Dogathon: The Proud Rebel (1958)

David and Lance
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     TCMDb: A young boy becomes mute after seeing his mother killed in the Civil War and his father decides to take him and their dog on a trek to find a cure for his condition, but the road ahead is full of evil sheepherders and hard-to-find money.

     Dog is, as the saying goes, man's best friend. They are loyal, they are protective, and, most of all, they are loving. It are those three qualities that make this film, The Proud Rebel. I got this film for $3.99 at Books-a-Million using the gift card that my oldest brother got me for Christmas. I'd never heard of it, but the synopsis peaked my interest, and I decided to go for it. I'm so glad that I did.
     The film stars Alan Ladd, Olivia de Havilland, Dean Jagger, and Alan's son, David Ladd in his second film role, and whom portrayed Alan's mute son in the film. The Border Collie, Lance, was played by King.
     One of the things that I love most about this film is its simplicity. It is not hard to follow, it's message is simple: Love conquers all. The actors are superb, and little David Ladd is brilliant for not until the very end does he speak. The relationship between father and son is real. Yes, I know they were actual father and son in real life, but sometimes those certain relationships don't cross over onto screen very well. This one did.
     I've only seen two films of Alan Ladd's, this one and The Deep Six, so I honestly don't know what one pictures when they think of him, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say that he is remembered for making ice look hot when he co-starred with Veronica Lake in such films as This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key. In The Proud Rebel, however, he seems like the devoted dad who is willing to do anything, except compromise his beliefs or accept charity, to help his son speak again.

David, Olivia, and Alan.
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     Olivia de Havilland, just as I had expected, was marvelous as the woman that takes Ladd on to help work off a prison fine that he accumalates when trying to protect his son's dog, Lance, and because she likes his boy.

     The dog, Lance, portrayed by King, is the type of dog that every little boy wishes for. He's smart, he's protective, and he's always right there, doing just as the boy, David, tells him to. In the film, the dog is a brilliant sheepherder, and Dean Jagger and his sons, want him for their own. Ladd at first refuses, knowing that his son and the dog are incredibly close, and that David would be heartbroken if he were to lose him. But when he has a chance to get a doctor to take a look at David, and to find out if there is anything that they can do to get David to speak again, and when another man offers a lot of money for Lance, he has to make the decision to keep the dog, and make the boy happy, or sell the dog, and hear his son speak. A delima that no father wants to face.      

     For this simple, but still moving film, I give a 3/4 stars. If you haven't seen it before, I recommend it wholeheartedly, and if you have seen it, you know, there's no harm in revisiting it.

David Ladd.
Photo Courtesy of http://www.boyactors.org.uk