BIG RED (1962)

[diane]

I saw this film the other day. I have it taped but before I taped it
a few years ago the last time I had heard of it was when mum
took me and my brother to see it in the 1962 Christmas holidays.
Like all those old Disney films the Technicolor is so bright and
vivid. Walter Pidgeon plays Haggins the dog breeder but he is the
only known person in the cast. The young lad who plays Rene,
Gilles Payant is very good - it is hard to believe that this is the only
film he has appeared in.
Haggins pays $5,000 for a beautiful red setter in the hope that he
will be a champion show dog. Rene, a young lad, comes to the
house looking for work and he and Big Red become instant friends.
Haggins feels that Red is becoming to reliant on Rene's friendship
and tries to keep them separate. After jumping through a plate
glass door to be with Rene, Big Red hovers near death and everyone
fears the worst.
That is not the end but it is a really good film. I taped it from the
Disney station several years ago but I am sure it turns up regularly.
The scenery is beautiful. I think I read that the location was Big Bear
Lake in California. It is certainly recommended for the young at heart.

[Larry's 66 Diner]

Diane, do you think this movie ranks along with the likes of Old Yeller and The Yearling, etc? If so, I would like to watch it.

[diane]

No, it isn't as good as those films - just thinking of "Old Yeller" makes me want to cry buckets.
It is just an enjoyable family film that I have fond memories of. Apparently (I was reading) the
film really boosted the popularity of red setters in the USA. They are a gorgeous dog. We had friends
in Adelaide - they were from the Netherlands, they had the most beautiful pair of red setters - the
coats were so shiny. The dogs were fed mainly vegetable scraps boiled up. We tried that on our dogs
but they were not impressed but Ann's dogs lapped it up - must have been an old Dutch receipe.