La bourrasque

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.

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.

I saw this movie in the theater back when it was new and then again when we used it at a Children's Christmas program at a small public library near the town where the author was from. Eureka, Wisconsin. It is an excelent presentation of frontier life and hardship like Old Yeller and Davy Crocket with the added touch of being about a local family in our area. I wish it were more available in video format or on DVD for this generation.

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!