FOR THE LOVE OF RUSTY (Columbia, 1947), directed by John Sturges, the third installment in the "Rusty" theatrical series, finds some changes from the previous entries, notably Tom Powers and Ann Doran substituting for John Litel and Barbara Woodell, having already played the Mitchells in THE RETURN OF RUSTY (1946). Doran would play the mother role for the duration of the series while Tom Powers, who comes off resembling actor Joseph Sawyer at times, would be replaced by Litel, the most logical choice actually for the role of the father in the first place, while Ted Donaldson assumes his part as their son Danny in all eight installments, along with his dog Rusty, now enacted by Flame instead of Lightning.
The story starts off humorously as Hugh Mitchell (Tom Powers) returns home from his Amateur Fireman's meeting where he finds that his 12-year-old son, Danny (Ted Donaldson) has cut the bottom of the two coffee pots used for wheels for his wagon; carved up all the soap in the house to make a miniature statue of Rusty; and as he is fixing the electric lights in the cellar, Danny causes a power failure in the neighborhood, leading to a series of father and son disputes with wife Ethel (Ann Doran) acting as peacemaker. Hoping to understand his son further, Hugh arranges to take Danny to a father and son luncheon that turns out to be a disaster, thanks to Rusty, who gets into a fight with another dog. As punishment, Hugh has Danny write out 50 letters of apology. Later, Danny encounters a little dog named Fuller that leads him to Dr. Francis Xavier Fay (Aubrey Mather), a veterinarian living in a trailer outside of Lawtonville. Due to his kindness, Danny befriends him, spending more time the the elderly gentleman than at home, causing his father to show signs of jealousy. Ethel arranges for Dr. Fay to come over for dinner, with neighbor Sarah Johnson (Almira Sessions) acting as the maid. Agreeing to take Danny to a carnival, with Rusty along, all goes wrong as Rusty creates a disturbance during a demonstration to the spectators given by Moe Hatch (Sid Tomack), causing Moe to kick Rusty for being a nuisance and Hugh having to pay for the damages. Hugh punishes Danny, who now calls him "Daniel," and orders him to place a muzzle on Rusty. This dispute finds Danny leaving home with Rusty, camping outside the trailer of Dr. Fay, leading Hugh to wonder where he has failed as a father.
With so many family films focusing on father and son disputes, FOR THE LOVE OF RUSTY happens to be more of the same. The story would be recycled with few alterations in the latter entry, MY DOG RUSTY (1948), with Litel as Hugh going to extremes to understand his teenage son's way of thinking. Another thing that would be repeated later on, even in the final installment, RUSTY'S BIRTHDAY (1949) that is introduced here is Rusty obeying Danny by command showing how smart and obedient his dog is by having him roll over, play dead, walk backward and bark. Overall, typical, predictable, yet satisfying entry dealing with coping and understanding between son and parents. Character actor Aubrey Mather offers a fine performance as a good-hearted stranger with fine words of wisdom whose arrival like a guardian angel comes at a time when the Mitchell family is in need of some guidance and understanding, especially between father and son. Everything happens for a reason and this story demonstrates that.
Taking part in the supporting cast are George Meador as J. Cecil Rinehart; Mickey Magure (Gerald Hobble); Fred Sears ("Doc" Levy); Teddy Infuhr (Tommy Worde); Olin Howland (Frank Foley); Harry Hayden (Harry Bobble); George Nokes ("Squeaky") and Dwayne Hickman (Levy Jr.).
Out of circulation on the television markets since the 1960s, FOR THE LOVE OF RUSTY was brought forth again in 2007 on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. Look for it when it comes on again. The movie may not be top of the line or equivalent to the "Lassie" series over at MGM, but actually a true reminder of the sort of nice movies commonly produced during the golden age of Hollywood. Next installment THE SON OF RUSTY (1947), the fourth and many ways the best in the entire series. (** muzzles)