All Mine to Give (1957)
This is a story based on fact that follows a husband and wife who emigrate from Scotland to Wisconsin in the 1850s. They work very hard and become welcome citizens of their new town, Eureka. They have six children. They prosper in the husband's boat-building business. But when their eldest is 12, tragedy strikes the family, and the 12-year-old is burdened with a terrible task which he handles as well as any adult could.
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The Worst Film Ever
Lack of good storyline.
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Review Date 1/16/2018PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN. Now Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB? When one of my reviews gets deleted IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to this review.I have never herd of this film it was part of 4 DVD pack of what Warner Brothers Stated as "Four Holiday Classic Films".This film starts off as a pioneer story. Two Newly Weds making a home in America without a dime to their name. Before long they have 6 children. The mother names all of the children after her brothers and sisters.The last 30 minutes of this film sends this into a different direction. The 6 children are now to be separated after the death of their parents. The oldest child seeks homes before the state takes them away. If they do that he might never see any of them again!This film was very slow. The last 30 minutes is very heartbreaking! The makers of this film should have made the main about a boy seeking a home for his siblings. Instead we get an hour of a pioneers!
Cameron Mitchell's Scottish accent in All Mine to Give is amongst the worst you will ever hear in a motion picture. That's about all you need to know about this film, an otherwise passable story of Scots immigrants adapting to life in Wisconsin circa 1850. Determinedly studio bound, this RKO production manages to make the most of Albert D'Agostino's art direction to tell its tale of harsh times in the frozen upper mid-west. Unfortunately, it's all for naught: Mitchell is absolutely appalling and a terrible distraction whenever he opens his mouth. It's a pleasure, however, to watch the Bad Seed herself, Patty McCormack, in a non-evil-incarnate role--though if I were her, I'd have been tempted to push Cameron into a nearby lake in order to put an end to his horrible accent.
Such a story goes frankly and unblushingly for the tear ducts, but for some reason this one didn't quite get mine. There was some quality in the stoic big brother--or lacking in the stoic big brother--that just did not draw me in. Or perhaps when the tragedy is as blatant as it is here, my remove and reserve are self-protective. Anyway, if you really do go for stories about families dismantled child by child for everyone's own good, you should look for an old TV movie, "Who Will Love My Children," from 1983. It too is based on a true story, only the stoic in this case is the children's mother, dying from cancer, who decides to give her many children away while she's still living so that she can make sure they'll be in good homes. So she packs them off, one by one, to separate families, while her alcoholic and ineffective husband fumes impotently in the background. If you like tearjerkers, you'll love this one.
The acting was good. I thought Cameron Mitchell and Glynis Johns worked well together. I got caught up in the delightful nuances of a family doing the best they could during this time in Wisconsin. The setting was simple, but the theme was heart-rending. It reminds me that we on this planet can be one family. In dire straits, we should help and learn from each other. I was riveted to the set as I watched the drama unfold. We take for granted our present state of medicine. Long ago, there were no cures for these diseases. Times are tough now, but they were tougher then. I recommend this movie as one that demonstrates the bonds between siblings.