The Son of Rusty (1947) ** 1/2 (out of 4)The fourth film in the series has Jed Barlow (Stephen Dunne) coming to live in the small town when gossip ruins his reputation. He's befriended by Danny (Ted Donaldson) and Rusty but when an accident goes horribly wrong, the former GI has charges brought against him, which has more to do with the gossip than anything else. THE SON OF RUSTY is a step up from the previous entry and if you're a fan of the series then you should find yourself entertained throughout the short 69-minute running time. I think the story itself was a pretty good one as the message is certainly loud and clear that gossip can lead to nothing good. The screenplay did a pretty good job at getting this message across and thankfully it never got too preachy and the film made the right decision to not beat the viewer over the head with its message. Another strong thing here are the performances. Donaldson is certainly at ease in his role and even Tom Powers was much better here as the father. Ann Doran returned to the role of the mother and did a nice job as well. Dunne was extremely good as the former GI who finds himself in a new battle in the small town. Thurston Hall easily steals the film as a good-hearted lawyer who befriends the children. As the title implies, a lot of the running time is devoted to Rusty and the GI's female dog. The "relationship" is cute to say the least but I'm a little surprised that the production code at the time allowed all the obvious sexual references between the two. It's certainly nothing offensive but I think older viewers will get the hints. Either way, THE SON OF RUSTY is a decent entry in the series.

In small-town Lawtonville, young teen Ted Donaldson (as Daniel "Danny" Mitchell) and his pals are confronted about building their clubhouse on private property. Luckily, landowner and counselor-at-law Thurston Hall (as Franklyn P. Gibson) is a fine old chap. He sells the boys a 99-year lease for $4.00. That settled, the lads and young Donaldson's German shepherd dog "Rusty" become intrigued with newly arrived mystery man Stephen Dunne (as Jed Barlow). He comes to town with an enormous chip on his shoulder, arousing suspicion and gossip...Amateur detectives Donaldson, Teddy Infuhr (as Michael "Squeaky" Foley), Ronnie Ralph (as Gerald Hebble), Dwayne Hickman (as Nip Worden) and David Ackles (as Tuck Worden) suspect Mr. Dunne has a sinister past. Obviously familiar with the script, everyone immediately assumes Dunne's accompanying German shepherd is a female. "The Son of Rusty" is portended when Dunne's dog "Barb" and Donaldson's "Rusty" sneak out to answer nature's call. The story lines are not related very well, but there are typical good messages for the kids herein.***** The Son of Rusty (8/7/47) Lew Landers ~ Ted Donaldson, Stephen Dunne, Thurston Hall, Tom Powers

Here the title somewhat gives away the conclusion to the film, but actually producing a "son of rusty" is a very minor subplot to the film. The major subplot involves the damage gossip can do and basically preaches the maxim "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes".With Ted Donaldson getting a little too old to play the troubled little kid, and with Tom Powers and Ann Doran settling comfortably into their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, attention in this film turns to a mysterious new member of the community. However, he wants nothing to do with anyone else, is rude bordering on hostile, is holed up all alone at the Gruber farm claiming to be sharecropping but has ordered a large amount of explosives and is behaving somewhat suspiciously.Danny Mitchell and the new stranger, Jed Barlow, cross paths and lock horns when Danny's dog Rusty develops a crush on Jed's female Shepherd, Barb. Jed's rough treatment of Rusty when he shows up at his farm deepens Danny's suspicions about Jed, and it doesn't help that Danny and his friends have become regular listeners of a radio show involving crime, mystery, and a dog detective. What is the story behind this mysterious stranger? Are Rusty and Barb doomed to be a canine version of Romeo and Juliet? Watch and find out.Central to the success of this entry in the series is Thurston Hall as Franklyn P. Gibson, a famous defense attorney, basically retired, who is enjoying small town life and lends a helpful hand and good advice to Danny and his friends. Lots of times he would play blustery wind bag types, but here he is all heart. The film had me wishing I lived in a small town myself where a few good people can turn the hearts of an entire community.

Malicious gossip about a war veteran (STEPHEN DUNNE) is at the center of this routine story in the Rusty series starring TED DONALDSON as the boy who tries to befriend the veteran only to have the friendship cut short by an accident involving explosives that hurt Rusty.STEPHEN DUNNE gives an earnest, likable performance as the misunderstood veteran soldier and THURSTON HALL does a nice job as a helpful and trusted lawyer Gibson who defends the man accused of a misdemeanor for using explosives/ The final courtroom scene tends to be too preachy in its summation of small-town American values, as well intended as it is, even though Thurston Hall delivers it well.But the story essentially is a weak one, bolstered only by the likable performances and the amazingly well trained canine mentioned in the title. The only real interest in the story comes from the mystery surrounding Dunne and his erratic behavior, which is only solved by the courtroom testimony he's forced to give about his background. Summing up: A small trifle about a small-town incident used to showcase the abilities of a dog named Rusty and his owner, Donaldson.