Both Freddie Bartholomew and Jackie Cooper had successful careers at MGM, with completely different images, that working together several times and even paired with Mickey Rooney who remained under the lion's roar when the other two moved on. Over at Universal which produced mainly B movies, the two teen actors were re-teamed in this drama which fortunately lacks on East End Kids/Bowery Boys mentality.
Bartholomew and his con-artist father, Melville Cooper, are stranded in Texas, dealing with ruthless oil businessman Alan Dinehart who is trying to force J. M. Kerrigan which would mean is it getting Cooper and his sister, Dorothy Peterson. Dinehart hires Melville Cooper to do his dirty work for him, but when they realize what the impact would be, Bartholomew and Melville decide to stand up to Dinehart and aide Cooper and Peterson after a tragedy occurs.
Sounding like a plot line that you would see on "Dallas", this deals with the social issues of corporate America trying to cheat the little person, something that was very prominent during the depression and certainly timely as World War approached. Jackie Cooper and Bartholomew once again work well together, but it's Melville Cooper with his fun loving personality (yet having a conscience) who ends up walking off with the film. It's pretty predictable as to who the audience rooted for and how things will turn out. It's just a matter of the details. Intelligent yet not overloaded with complicated details concerning the oil business.
Bartholomew and his con-artist father, Melville Cooper, are stranded in Texas, dealing with ruthless oil businessman Alan Dinehart who is trying to force J. M. Kerrigan which would mean is it getting Cooper and his sister, Dorothy Peterson. Dinehart hires Melville Cooper to do his dirty work for him, but when they realize what the impact would be, Bartholomew and Melville decide to stand up to Dinehart and aide Cooper and Peterson after a tragedy occurs.
Sounding like a plot line that you would see on "Dallas", this deals with the social issues of corporate America trying to cheat the little person, something that was very prominent during the depression and certainly timely as World War approached. Jackie Cooper and Bartholomew once again work well together, but it's Melville Cooper with his fun loving personality (yet having a conscience) who ends up walking off with the film. It's pretty predictable as to who the audience rooted for and how things will turn out. It's just a matter of the details. Intelligent yet not overloaded with complicated details concerning the oil business.
