For the Love of Rusty (1947)

Danny Mitchell, feeling that he has been misunderstood (nothing new for this kid in this series) by his parents, takes his dog, Rusty, and leaves home, camping out near the trailer of ... See full summary »

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Malcolm Stuart Boylan, Al Martin (characters)

Stars:

Ted Donaldson, Tom Powers, Ann Doran

Cast

Cast overview:
Ted Donaldson	...	Danny Mitchell
Tom Powers	...	Hugh Mitchell
Ann Doran	...	Ethel Mitchell
Aubrey Mather	...	Dr. Francis Xavier Fay
Sid Tomack	...	Moe Hatch
George Meader	...	J. Cecil Rinehardt
Mickey McGuire	...	Gerald Hebble
Flame	...	Rusty, Danny's Dog

Storyline

Danny Mitchell, feeling that he has been misunderstood (nothing new for this kid in this series) by his parents, takes his dog, Rusty, and leaves home, camping out near the trailer of veterinary Dr. Francis Xavier Ray. Gas escapes in the trailer during the night, and Rusty rescues the vet before he is overcome.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | based on children's book | rusty the dog | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 1947 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Rusty Saves a Life (1949)

User Reviews

The Old Man in the Woods

For the Love of Rusty (1947)

** (out of 4)

John Sturges directs this third entry in the series, which finds young Danny (Ted Donaldson) fighting with his father (Tom Powers) but growing close to an elderly man (Aubrey Mather) who has moved his camper in the woods. The elderly man tries to teach Danny and his father the importance of their relationship while the dog Rusty ends up having to come to the rescue. FOR THE LOVE OF RUSTY is pretty run of the mill stuff as there's really nothing overly good here, although the entire film at least remains mildly entertaining. It's clear that after a very strong first film that the studio just started pumping these out to make kids happy and not really to win any awards. I think the story was mildly interesting but the problem is that it's just not really told in a way that makes it entertaining. We pretty much had these same issues going on in the first film and it was done in such a better way that you can't help but have a "been there, done that" feel. I think Donaldson is once again good in his part and Ann Doran is good as his mother. I wasn't overly impressed with Powers who just never struck me as having any chemistry with the rest of the cast. Aubrey Mather easily steals the film as the wild old man. The final sequence of drama is well directed by Sturges but the rest of the film lacks any of his magic touch.