John Litel is a successful logger. He is preparing to cut out another huge swath of old growth, when his daughter, Brenda Joyce, visits him with her newborn son, and promptly loses him in a storm. This upsets her mind, and Litel puts off his plans to take care of her. However, the baby isn't dead. He's rescued and succored by Harry Davenport and his menagerie of animals living in harmony with nature.
Three years later, the baby has grown into seven-year-old Billy Severn, and Litel and Miss Joyce are back in the area, along with psychiatrist Edmund Lowe, planning to build a sanatorium and help Miss Joyce get her marbles back. The people working with them threaten Davenport and company.
There are certainly good intentions here, and the adults often do well with the stilted dialogue, although Davenport has trouble with his conversations with Master Severn, because the younger actor is not very good. Even with others, the rhythms of the performers are odd. In addition, the Cinecolor used on the production has faded in odd ways.
However, this was clearly a case of good intentions triumphing over everything, resulting in a decent assortment of actors on a PRC release, play dates in the major chains, and the highest gross in that studio's history. I don't think it's particularly distinguished, but it is watchable with no major flubs, it's always good to see Davenport, and for PRC, that's as good as it got.
Three years later, the baby has grown into seven-year-old Billy Severn, and Litel and Miss Joyce are back in the area, along with psychiatrist Edmund Lowe, planning to build a sanatorium and help Miss Joyce get her marbles back. The people working with them threaten Davenport and company.
There are certainly good intentions here, and the adults often do well with the stilted dialogue, although Davenport has trouble with his conversations with Master Severn, because the younger actor is not very good. Even with others, the rhythms of the performers are odd. In addition, the Cinecolor used on the production has faded in odd ways.
However, this was clearly a case of good intentions triumphing over everything, resulting in a decent assortment of actors on a PRC release, play dates in the major chains, and the highest gross in that studio's history. I don't think it's particularly distinguished, but it is watchable with no major flubs, it's always good to see Davenport, and for PRC, that's as good as it got.