. Her character does however, have the certainty of conviction that all change is for the better- I'm not so sure. Anyway, the movie does have it's sad parts- lessons of loss and recovery- greed and selflessness- all wrapped in a movie that not "too" preachy- there's even a funny chicken scene!

I really loved this movie from the first time I saw it. I know most of the Nelson/Jeanette films are based on the same basic plot structure- but who cares? Fans of Nelson and Jeanette are here for the stars and the music- how it's presented is mostly secondary.

The only thing that irked me about this movie is Sheriff Rance's habit of calling Jeanette "Girl". Maybe he loved her in his own way, but the constant use of the word "girl" instead of her name made me feel as if he wanted to own her rather than accept her as his equal. Strange then that he gave up so easily in the end- But glad that he did! I also loved Buddy Ebsen as Alabama the Blacksmith- what a sweet character!

Gary Cooper is one of the all time greatest actors! Just watch the 30 second or so section when he finds out that his lady love is really the rotten reporter he had expressed a desire to punch out for all the overblown stories written in the city newspaper and the person responsible for dubbing him "the Cinderella Man". The first thing is, he needs to ask her himself- and not take someone else's word for it- but when she admits that yes, she is the reporter behind the stories- but that she can explain (how, I don't know) he hangs up the phone and his face goes through a series of expressions that left me just shaking my head in amazement. Wow- from shocked disbelief to resignation to sorrow and almost tears- to embarrassment at being caught so off guard in front of the people standing around him. Incredible!!! And the whole time being so wonderfully tall dark and handsome! What more could you ask for? I agree with someone else here regarding the "punching out" that Longfellow continually does throughout the movie- almost seems out of character- why the writers felt that someone that wrote poetry, loved so deeply and was so generous needed to go around punching out people that laughed at him- I don't know. But what a great movie and well worth watching if only to see Gary Cooper in action!