I've seen a couple of reviews decry this movie, 50 years after the fact, for poor values or "teaching the kids wrong things." That is the silliest thing I have seen. This movie was a good movie in 1966, and remains so fifty years later. The Scouts NEVER have changed their mission to help boys grow into upright men; America has decided for some reason that upright men are bad and that good values are bad.Too bad. In what remains of the real USA, men still are men, not women. The Scouts taught generations of boys how to be upright, forthright men. If that is bad, call this former Scout a bad man...and my sons...and my grandson.We are what holds this country together while the critics try to tear it apart. By the grace of God, that shall never happen.

What a shame that Hollywood can no longer put out movies as fine as this. "Follow Me Boys" is a most enjoyable film about a man with high ambitions finding himself very happy with a life so ordinary. Lem sought to someday be a lawyer but instead finds great fulfillment mentoring the boys of a small town. He takes the job of scout master to gain the attention of a local lady. His job as scout master turns out to be most fulfilling and he gets the girl! While Fred MacMurray does a fine job in the lead role, the film is not all about him. During the story you see what a positive effect his leadership has on the boys he mentors in the Boy Scouts. A very young and somewhat troubled boy named Whitey, played by Kurt Russell, joins Lem's scout troop and much like Lem finds it an unexpected life changing experience. "Follow Me Boys" is a very entertaining and very wholesome movie. It's a shame Hollywood, or even Disney, can't put out films like this anymore.

MacMurray plays a character named Lemuel Siddons, a member of a big band in the early 1930s who is tired of the endless traveling involved with that occupation. He wants to settle down somewhere so he can study law. On a whim he picks Hickory (Population 4,951) located somewhere in the Midwest of the United States of America. He immediately meet-cutes Vida Downey, who is played by Vera Miles, by stepping on her foot as he catches a fly ball from a baseball game played by a bunch of kids. She takes an immediate disliking to him, which means they are eventually going to get married. Before this happens, Lemuel, or as he is more commonly known as, Lem, volunteers to organize a Boy Scout troop at a town meeting which impresses Vida. The movie focuses on MacMurray and the positive effect he has on the various groups of boys he leads over the years. Sctructually the film flows somewhat awkwardly. That is the pacing lingers, and then leaps forward, and then lingers again. In a way, it's sort of a poor man's "It's A Wonderful Life" as Lem never really pursues his goal of becoming a lawyer, but instead finds great satisfaction in his marriage to Vida and his commitment as a Scout leader. The difference between Lem and George Bailey is that Lem knows he has it good the entire time, which means most of the drama comes from guiding the troubled Kurt Russle character. Once this part of the movie is concluded the films sort of feels rudderless until it makes it way to the final scene where Lem is honored by the community. The film has a nice positive spirit to it, but it still could have used more drama to make Lem's life all the more poignant.

I found that this movie is the best boyscout movie ever made. It has a great cast with Kurt Russell and Fred McMurray leading the amazing cast. With Vera Miles and the rest making it could holsom movie that everybody will enjoy young and old. It shows how one man can take a group of boys and send them off into the world to become doctors and even the governor of what ever state this movie is set in, and how a pull of a string can give a group of boys a great adventure. This movie is start in the early formation of the boyscout movement and ends in the early 1950. It can be seen how the troop in the movie changes through the years. It is a good movie and is a must for every body to see.