I'm normally a pretty sensitive guy but rare is the time, especially with movies these days (I'm in my early 40s), that I feel joy or sorrow or anything at all, for that matter, at a movie. I think most of them are made by people who have nothing to say.
This film is different. I actually found myself a couple times with tears rolling down my cheeks and I was happy to have that feeling. And there were times that my heart soared here too.
I must first say that I have always loved Edward G. From Little Caesar to The Sea Wolf and more, this is an actor's actor. He is authoratative here for sure, but in a tender and fair way. It made me see him in a completely different and more sympathetic light. He is a real "little guy" here. When he balks
at physically punishing his daughter for being selfish with the roller skates, I wish I could make every parent today see that scene.
Strange as it may seem, Agnes Moorehead is an idea match wife for Edward G.
Known for "Bewitched" or Orson Wellesian weirdo-type characters, we usually
see her as kind of a cold loser whose life has passed her by. She is so credible and so good here, you can see a light shine from within. When she expresses
pride in the children, it is real. Robinson and Moorehead are what make this
movie real and are the forces of good who influence children to grow up right.
Now a word about the courtroom scene when the girl offers her calf and
everyone starts offering increasingly valuable parts of the farm to give to the stricken farmer. To say this scene reflected communism is like saying It's a
Wonderful Life reflects communism. It's totally ridiculous. It is Capra-corn of the highest order and is just one of many scenes in a movie performed by people
who believe every word the screenwriter wrote, directed by a person of vision and written with a heart.
So if you are a bit more sentimental and want a film that is real and has a heart, and is far enough removed from all the ADD and ritalin and child abuse we
have now, this one will make you forget about the regrettable way things go
today and the way things should be.
