MARGARET O'BRIEN was at the top of her child star career when OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES opened at Radio City Music Hall to appreciative audiences. You have to wonder how a film with a tale as simple as this would fare with today's audiences.
Unexpected casting of EDWARD G. ROBINSON and AGNES MOOREHEAD as a Norwegian farming couple in Wisconsin pays dividends. They're both excellent throughout, never allowing the sentimental aspects of the story to become too cloying. Margaret and little BUTCH JENKINS, the freckle-faced kid from THE HUMAN COMEDY, are excellent as the kids experiencing the joys and perils of growing up on a lonely farm.
For added romantic interest, there's JAMES CRAIG, MGM's dependable and pleasing male personality resembling the studio's own Clark Gable, and FRANCES GIFFORD as a schoolteacher tired of her provincial life in the country.
Not everyone will like this sort of family film, but fans of EDWARD G. ROBINSON should certainly check this one out.
Unexpected casting of EDWARD G. ROBINSON and AGNES MOOREHEAD as a Norwegian farming couple in Wisconsin pays dividends. They're both excellent throughout, never allowing the sentimental aspects of the story to become too cloying. Margaret and little BUTCH JENKINS, the freckle-faced kid from THE HUMAN COMEDY, are excellent as the kids experiencing the joys and perils of growing up on a lonely farm.
For added romantic interest, there's JAMES CRAIG, MGM's dependable and pleasing male personality resembling the studio's own Clark Gable, and FRANCES GIFFORD as a schoolteacher tired of her provincial life in the country.
Not everyone will like this sort of family film, but fans of EDWARD G. ROBINSON should certainly check this one out.