Not all children's stories are happy ones, so not all children's stories are for all children. This is based on a short story by James H. Street and stars Billy Lee and Cordell Hickman as best friends dealing with their love for a runt of a pup born to a bird dog, and go through all sorts of adventures to find it when it's caught on someone else's property.
Lee and Hickman have a spooky moment when they have to cross across logs in an eerie kicking swamp, with various shadows spooking them, one shaped like a giant bat, and one log turning out to be a crocodile. What works out in the pairing of the white and black boys as pals is that both are presented as equals, and their situations are not cutesy wootsy like the friendships in the "Our Gang" series.
This is nicely photographed, and the darker moments of the story are offset by lighter moments that are still realistic. The adult characters are minor, so this is unique in that way as well. Richard Lane as Lee's father isn't a sympathetic character so it's better that he doesn't have many scenes. Fred Toones is given a cliche free character as the black ranch hand, a rarity of the time. A film deserving of classic status, definitely better than the good but schmaltzy Disney remake.
Lee and Hickman have a spooky moment when they have to cross across logs in an eerie kicking swamp, with various shadows spooking them, one shaped like a giant bat, and one log turning out to be a crocodile. What works out in the pairing of the white and black boys as pals is that both are presented as equals, and their situations are not cutesy wootsy like the friendships in the "Our Gang" series.
This is nicely photographed, and the darker moments of the story are offset by lighter moments that are still realistic. The adult characters are minor, so this is unique in that way as well. Richard Lane as Lee's father isn't a sympathetic character so it's better that he doesn't have many scenes. Fred Toones is given a cliche free character as the black ranch hand, a rarity of the time. A film deserving of classic status, definitely better than the good but schmaltzy Disney remake.