The Proud Rebel
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Written by Joseph Petracca and Lillie Hayward from a story by James Edward Grant
1958/USA
Formosa Productions
First viewing/Amazon Prime
[box] Jeb Burleigh: I’d like a little respect. I told you before I don’t like people I’m talkin’ to to walk away from me. Look at me! You look at me when I talk to you.
John Chandler: I’m lookin’, but I don’t see anything.[/box]
This is a solid, if predictable, family Western with some good performances and some mean hombres.
John Chandler (Alan Ladd) is a man of few words. His son David (David Ladd) lost his speech when their Georgia plantation was destroyed and his mother killed during the Civil War. John is now traveling through the North with David and their beloved sheepdog, Lance, desperately seeking a cure for his son’s muteness. They are very short on cash.
Almost as soon they arrive in town, the Burleigh brothers attempt to steal Lance and then pick a fight. John decks Jeb Burleigh and is arrested for assault. The court is stacked against him and he is sentenced to $30 or 30 days. This is money he does not have nor can he leave David alone while he serves time. Fortunately, spinster Linnett Moore (Olivia de Havilland), who has had her own trouble with the Burleighs, pays the fine and he agrees to work off the loan on her farm.
The Burleighs are sheep ranchers and Linnett’s farm denies them open pasture that they covet. Father Harry Burleigh (Dean Jagger) is smoother than his sons but they all would do anything to drive her from her farm. With John by her side, Linnett is more stubborn than ever. The two develop a warm friendship that could turn into something more.
John learns that there is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic who thinks he has a 50-50 chance of curing David. It will cost $300. John could earn the money by selling the amazing Lance but that would break David’s heart.
I love sheepdogs and I would have watched this movie just to see that dog work those sheep. Fortunately, the movie is solid all around and de Havilland is particularly impressive. Of course, you don’t have to be a genius to anticipate virtually every one of the plot points.
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