Conrad Nagel, Ted Donaldson and Margaret Lindsay in Adventures of Rusty (1945)

The Rusty film series comprises eight American films produced for young audiences between 1945 and 1949 by Columbia Pictures. Child actor Ted Donaldson starred as Danny Mitchell in the series, which relates the adventures of a German Shepherd dog named Rusty. The role of Rusty was played by Ace the Wonder Dog in the first feature, Adventures of Rusty (1945).[1] A police dog named Rip took over the role for the second film, The Return of Rusty (1946).[2] In the later films Rusty was played by Flame,[1] a charismatic dog star who was featured in three separate series.[3]: 176, 193 

The Rusty films were B-movies, primarily shown as the second half of a double bill. The basic boy-and-his-dog stories usually addressed social issues of the era, and provided civics lessons to its young audiences.

Directors at Columbia usually broke in with the studio's "B" features. Only William Castle and John Sturges advanced from the Rusty pictures to more ambitious projects; the series was usually entrusted to low-budget specialists Lew Landers or Seymour Friedman.

Among the regular cast members was child actor David Ackles, who appeared in most of the films as Danny's cohort Tuck. Character actor John Litel joined the series with the second film. Ann Doran, a longstanding member of Columbia's stock company, took over the role of Danny's mother in the third film, and remained in the role until the series ended in 1949. Ted Donaldson had outgrown the little-boy role by then; although the teenaged Donaldson remained with the series, much of the action in the final film, Rusty's Birthday (1949), was turned over to a new little boy, Jimmy Hunt.

Films

Release date Title Director Length Notes
September 6, 1945 Adventures of Rusty Paul Burnford 69 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, Margaret Lindsay, Conrad Nagel, Ace the Wonder Dog[4]
June 27, 1946 The Return of Rusty William Castle 64 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, John Litel, Barbara Woodell,[5] Rip the Police Dog[2]
May 1, 1947 For the Love of Rusty John Sturges 68 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, Tom Powers, Ann Doran, Flame[6]
August 7, 1947 The Son of Rusty Lew Landers 75 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, Tom Powers, Ann Doran, Flame[7]
April 8, 1948 My Dog Rusty Lew Landers 64 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, John Litel, Ann Doran, Flame[8]
October 21, 1948 Rusty Leads the Way Will Jason 58 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, John Litel, Ann Doran, Flame[9]
April 8, 1949 Rusty Saves a Life Seymour Friedman 67 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, John Litel, Ann Doran, Flame[10]
November 3, 1949 Rusty's Birthday Seymour Friedman 60 min.[1] Cast: Ted Donaldson, John Litel, Ann Doran, Flame[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Hirschhorn, Clive (1989). The Columbia Story. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 356. OCLC 773218985.
  2. 1 2 "New 'Rusty' Adventure Film". The Sydney Morning Herald. November 13, 1946. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  3. ↑ Orlean, Susan (2011). Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-9013-5.
  4. ↑ "Adventures of Rusty". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  5. ↑ "The Return of Rusty". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  6. ↑ "For the Love of Rusty". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  7. ↑ "The Son of Rusty". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  8. ↑ "My Dog Rusty". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  9. ↑ "Rusty Leads the Way". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  10. ↑ "Rusty Saves a Life". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  11. ↑ "Rusty's Birthday". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
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