The Sun Comes Up

I finally found it!!!!
I have been looking for this movie for some time. We rented it when I was under the age of 8 (too young to be interested in the title or actors). I could remember it had "the little boy from The Yearling". Also that Lassie and a red-haired opera singer were in it. Critics may think it slightly corny or mushy, but to an under-8-year-old, it was wonderful, sweet, touching, and exciting. What do they know? It was made for children, and we love it!

I RECKON THIS MOVIE'S A BARGAIN!!!!
This film is significant because it was Jeanette MacDonald's final film. While she is lovely to look at, the picture really belongs to the charming and affable Claude Jarman, Jr. who sprouted up in height since making "The Yearling" three years before. Lassie is on the periphery here as well. This is the story of a concert singer (MacDonald) who has a nervous breakdown after her only son is hit by a truck and killed trying to save "Lassie". She retreats to a mountain village where there is an orphan's home nearby. She hires one of the "orphan" boys (Jarman, Jr.) whose name is Jerry, to be her handy boy. He is about the same age as her son who was killed was. They form a mutual attachment and overcome many obstacles. This is a great family film, photographed beautifully in Technicolor. Sure its sentimental and touchy-feely and definitely not for the cynics. But MacDonald and Claude Jarman Jr. have great chemistry together. Lassie is the forgotten link between the two. This...

The Sun Comes Up
This film has all the old cliches of a 1940s musical. While it does a disservice to the wonderful short story by Marjorie Rawlings (A Mother in Mannville)on which it was based, it is delightfully nostalgic as Jeanette McDonald's last movie. The Lassie part of the film is corny, and the rest is so typical of that era's movies that it is pure fun: the dramatic background music by Andre Previn; the sad,stoic orphan boy; the famous singer aching for her lost child! The best part is the mountain character Williegood played by Percy Kilbride.Don't think; enjoy!

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