Adventures of Rusty (1945) User Reviews

They Can't Make Them Like This Anymore

[MCL1150 · 7/10 · 1 July 2007]

I wasn't born until 1963, but I have a great love of 1930s and 40s America. Until TCM began airing the "Rusty" series, I had no idea that the films even existed. I'm glad they do though. Considered corny and unrealistic by todays standards, I find them to be wonderful little time capsules of post-war USA. The reason they can't make something like this today is simply because today's world is too caught up in selfishness and lack of respect for others. It must have been nice to live in a time in which a Boy and His Dog series of films was what the public wanted to see. Unfortuanately for todays audiences, these 60 year old time pieces deal in such "boring" subjects as parents caring about their kids and the kids learning from their mistakes. If they were made today, they'd have to toss in drive by shootings, drugs, teen pregnancy and lots of profanity in order to attract an audience. And, of course, the kids would have to be smarter than the parents and all the other adults. Anyway, if you enjoy simple, predictable stories in which the kids don't hate their parents and even love them for caring about their proper upbringing, then certainly give these films a shot. All I know is these simple portraits of America in the 1940s leave me with a nice, nostalgic feeling for a time that we'll never see again. After all, the world of today is all about how the young being totally disrespectful to anyone over 30 and anything else would be seen as hopelessly corny and boring to watch. I was truly born about 50 years too late!

Rusty to the rescue

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 17 May 2005]

(Some Spoilers) Unusual dog movie about a former German police dog who was brought back to the states by a GI who ends up capturing two German saboteurs. The movie "Rusty" is also about a young boy Danny,Ted Donaldson, who after his mother tragically died has his dad Hugh Mitchell, Conrad Nagel, marry his new love Ann, Margaret Lindsay, which cause friction between him and his step-mother for his father affection and attention.

After Danny's dog Skipper gets killed in a traffic accident the boy is left without his best friend as well as losing his dad who now has no time for his after he married Ann. Later Danny spots this vicious German Shepherd, that he later names Rusty, at his neighbors Will Nelson, Robert Williams,home and offer to take the unruly dog off his hands.

At the Mitchell home Rusty is both wild and unapproachable and every time Danny goes near him, and tries to pet the dog, he takes a snap at him and once almost tears his hand off. It's obvious that the dog being trained by the German Army during WWII, the movie takes place in 1944, is anything but a Lassie or Rin-Tin-Tin. The only way to treat the poor dog is to be as unfeeling to him as he is to Danny and thus not show him any love or affection since he's unable to respond to it.

Rusty felling unwanted and at the same time unable to show any friendliness toward Danny, because of his brutal training back in Germany,breaks away from his lease at the Mitchell's home doghouse and runs off into the nearby woods. It just happens that these two German saboteurs are landed by a U-Boat and they both start to do their work to blow up US military installations.

All the Germans seem to do in their attempts to "Blow up America" is just go camping and then steal a number of kitchen utensils as they later run into the lost and confused Rusty. Rusty immediately responds and obeys the two Gremans, like he was trained to back in Germany, whom they use to catch rabbits and chickens from the locals hen houses and chicken coops for food for the saboteurs and Rusty to eat.

Danny looking for Rusty with his friends run into him and his new masters, the Germans. Rusty after hesitating to attack Danny and friends, as he was ordered by the Germans, turns on them when one of the Nazis pulls out a gun and is about to shoot his real friend Danny. After almost getting his arm ripped off by the courageous Rusty the other German saboteur is caught by the boys and Rusty after he's hit in the head with a sling-shot by Hurbie (Gary Gray) who's the smallest of the boys looking for Rusty. The two outer Germans are finally saved from the rampaging Rusty, a former comrade of theirs, by the US Navy MP's who just happened to come on the scene.

Besides the obvious boy and his dog-type story "Rusty" also showed how difficult it is for a young boy to get along with someone replacing his mom, Ann. In the end both Danny and Ann overcame those difficulties and came together, with Danny's dad Hugh, as a happy and loving family. But that wouldn't have happened if it was not for the brave and selfless Rusty who brought them all together.

Good family film released immediately post WWII...

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 17 June 2012]

...but set during the War as the first frame of the film reads "Spring of 1944" just so viewers wouldn't get confused about all the talk of Nazis five months after Germany surrendered.

The story is simple but well told - Danny Mitchell has been accustomed to living the bachelor life with his widower father Hugh Mitchell (Conrad Nagel), but the story opens on his Dad's wedding day. His bride to be, Ann (Margaret Lindsay), is anxious to win Danny over. In fact, she's a little too anxious as her bending over backwards just seems to have Danny acting out more. You see, he feels displaced after his Dad's marriage. At the same time Danny makes friends with and eventually gets to adopt a German Shepherd who actually is from Germany - Rusty. It's rather cute how the film parallels an eager Ann trying to win over a distrustful Danny with an eager Danny trying to win over a distrustful Rusty. They both go to the same local psychiatrist for help - separately of course - and both get the same advice.

In parallel with this story consisting of a slice of mid 40's Americana we have a couple of Nazi spies thrown into the mix who are hiding in the nearby woods. These guys are not portrayed as very bright considering they have been selected as spies since they don't seem to even get that discretion is the better part of valor. Translated that means that shooting at children will only rile the locals and probably means you'll be spotted and captured rather quickly. Remember, this was right after the war and feelings were still running high on the home front, thus the portrayal of the spies as violent buffoons and Rusty's initial vicious behavior being attributed to strict punishment which is described as part of standard dog training in Nazi Germany.

This is the only appearance of Margaret Lindsay or Conrad Nagel in the series, and they had seen more prominent days in the 30's over at Warner Brothers and MGM, respectively. But that is what Columbia seemed to do quite well in the 40's - find quality stars that had been passed over by their original studios and give them leading roles in their short B films to draw in audiences and give the productions polish.

I'd recommend this as a good example of a heart-warming family film that seems to hit all the right notes and talks about old-fashioned teamwork, friendship, parenting, and even child psychology without getting hammy.

Fun Start to the Series

[Michael_Elliott · 1 July 2012]

Adventures of Rusty (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Surprisenly fun tale of a young boy (Ted Donaldson) trying to cope with life after his beloved dog is killed and his father (Conrad Nagel) marries a new woman (Margaret Lindsay). Soon he befriends a cruel and rather vicious German Shepherd named Rusty and plans on teaching him how to act right. ADVENTURES OF RUSTY was the first in a series of movies from Columbia and there are so many reasons why this thing shouldn't work but I was surprised to see how effective it actually was. This is more of a coming of age film because the main focus is on the boy and him being unable to accept his new mother and I thought the film made some interesting connections. The boy couldn't relate or get along with his new mother no matter how hard she tried and the dog wouldn't be good to the boy no matter how hard he tried. I thought it was rather interesting that they would be working on two different story lines and both of them were entertaining to the fullest. There are some pretty good moments scattered throughout the film but I think something that is really beneficial is the fact that you can believe all of the situations because this family really does come across as a real one and not just actors thrown together for a movie. Donaldson, Nagel and Lindsay are all extremely good in their roles and the chemistry is certainly there. The only weak thing with the film is a weird subplot about a couple escaped German men but where they escaped from and what their crime was is never explained so I'm really not sure what the point of adding it was. Still, ADVENTURES OF RUSTY should entertaining the young and old.

A sad boy, an angry dog, and a not so wicked stepmother.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 3 December 2019]

The first film of the "Rusty" series is a decent programmer, a sentimental story of a young boy mourning the death of his mother (and later his dog) and resentful that his father is now going to marry apparently an old friend of his mother's. He's very disobedient when his stepmother tries to discipline him with love and understanding, making his father consider sending him to military school which stepmom refuses to see happen, knowing it would have a far worse outcome. But how does a confused boy accept the changes in life, respect his parents and find some happiness? Through another dog of course, and in the case of the dog, it's a much abused German Shepherd who once was part of the German army and needs to be retrained to once again become man's best friend.

Young Ted Donaldson is very good as a young boy, and Ace the Wonder dog is perfect as the title Rusty. It is only after Rusty is injured jumping out of his pen that he is able to show need for human caring, growling at Donaldson then lifting his paw to show that he's been hurt. It is also very apparent that Rusty distrusts adults and can tell through Donaldson's voice that he genuinely cares. The two become reluctant friends as Donaldson claims ownership and later hunts for him when two Nazi saboteurs ironically show up and steal him.

With Conrad Nagel as his father and Margaret Lindsay as the understanding stepmother, this film, released as the war was ending, is gripping, a bit maudlin emotionally, but ultimately quite satisfying. It is obvious from the time that the Nazis appear in the final real of the film that this little plot device will be the element that brings everybody around to have a happy ending, and indeed, tears can easily be shed with how it is presented. Veteran actress Gloria Holden, AKA Dracula's daughter, has a small role as Lindsay's friend, but doesn't get to do much. Donaldson and Ace are the standouts here, and you will root for them from the moment they meet until the end pops up on the screen.

Dog Day Afternoon

[lugonian · 5/10 · 22 July 2007]

THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY (Columbia, 1945), directed by Paul Burnford, stars child actor Ted Donaldson, best known for his supporting role as Neely Nolan in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (20th Century-Fox, 1945), in the lead performance not as Rusty, who happens to be a dog, but as a youngster named Danny Mitchell.

In what has developed into a programmer film series from 1945 to 1949, this initial entry starts off in the spring of 1944 where a little boy named Danny (Ted Donaldson)is seen fishing with his dog Skipper on the very day his widowed father, Hugh Mitchell (Conrad Nagel) is to remarry a woman named Ann (Margaret Lindsay), a close friend of his deceased wife, Laura. Ann loves Danny like a son, but because she is now a member of the family, doing things for his father he used to do, he starts to resent her. On a car bound for their honeymoon where Danny is left under the care of Ann's friend, Louise (Gloria Holden), Skipper runs after them only to be killed by a passing truck, causing Danny to place the blame on Ann. And where does Rusty come in? Well, while one afternoon in the country hunting for rabbits with his friends, Danny, who had earlier encountered a vicious German shepherd called Rusty (Ace, the Wonder Dog), owned by Will Nelson (Robert Williams) of Fisherman's Creek, meets up with the animal again with an injured paw. Hoping to win the dog's affection, Danny takes Rusty home, and with the permission of his father, gets to adopt Rusty from Mr. Nelson. Since Rusty was an Army war dog in Germany, and understands only German, Danny decides to take up the German language in order to communicate with the animal. Because the dog continues to growl and bark at Danny, he goes to Doctor Banning (Addison Richards) a psychiatrist, to learn the reason why. Regardless of Ann's good intentions towards both Danny and Rusty, Danny continues to resent Ann, especially after Rusty disappears, causing Ann to walk out on her marriage, leaving Hugh alone and depressed.

Regardless of its title, there's little adventure for Rusty and more family problems for the Mitchell family. ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, however, could very much be labeled as a predecessor to family television shows of the 1950s, resembling episodes of the more popular boy and his dog series, "Timmie and Lassie." As with "Lassie," Rusty is there for moral support for the family, particularly the boy, creating circumstances to allow the dog to come to the rescue. One scene midway finds Danny encountering a couple of Germans (Arno Frey and Eddie Parker) who had drifted ashore on a raft in the middle of the night, who take and use the drifting Rusty to supply them with food by stealing farm animals for them. As Danny, who has located Rusty, threatens to take back his dog, who had been missing for a week, the Nazis attempt to shoot Danny for his interference.

Also in the supporting cast are Douglas Madore (Billy); Bobby Larson (Henry); Gary Gray (Berbie); Ruth Warren (Floredce Nelson); Lloyd Ingraham (The Minister); and Billy Gray (Harry).

A quickly paced but sometimes uneven 67 minutes, THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, which turned up on cable television's Turner Classic Movies April 16, 2007, as part of its "No Animals Were Harmed" theme, was successful enough for Columbia to come up with seven more sequels. Veteran actors Conrad Nagel and Margaret Lindsay, who were by now reduced to enacting in "B" products such as this, would be substituted by other actors, namely John Litel and Ann Doran, in future installments. Next in the series: THE RETURN OF RUSTY (1946).(** Barks)

Minor tale of adjustment for boy, dog and his parents...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 16 April 2007]

TED DONALDSON (who was the child star in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN as Neely, the little brother), appeared the same year in this programmer, THE ADVENTURES OF RUSTY, a rather routine little melodrama from Columbia. It's all about a period of adjustment for a boy who just lost his little dog in an accident and has to adjust to his father (CONRAD NAGEL) marrying a new mom (MARGARET LINDSAY).

The boy befriends a German Shepherd with a nasty attitude toward others that has to be tamed before his parents allow him to adopt the dog for a pet. But relations between the boy and his step-mom are anything but smooth, with both of them seeking the help of a psychiatrist to help them amend their ways.

The last twenty minutes of the story brings a sub-plot involving the arrival of two German men who interact with Rusty. Turns out they're German spies (it takes place before the end of WWII), and the plot has the dog saving the day by pinning the men down so they can be picked up by the Shore Patrol.

It's an uneven film, obviously made on the cheap, a quickie that probably played the lower half of double bills in the days of double features at the movies. TED DONALDSON is nowhere as lovable here as he was in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. Most of the time he's a sullen little boy who's selfish and completely ill-mannered toward a kindly step-mom who only wants to help him. CONRAD NAGEL and MARGARET LINDSAY do professional jobs in less than convincing roles.

Summing up: A trifle hardly worth the trouble to watch--but Ace the Wonder Dog can certainly snarl well on cue.

The first of eight "Rusty" films about a German Shepherd and his owner boy

[jacobs-greenwood · 5/10 · 13 December 2016]

The first in a series of eight "Rusty" films about a German Shepherd dog and the boy who owns him, featuring Ted Donaldson as Danny Mitchell; Ace the Wonder Dog plays the title role in this one.

It's a family drama, directed by Paul Burnford, with a screenplay from Aubrey Wisberg that was based on a story by Al Martin. The cast includes two Hollywood veterans well past their prime, Margaret Lindsay and Conrad Nagel; Gloria Holden plays Lindsay's friend Louise.

Danny is upset because his widower father (Nagel) is remarrying, even though Ann (Lindsay) is someone the boy likes, having known her while his mother was alive. A stereotypical conflict ensues especially because Danny's other best friend, his pet dog, was killed on the wedding day, making the boy resent his stepmother even more for the loneliness caused by his father's lack of time for him. So Danny attempts to befriend his neighbor Will Nelson's (Robert Williams) mean and vicious German Shepherd, which had been trained by the Nazis during World War II; Rusty was brought home to the states by Nelson after his service in the army.

When Danny learns that Mr. Nelson may have the dog put down, he begs his parents to allow him to adopt it. After her initial caution for Danny's safety, Ann believes that the boy should be allowed to keep the dog. In fact, even though Ann has been kind, unusually understanding, and more than patient with Danny's lack of acceptance of her, she seeks the help of a professional psychiatrist named Dr. Banning (Addison Richards) hoping that he may advise her about how to deal with the boy. Ironically, Danny had seen the doctor for advice about how to train Rusty to be less vicious and more appreciative of his efforts.

Danny begins to treat Rusty with a combination of indifference and praise for good behavior at the same time that Ann attempts to do the same, hoping that the boy will come to him, but the tactic doesn't work for either of them. Instead, Rusty chews threw his rope leash and runs away where he happens upon two German spies (Arno Frey and Eddie Parker), who take charge of him to steal for them.

When Danny and his friends go searching for Rusty, the dog helps the boys to miraculously capture the luger wielding Germans. Meanwhile to solve her problem, Ann decides to leave husband Hugh and his boy. After seeing how depressed this makes his father, Danny finds her at Louise's and begs her to come home by promising that he'll never upset her again. She returns home so that the three (four if you count Rusty) of them can live happily ever after (and all go fishing together).

Enjoyable Family Film

[remobec · 8/10 · 9 July 2002]

The Adventures of Rusty is about a boy struggling through the remarriage of his father. When he finds an aggressive and untrusting German Shepherd, Rusty, he starts training him to be his pet. The resentment and distrust that Danny Mitchell feels towards his new 'mother' parallels Rusty's distrust of Danny and the world.

Ace the Wonder Dog gives a great performance as 'Rusty.' There are no obvious places where they added noises to the dog (growls, yelps, barks, etc.) His performance is very believable. That dog is a good actor and very well trained.

At times this movie can be a little melodramatic, and has a fairly predictable ending, although it does add a few unexpected elements. The Germans aren't viewed in a terribly favorable light, but that is to be expected, as this film was made during World War II. Rusty was a German dog. Although it does exactly say why he was so aggressive, it implies that the German methods create a fearsome, untrusting dog. This, of course, would be a generalization, but German dog training methods as a general rule are stricter (although it doesn't create aggressive dogs).

Nothing incredible about this movie, but it is fun to watch with a solid script, good values, fair acting and great dogs.

Pure Americana

[maryszd · 8/10 · 23 April 2009]

I always try to catch this movie when it's on TCM. During World War II, a boy named Danny tames a dog and in the process learns to control his own anger at his new step-mother Ann and fight off German spies along the way. Looking at the film today, it's striking how all the men wear suits and ties--even the German spies wear suits, ties and hats when they land in their lifeboat.

Danny's parents are kind-hearted and progressive for their time (Ann even goes to a psychiatrist). But eventually, Danny's anger wears her out, and she moves in with her best friend, Louise. Danny comes over and pleads with her to come back home; he misses having her around to do "women's work." At Louise's, Ann isn't shown wearing an apron or doing housework (as she is when she was living with Danny and his dad). She and Louise spend their time hooking rugs, smoking cigarettes and wearing great clothes. In the end, Danny wins her over and by the end of film she's back on duty taking care of the menfolk. The postwar urge to push women out of the workforce to make way for the returning war vets was already beginning.