Timothy's Quest: A bit of 1936 sugar that mostly works

Is it worth the time?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s dramas where orphans are plucky and everyone speaks in slightly rehearsed paragraphs, sure. This isn't exactly The Brat in terms of grit, but it’s got a charm that sticks. If you hate movies where children solve all the adult problems, stay away. Far away.

Dickie Moore is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. He has that classic 1930s child-actor stare where he looks like he’s worried about his taxes even though he’s like eight years old. It works for the character, I guess.

Elizabeth Patterson is the real star, though. She plays Vilda Cummins like she’s trying to hold back a smile with a pair of pliers. When she finally breaks, it feels earned, which is rare for these types of movies.

Odd little moments

• The farm feels oddly quiet, almost like they forgot to record the ambient noise for half the scenes.
• I swear the cow in the background of the barn scene is trying to hit its marks.
• The dialogue is so polite it’s almost aggressive.

The whole romance subplot between Martha and David feels like it was stapled on at the last second. It’s not bad, just… there. It’s like they needed a reason for the adults to stop yelling at the kids long enough for them to have a conversation. Really, the movie is at its best when the camera just sits on the kids wandering through fields.

I found myself thinking about The Whirlwind of Youth while watching this. There’s a similar feeling of wanting to keep things tidy and neat, even when the plot is clearly trying to pull at your heartstrings with a crane.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon movie. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need. 🐄