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Simply Charming
Though this may not be one of the best movies of its time it certainly warms your heart. The plot is that of a widower with four children who seek to set up a farm using their last resources and the tribulations that follow. Walter Brennen plays to the hilt the autocratic father who professes to be democratic in all his decisions but has his own way by being overtly manipulative. Margurite Chapman plays the eldest daughter who surrogates for her mother to the siblings. She is torn emotionally behind a traditional approach emotionally and professionally as demanded by her father against the more scientific farming methods and modern values as professed by her knight in armour the Agriculturist Officer. The other two kids just play to stereotype as the nasty sister and the adolescent brother who is terrified by his father. It is Susan, beautifully played by a nine year old Natalie Wood who is the real star of this film. Her presence forces you to forget the weaker points of the film as you emote silently with her both in her pains and her happiness. The scenes where she bursts to tears as she is unable to agree to join a club as her father has forbiden it and the classic scene where she argues her case for a loan to a crusty banker (who incidentally has to cover up a smile) is great. The storyline may be weak but the acting is good and the picturisation of the storm sequences which include the heroic rescue of two lambs by Susan (allegedly which gave Natalie Wood a lifetime fear of drowning)is excellent. A great film to view with your family as it warms you up with thoughts of a long by-gone era.
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Beautifully made, but emotionally puzzling and somewhat aloof...
William D. Russell directs this rather unusual screenplay about a widower farmer and his four children of various ages, who live under their pig-headed father's thumb. Pretending to have a democracy in his family, the farmer--who always gets the last word--doesn't see that his stubborn ways of operating a home and a farm are not always the right ways, and he often comes close to alienating his children with his rigidly unsentimental attitude. Upon moving into their newest ranch house, eldest daughter Marguerite Chapman is wooed by the handsome, eligible local agriculturalist, yet she acts frigid and suspicious of men; we are to assume this is the way her papa raised her, but possibility a more vulnerable approach might have drawn us closer to the character. Natalie Wood is the talkative youngest child, and she pulls off some very difficult key sequences in the film with charm and poise (being voted down by her father when she desires buying two lambs, going to the bank and asking for a loan, and diligently taking her oath after being invited into the 4-H Club). The picture isn't a total success...and for a while there, I wasn't sure what Walter Brennan was trying for as the patriarch; at times he's so stern, he's almost villainous. However, the locations and silvery cinematography are perfect, and there's a dandy of a thunderstorm in which little Natalie finds herself caught. A genuine oddity from RKO, and worthwhile despite its flaws.
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Natalie And Her Lambs
The Green Promise is a commercial for the 4-H clubs which despite the ever shrinking number of family farms there are still enough kids growing up on same to provide a spring of new members. But this film is a time capsule which shows some of the problems of rural life around 1949. A lot of those same problems exist today because the things that Mother Nature can throw at you when you make a living from the land don't change at all.
Walter Brennan plays a serious version of his later Grandpappy Amos McCoy role. He's the father of four children, the grownup Marguerite Chapman and youngsters Ted Donaldson, Connie Marshall and the youngest Natalie Wood. Brennan is old fashioned and stubborn and not willing to listen to advice about new agricultural methods. Especially when they come from smart alecky young county agent Robert Paige. Paige knows his stuff, but he's a bit too sure of himself to suit Brennan and Chapman in the romance department. Of course she comes around in every way.
The star here is young Natalie Wood and she plays the part like a young Margaret O'Brien. In fact when I tuned the film on I wasn't sure I wasn't watching Margaret O'Brien, the only clue that puzzled me was that Ted Donaldson was too old be an older brother for O'Brien. Young Natalie is sweet and engaging and I defy anyone not to empathize with her concern for her young black lambs whom she is raising as her 4-H project.
The kids from 4-H pitch in with helping hands (that is one of the four Hs after all) to save the farm from the elements and the stupidity of man which I won't go into. All in all they're wholesome All American kids and a real advertisement for the group.
And The Green Promise is also an advertisement for the 4-H clubs in the USA. It's a nice family film without great production values and Natalie Wood is exceptional.
Walter Brennan plays a serious version of his later Grandpappy Amos McCoy role. He's the father of four children, the grownup Marguerite Chapman and youngsters Ted Donaldson, Connie Marshall and the youngest Natalie Wood. Brennan is old fashioned and stubborn and not willing to listen to advice about new agricultural methods. Especially when they come from smart alecky young county agent Robert Paige. Paige knows his stuff, but he's a bit too sure of himself to suit Brennan and Chapman in the romance department. Of course she comes around in every way.
The star here is young Natalie Wood and she plays the part like a young Margaret O'Brien. In fact when I tuned the film on I wasn't sure I wasn't watching Margaret O'Brien, the only clue that puzzled me was that Ted Donaldson was too old be an older brother for O'Brien. Young Natalie is sweet and engaging and I defy anyone not to empathize with her concern for her young black lambs whom she is raising as her 4-H project.
The kids from 4-H pitch in with helping hands (that is one of the four Hs after all) to save the farm from the elements and the stupidity of man which I won't go into. All in all they're wholesome All American kids and a real advertisement for the group.
And The Green Promise is also an advertisement for the 4-H clubs in the USA. It's a nice family film without great production values and Natalie Wood is exceptional.
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Time capsule of the conservative American spirit.
Entertaining piece about a stubborn widowed farmer and his children (two girls, one boy and one grown woman) who buys a farm and ignores good advice of how to operate it. Natalie Wood plays youngest child Susan who wants to join the 4-H club and raise lambs. She is inspired by young neighbor Buzz who's success in raising cattle has allowed him to save enough money for college. Walter Brennan plays the father who shames her into thinking that she is selfish to want to achieve individual success outside of the family collective. Natalie gives her usual charming and polished performance and holds the weaker parts of the film together. At times her style is a bit melodramatic, but the film is played so low-keyed, that her over-the-top emotions (a trademark) liven things up. No doubt about it, she is the star of the film. Marguerite Chapman plays the grown child, Deborah Matthews, who is afraid to date the handsome land agent because her father expects her to work the farm and not have a life of her own. She does have some grit and stands up to her father from time to time. The Green Promise is a biblical reference that is delivered nicely by Reverend Benton (Milburn Stone) and drives home the film's themes of putting pride aside and allowing others and themselves to achieve their individual potential. There are scenes of the kids fishing on a fallen tree trunk that are reminiscent of Norman Rockwell and in fact the entire film, written by Monte Collins, is more of a time capsule of the conservative American spirit of that period. It's the type of film Walt Disney made with larger budgets and in color (SO DEAR TO MY HEART, FOLLOW ME BOYS), but the limits of black-and-white film gives it a dust-bowl feel a little inappropriate to the story and setting. Hollywood was filled with Communist themes from such writers as Dalton Trumbo (who penned the similar OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES) so it's interesting to see such a film for contrast. Far from a classic, fans of Natalie Wood, the 4-H club, and films of this type will find it of interest.
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Natalie Wood is a scene stealer!
This film is about a widower and farmer, Mr Matthews, played well by Walter Brennan. He buys a farm and moves with four children. His oldest daughter, Deborah, is more of a mother figure in the house. She is well played by Marguerite Chapman. Natalie Wood plays younger sister, Susan. There is brother Phinneus and sister Abigail. Mr Matthews is a stubborn old man who refuses to learn new things or keep up with the times. When he is injured, Deborah takes charge and make changes. Wood's Susan joins the 4 H Club and raises two lambs for a ribbon at a fair. Susan risks her life to save them. The film is fine with decent performances all around. The ending could have been better though. The film is worth watching at least once. There are some light moments. This film is a fine melodrama overall.
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Tale of a pig-headed man....and his long-suffering kids.
When I first started watching this film, I assumed it would be a schmaltzy family film. However, as it progressed, I realized it was the story about a nasty old man who dominated his family...and the attempt by some of them to break out from under his thumb. I do think many WILL see it as a family film but with me being a father, I sure wanted to bust this guy in the nose!
Mr. Matthews (Walter Brennan) and his children arrive in town and they buy a farm. One of their neighbors is David Barkley (Robert Paige) and he's a college educated agricultural agent. But Matthews is a stubborn old guy and refuses to listen to Barkley--choosing to use his old tried and true methods. Likewise, he doesn't listen to his children but dominates them. He pretends everyone in the family gets a say but uses emotional blackmail to get his way every time. When Matthews is badly hurt and his children have to run the farm, the oldest, Deborah (Marguerite Chapman) decides to loosen up the reins and try new methods. When her father eventually learns of this, he tries to sabotage her efforts--all to prove he was right after all.
One of the beneficiaries of Dad's injury is little Susan (Natalie Wood). She's wanted to raise lambs and join 4-H but he vetoed this because...well...because he could! Now with Dad laid up in bed, Susan tries to prove she can raise sheep on her own.
Fortunately, everything works out by the end of the film....and I stopped hating Matthews! It is a nice little film...just try to ignore Matthews' boorishness that occasionally rears its ugly head. Also, try to ignore the kid in the Aunt Jemima costume at the party! My how times have changed!
Mr. Matthews (Walter Brennan) and his children arrive in town and they buy a farm. One of their neighbors is David Barkley (Robert Paige) and he's a college educated agricultural agent. But Matthews is a stubborn old guy and refuses to listen to Barkley--choosing to use his old tried and true methods. Likewise, he doesn't listen to his children but dominates them. He pretends everyone in the family gets a say but uses emotional blackmail to get his way every time. When Matthews is badly hurt and his children have to run the farm, the oldest, Deborah (Marguerite Chapman) decides to loosen up the reins and try new methods. When her father eventually learns of this, he tries to sabotage her efforts--all to prove he was right after all.
One of the beneficiaries of Dad's injury is little Susan (Natalie Wood). She's wanted to raise lambs and join 4-H but he vetoed this because...well...because he could! Now with Dad laid up in bed, Susan tries to prove she can raise sheep on her own.
Fortunately, everything works out by the end of the film....and I stopped hating Matthews! It is a nice little film...just try to ignore Matthews' boorishness that occasionally rears its ugly head. Also, try to ignore the kid in the Aunt Jemima costume at the party! My how times have changed!
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Unremarkable film with a nice child actress performance from Natalie Wood...
A harmless little film from the mid-'40s without a fresh point of view or virtually any originality. Competent performances can't atone for the dullness of the plot and direction.
NATALIE WOOD shines as a sensitive young tomboy who's always quarreling with sister CONNIE MARSHALL and keeps her eye on the romance brewing between older sister MARGUERITE CHAPMAN and a neighbor farmer ROBERT PAIGE.
WALTER BRENNAN is the farming father who's reluctant to listen to good advice from Paige about the possibility of his farm in danger of flooding due to a structural fault from a nearby hill of trees.
There's a low-budget look to the B&W photography of the sort of family film that would have registered more strongly in Technicolor. A string of incidents of no particular consequence make for a weak plot that never manages to be compelling enough to sustain interest in its rural background and cardboard characters.
Only toward the end, during a bad thunderstorm, does the film achieve any sort of visual awakening. Ironically, it was during filming of the storm scene that Natalie accidentally fell into the water and got the scare of her young life--an ironic prediction of how her real life would end so tragically.
ROBERT PAIGE and MARGUERITE CHAPMAN can't manage to be anything but bland as the leads, but Natalie Wood's fans should enjoy her performance. WALTER BRENNAN does his standard grumpy old man act.
NATALIE WOOD shines as a sensitive young tomboy who's always quarreling with sister CONNIE MARSHALL and keeps her eye on the romance brewing between older sister MARGUERITE CHAPMAN and a neighbor farmer ROBERT PAIGE.
WALTER BRENNAN is the farming father who's reluctant to listen to good advice from Paige about the possibility of his farm in danger of flooding due to a structural fault from a nearby hill of trees.
There's a low-budget look to the B&W photography of the sort of family film that would have registered more strongly in Technicolor. A string of incidents of no particular consequence make for a weak plot that never manages to be compelling enough to sustain interest in its rural background and cardboard characters.
Only toward the end, during a bad thunderstorm, does the film achieve any sort of visual awakening. Ironically, it was during filming of the storm scene that Natalie accidentally fell into the water and got the scare of her young life--an ironic prediction of how her real life would end so tragically.
ROBERT PAIGE and MARGUERITE CHAPMAN can't manage to be anything but bland as the leads, but Natalie Wood's fans should enjoy her performance. WALTER BRENNAN does his standard grumpy old man act.
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Ironies of life
Perhaps if Natalie hadn't broken her wrist, (which wasn't set right and thus left her with a weakened wrist & a bone protrusion) while making this movie, then maybe 32 years later she would've had enough strength to pull herself into the lifeboat on that fateful night in Nov. 1981... Still though it looks like a good movie in a way, and Natalie looked cute in her bunny suit. She was such a cute little girl in so many films. Also it's interesting seeing Walter Brennan in something other that just the old TV show "The Real McCoys." I'll have to see if I can find it again sometime so that I can see all of it again. I'm sure that it is a good rural themed movie to see.
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