Home in Indiana (1944)

One of my all time favorites.

Captivating movie !

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

..."When I think about the Moonlight on the Wabash, I'll think about my Indiana home." Remember Jane Froman singing that beautiful song? Well, you can just forget about the tune in this 1944 film. That being said, the musical score playing this song is about the best thing this dud of a film has to offer.Lon McAllister plays the troubled youth who comes to live with his Uncle and Aunt Bolt, played by Walter Brennan and Charlotte Greenwood. Greenwood has one very effective scene in the film when she describes to her nephew why Uncle Bolt is the way he is. It's all about the usual gripe and grudge he has against his former partner, played by Charles Dingle. Remember him 3 years before as Bette Davis's suspicious brother in "The Little Foxes?" Dingle is reduced to having little to do here. The plot in the film is weak and the script is even weaker. Jeanne Crain, in her supposed first mature film, comes off as if she is ready to join Mickey and Judy to create a show in the barn.The film deals with horse racing, something which was close to Walter Brennan's heart when he starred in his supporting Oscar winning performance 6 years before in "Kentucky."The disappointing end with the horse matches the film-one big disappointment. See June Haver, Mrs. Fred MacMurray, as the girl with designs on McCallister as well.

Starched and scrubbed-clean family film has delinquent, orphaned teenager going to live with his aunt and uncle, ditching school to hang out at the next-door horse ranch and learn how to harness race. Lovely color photography, beautiful autumnal locales, and fine racing sequences bolster this thin drama, which seems to be in favor of cutting classes as long as you have a passion for something else! Dimply Lon McAllister is entirely too polite and green in the lead, though his friendships with neighboring sisters June Haver (the bombshell) and Jeanne Crain (the tomboy) are entertaining, and his devotion to the horses is well-portrayed. Some amusing characters and sequences, but it doesn't have the scope or depth of something like "National Velvet" (released the same year). This Henry Hathaway-directed effort is far more innocuous and minor, but still enjoyable, especially for equestrians. **1/2 from ****

For those who like horses and horse racing, "Home in Indiana" offers a pleasant diversion.Focusing on three in the cast, this was Jeanne Crain's first notable role, and what a "natural" she is. Completely at home before the camera, she shows early on her quintessential "girl-next-door" charm.Paired with the equally "boy-next-door" Lon Mcallister, the two are perfect together. Lon came with a full list of juvenile film roles, and looked like the personification of a callow Indiana farm boy.As for the amazing Walter Brennan, this was just another of his inexhaustible number of roles, always appearing much older than he actually was.A further look at Brennen's folio, he made a whopping 63 films in three years (1933-35)! Can you imagine that? I can't.The three together, along with Charlotte Greenwood as the proverbial "farm marm," offer a most convincing group of typical ranchers, struggling between corn crop mores and big city conventions--the latter represented by June Haver.And those mares--absolutely beautiful!

Home in Indiana is a wonderful movie. I saw this on AMC when I was a kid and still remember it. It's a film about a troubled youth who comes to live on his aunt and uncles farm. At first he doesn't want to be there but then he makes some friends and eventually gets involved in some kind of chariot horse racing. The music score and talent makes this film a classic. Another movie called April Love, with Pat Boone and Shirley Jones , came out about 20 years after Home in Indiana and copied the premise of the movie. Jeanne Crain is the one I remember most in this film, I think it was her second film. I think Fox released this movie and I hope they release this timeless movie on DVD soon, along with other Jeanne Crain films.