Tonight's Movie: Home in Indiana (1944)

HOME IN INDIANA is an old favorite I hadn't seen in years. I taped it a few months ago and caught up with it tonight. Labor Day weekend is the perfect time for watching this piece of autumnal Americana about horse farms and harness racing.

HOME IN INDIANA introduced three new faces to the movies: Jeanne Crain, June Haver, and Lon McCallister. The three young actors were paired with a trio of the all-time great character actors in Walter Brennan, Charlotte Greenwood, and Ward Bond.

Orphaned Sparke Thornton (McCallister) arrives at a run-down farm to live with an aunt and uncle (Greenwood and Brennan) he's never met. Sparke considers running away and may be headed for trouble, but thanks to the large horse farm next door, he discovers harness racing. Sparke's passion for horses and his friendships with Char (Crain) and the oddly nicknamed Cri-Cri (Haver) put him on the straight and narrow. Sparke's depressed uncle rediscovers his own love for horses and harness racing and snaps back to life.

The "horse" aspects of the story aren't particularly interesting to me, but the movie is otherwise a marvelous slice of '40s movie-making. The movie was filmed on location in Kentucky and Ohio, and there are wonderful sun-dappled shots of the lead characters on fall afternoons, against a background of trees with leaves changing colors. Swimming scenes at the local pond likewise have an authentic look which is very appealing. Edward Cronjager was Oscar-nominated for Best Color Cinematography for HOME IN INDIANA.

Best of all is charming Jeanne Crain as Char, daughter of a horse trainer (Bond). McCallister is too young and bland for me to find of much interest, and lovely Haver is stuck in a thankless "temptress" role as the somewhat manipulative, fickle daughter of the wealthy horse farm owner (Charles Dingle). Haver would go on to a fine career and is an actress I like a great deal, but this wasn't her movie.

Crain, on the other hand, simply glows, whether she's a tomboy with braids or dressed up with flowers and ribbons in her hair. Crain has "personality plus," and the camera loves her. When she's on the screen, the movie is at its most entertaining. With the release of this film, a star was born, and she would go on to star in several of Fox's best films of the next few years, including STATE FAIR (1945), LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945), MARGIE (1946), APARTMENT FOR PEGGY (1948), and A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949), plus many more entertaining movies.

Brennan does a good job, as always, and Charlotte Greenwood is terrific as Brennan's wife, though her character disappears in the last section of the movie. Bond's role as Crain's father isn't very big, but his character exudes warmth and integrity; this movie, along with DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK (1939), led to my becoming a Ward Bond fan at a very young age.

HOME IN INDIANA runs 104 minutes. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. The supporting cast includes George Reed and Willie Best. Crain and Haver's eye-catching wardrobes were designed by Bonnie Cashin.

I have fond memories of watching this movie on TV several times as a child; does anyone else remember Ben Hunter's Movie Matinee on Ch. 11 in L.A.? I don't have fond memories, however, of watching films edited to fill time slots and jammed with Cal Worthington and Tarn-X commercials (grin). Although this movie hasn't had a video or DVD release, it was a real treat to watch a complete, uncut copy of this film with no commercials, thanks to Fox Movie Channel.

Movie viewing for classic film fans has happily changed for the better since I was growing up. If you'd told me then about Turner Classic Movies, let alone DVDs, I'd never have believed it!

February 2014 Update: This film is now on out DVD-R from the Fox Cinema Archives.