dougdoepke A mystery writer's three kids help solve a neighborhood murder and help find their widowed mom a boyfriend.The kids are the whole show, and what a talented pre-teen cast they are. Garner & co. even make their sometimes adult dialog sound engaging instead of obnoxious. At times, the chemistry between the kids is little short of amazing, a credit, I expect, to director Bacon. Forget the whodunit thread, which is really just an excuse to stir the youthful pot. But I'm still a bit puzzled by the macho Randolph Scott appearing in a slice of juvenile hi-jinks like this. I guess I'm too used to seeing him with a six-gun and a cowboy hat.That same year the talented Garner would star in the charming coming-of-age comedy Junior Miss (1946), also worth catching up with. Stockwell, of course, is still with us, having managed that difficult transition to adult roles, some of which are a long way from his mischievously wholesome Archie. However, it looks like the equally talented Connie Marshall fell afoul of the transition barrier, having unfortunately died in relative obscurity.Nonetheless, this charming little comedy remains a sleeper among kid movies, and a permanent testimonial to an engagingly youthful cast.

GManfred Add me to the list of viewers who caught this one on Million Dollar Movie in the '50's. I really enjoyed it then, thought of it often and always wondered how to get hold of a copy and where to find one.After all these years I finally bought a DVD, put it on and clomped down memory lane. It was good to see it again but I didn't enjoy it as much - I think too many years passed, or maybe I just outgrew it. It is still a good family picture but there's not much of a mystery here. The picture needed some more suspects for mystery fans and there was a great deal of what seemed like excess footage - this film moves at ice-cutter speed and could have used a firmer editing hand. And I didn't realize the kids carried so much of the picture.The cast was excellent, no complaint there, but all in all I found the experience bittersweet. Sometimes I wish I was 15 again.

robinb5073 Oh, yeah, that Million Dollar Movie...my brothers and I adored watching the same movie all week long. Damn Yankees, No Time for Sergeants, <sigh>. You got so you could recite the dialogue along with the actors. That must have been where we saw this movie too, because I remember it clearly, though I haven't seen it for decades. I loved it, and of course saw it from the kids' viewpoint. (Dean Stockwell, Al of Quantum Leap fame, is one of my favorite actors - wonderful in The Boy with the Green Hair and so versatile.) The remarks about Peggy Ann Garner by another enthusiast are interesting and I loved Junior Miss as well (movie & book). Yep, this is one that should be on DVD, definitely. EVERYTHING ON MILLION-DOLLAR MOVIE should be on DVD...

chyde Very enjoyable, a number of subtle visual jokes (note the turtle that Dean Stockwell has in one scene). Wish it was on videotape.James Gleason goes on about how he knows how to handle kids because he has six, but it's clear he doesn't, and as a result Lynn Bari's kids solve the mystery where the police can't.Book also good, even harder to find.