This movie does seem a bit saccharine in parts but because it was so well-crafted and the acting was so good, this can be easily forgiven.
This is a sweet story of a nice farm family as seen through the eyes of their young daughter (Margaret O'Brien) and her little playmate (Butch Jenkins). O'Brien did a marvelous job (not an over-the-top performance like she had done in a few of her earlier movies) but Butch Jenkins was not exactly the brightest star on the stage. In the 1940s, MGM tried VERY hard to make Jenkins the next child star and he was marketed strongly. The only problem was that he couldn't act very well and he seemed like, at best, not the most attractive child on the screen. Despite this, the movie still is carried off quite well.
Edward G. Robinson plays the patriarch of the family and proves that his acting range was far superior to what is commonly assumed. No sign of Little Caesar in this performance! Instead, he is gentle, caring and above all, decent.
This is a sweet story of a nice farm family as seen through the eyes of their young daughter (Margaret O'Brien) and her little playmate (Butch Jenkins). O'Brien did a marvelous job (not an over-the-top performance like she had done in a few of her earlier movies) but Butch Jenkins was not exactly the brightest star on the stage. In the 1940s, MGM tried VERY hard to make Jenkins the next child star and he was marketed strongly. The only problem was that he couldn't act very well and he seemed like, at best, not the most attractive child on the screen. Despite this, the movie still is carried off quite well.
Edward G. Robinson plays the patriarch of the family and proves that his acting range was far superior to what is commonly assumed. No sign of Little Caesar in this performance! Instead, he is gentle, caring and above all, decent.