RKO Radio Pictures's ''Laddie'' is a 1940 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning mo ...

Virginia Gilmore Virginia Gilmore (born Sherman Virginia Poole, July 26, 1919 – March 28, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Early years Virginia Gilmore was born on July 26, 1919, in El Monte, California. Her father was a retired o ...

and

Joan Carroll Joan Carroll (born Joan Marie Felt, January 18, 1931 – November 16, 2016) was an American child actress who appeared in films until retiring in 1945. Childhood career Carroll was born Joan Marie Felt to Wright and Freida Felt on January ...

and directed by

Jack Hively Jack Hively (September 5, 1910 – December 19, 1995) was an American film editor and film and television director whose career lasted from the 1930s through the 1980s. His father and his brother were also film editors. He began as a film editor ...

. It is the third film adaptation based on

Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservat ...

's novel, ''Laddie, A True Blue Story'' (1913), and previously had been filmed in 1926 and by

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

in 1935.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p153.

Plot

An honest farmer's son, Laddie Stanton, falls in love with Pamela Pryor, the daughter of the Englishman who just bought the land next door. Her father is a disdainful and morose man fixated at the dishonorable discharge of his son Robert and isn't at all happy with the prospect of having Laddie as a son-in-law forbidding Pamela's hand in marriage to Laddie a "field hand". Laddie lobby card 4

Pamela tries to make Laddie get another profession, to please her father and to be able to continue their relation. The insulted Laddie is very upset and regards Pamela's plead as disrespectful to him and his family. After speaking with his family, Laddie decides to prove himself to Mr.Pryor by buying a portion of his estate and grabs his attention as he begins to farm on his plot of land. This infuriates Mr.Pryor who rejects the sale of his land to Laddie and further worsens his hopes of marrying Pamela. Furthermore, Pamela perceives Laddie's actions as childlike and unhelpful. However, from Pamela's introduction in the film, Laddie's kid sister, commonly referred to as 'Little Sister', sees Pamela as 'the princess' and as the woman who is meant to be with Laddie and thus, she attempts to reconcile the lovers and their relationship. When her initial efforts are unsuccessful, Little Sister sees her opportunity when Robert Pryor, Mr.Pryor's disowned and disgraced son, comes to visit and falls ill. Upon Pamela's request, the Stanton family takes him in when his father doesn't and call Dr. Barnes to help take care of him. While 'hunting' in the woods, Little Sister comes across Mr.Pryor and mistakenly blurts out that Robert is staying with them. The old man is infuriated and goes to visit the family immediately with the intent to kill his disgraceful son. When Little Sister informs Laddie of her encounter, Laddie stands up to Mr.Pryor demanding that he leave his gun behind before he can enter their house. After this, Mr. and Mrs. Stanton mitigate Mr. Pryor's anger by retelling the story of the prodigal son and informing him of Robert's illness. After accepting the Stanton family's wisdom, Mr.Pryor forgives his son and gives Pamela's hand in marriage to Laddie. Later on, we see the teary eyed Pamela apologize to Laddie belittling his family and their profession of farming. The two lovers are reconciled.

Cast

Background

The novel ''Laddie, A True Blue Story'' by Stratton-Porter on which the film is based was published in 1913. The inspiration for Stratton-Porter's novel came from an early life experience of when her teenage brother Leander drowned in the Wabash River on July 6, 1872. The title character of ''Laddie'' is modeled after Stratton-Porter's deceased older brother, Leander, to whom she gave the nickname of Laddie. As in Stratton-Porter's own family, Laddie is connected with the land and identifies with Stratton-Porter's father's vocation of farming. Furthermore, Stratton-Porter considered this novel to be quite autobiographical and so the character of Little Sister played by Joan Carroll on screen is representative of Stratton Porter's childhood self sharing a similar personality, interests and family dynamic.

Production and reception

The actress Virginia Gilmore (plays Pamela Pryor) was borrowed from

Samuel Goldwyn Productions Samuel Goldwyn Productions was an American film production company founded by Samuel Goldwyn in 1923, and active through 1959. Personally controlled by Goldwyn and focused on production rather than distribution, the company developed into the m ...

. Filming had started on 1 June 1940. The film was reviewed and rated consistently rated as above average in various newspapers, film magazines and film review journals upon its release. However, the common view was that the film was overall unremarkable and was "best for the hinterlands."

References

External links

* * *
Text of original novel
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laddie 1940 films 1940 drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Roy Webb Films based on American novels RKO Pictures films American drama films Films produced by Cliff Reid Films directed by Jack Hively Films based on works by Gene Stratton-Porter Remakes of American films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films