NR | 1h 43m | Drama, Western | 1958
Although the American Civil War ended in 1865, plenty of folks carried the conflict along with them for years. The 1958 film, “The Proud Rebel,” takes place during that uneasy period. A former Confederate rides north and discovers that the word “Rebel” still tells strangers everything they thought they needed to know about him.
Michael Curtiz’s film takes a rarely seen approach in Westerns: The former soldier is traveling because his son needs medical help.
Doctors, Dogs, and Prime Real Estate
John Chandler (Alan Ladd) is traveling with his 10-year-old son, David (David Ladd, the star’s son). The boy’s been mute since Union soldiers burned their Atlanta home and killed his mother.
In Aberdeen, Illinois, Dr. Enos Davis (Cecil Kellaway) believes the problem may be psychological and recommends that John take David to a doctor in Minnesota.
John has little money left, so he trades silver for supplies and worries about paying for another trip. David’s border collie, Lance, is along for the ride and quickly attracts attention after clearing a flock of sheep from the main street with embarrassing efficiency.
Those particular sheep belong to Harry Burleigh (Dean Jagger), whose sons Jeb Burleigh (Dean Stanton) and Tom Burleigh (Tom Pittman) decide they must have the dog.
When the brothers try to take Lance, John lays into them. Harry steps in, makes John out to be the aggressor, and the next thing he knows, he’s in front of Judge Morley (Henry Hull), facing either a $30 fine he can’t afford or 30 days in jail.
Linnett Moore (Olivia de Havilland), a farmer already at odds with the Burleigh family, pays the fine and puts John to work on her property to repay her.
That arrangement delays the Minnesota trip and gives David a place where he actually begins to feel at home. John proves increasingly useful around the farm. Linnett grows fond of the boy, but the Burleighs keep finding ways to make themselves a nuisance for everyone. Their interest in Linnett’s property eventually makes John quite inconvenient for them.
Forming a Family
Small details enrich the storytelling. Chickens wander around the front yard with their heads bobbing, pecking at the dirt while John and David wait for Linnett to get all gussied up for a trip into town. Later, two older women see the three of them arrive together and giggle over Linnett “finally” finding herself a man.
Another nice moment comes when store owner, Mr. Gorman (Eli Mintz), offers to keep David occupied so that John and Linnett can spend some quality time together. All of these scenes help Aberdeen feel like an actual small frontier town.
The younger Ladd has a difficult job since the character David spends most of the film unable to speak; he handles it well enough through reactions, gestures, and his obvious attachment to Lance.
Also, having his real father opposite him helped some of their scenes feel convincing. King, the champion border collie playing Lance, deserves the screen credit he received as well. He herds sheep like an ace, responds beautifully to the boy, and becomes important enough to the story that he’s hard to sell.
Curtiz keeps the location looking like a working farm full of fences, livestock, and jobs that need strong backs. Outdoor photography offers great landscapes.
The movie can get sentimental and sappy. Its explanation for David’s muteness becomes a little dodgy when the medical side of the story returns.
People help others because it’s simply the decent thing to do. Linnett helps a stranger who’s in trouble, Gorman gives two adults a chance to bond, and John keeps putting his son first even when the choices get pretty painful.
Yes, starting over may require lots of work, some patience, and maybe help from people you barely even know (and, apparently, one extremely talented sheepdog).
But “The Proud Rebel” makes a convincing case that, with the right people around you, starting over can be worth every bit of trouble.
“The Proud Rebel” is available on GanJingWorld.
‘The Proud Rebel’
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Alan Ladd, Olivia de Havilland, Dean Jagger
Not Rated
Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Release Date: July 1, 1958
Rated: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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