A Boy and His Dog (1946)

“Davy” (Billy Sheffield) returns home to his recently widowed mum (Dorothy Adams) with a new best four-legged friend. He claims that he found the hound, and asks to keep it. She agrees and that turns out be a shrewd decision as it’s not bad at helping him catch rabbits. Then their curmudgeonly neighbour “Thorneycroft” (Russell Simpson) shows up claiming the dog was stolen. “Davy” refuses to hand him over, so they are summoned to court. It would seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but the kindly judge (Harry Davenport) is quite a wily old gent as he wants the spirit of the law to be adhered to as well as it’s letter. This is one of those gentle stories, a parable of sorts, that seems designed to encourage that “the law is right and we must do what is right” - regardless of our own feelings. This decently produced film picks a pet as I reckon many people care more about their animals than they do about other people - but it makes it’s point clearly. Sentimentally and in soft-focus, but clearly. You will never remember it, but it is a watchable little feature.