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Red Betsy refers to a do-it-yourself airplane that a father and son built prior to World War II. This film, of a stubborn old man trying to come to terms with loss, has good music, good acting, good scenery, but a disjointed story. Too bad the Red Betsy wasn't actually used more than at the beginning of the film. Director/writer Chris Boebel makes his debut with Red Betsy, and it is an admirable attempt.

The story begins with the father (Leo Burmester doing less is more) cranking up the plane in front of farmer friends and relatives. It is clear that the father doesn't care for his son's (Brent Crawford) choice of his fiancée (Alison Elliott in a wooden role). Mother (Lois Smith), however, welcomes the girl into the family. At their engagement party, the group hears about the Pearl Harbor attack, and the son joins the military after a quick marriage. To pile on bad events, the mother dies, too. Well, guess what? The son dies in battle, and the young wife is left with a grumpy, depressive father-in-law and a new child. What to do? She makes the decision to live on the farmstead in a small house and cares for the grandfather, who eventually dotes on the granddaughter. Fast forward about ten years, and the grandfather is against having electricity in the community. This scenario causes quite a breach in the family, and results in the granddaughter doing badly in school. What can happen to heal this rift? Christmas, carols, school pageants and a granddaughter in peril help.

Red Betsy shows the beauty of Wisconsin in the 1940s. The farms are far apart, but neighbors come together with home-cooked meals to celebrate engagements, weddings and mourn together for funerals. The old farmhouses will remind many of Sunday dinners with grandparents. This particular grandfather was gruff with a soft center and a mechanic's mind for putting things together. Grandma was the center of the family, and with her passing, Grandpa had to rebuild his center. The new daughter-in-law was from the city, and therefore, automatically a stranger and never quite trusted or accepted. Not true for her child, though, who wins Grandpa's heart. There is even a handsome R.E.A. surveyor (Chad Lowe) in the mix who has some interest in the daughter-in-law and lets her know she is still an attractive woman.

There is too much tossed at the audience in Red Betsy. The plane threw me off, because I expected it to be flown again. The only red we have is when the Grandfather decides to paint all his buildings red. The granddaughter is moody and petulant, and we can see she likes Grandpa, but he is reserved. It's also clear the granddaughter has an analytical mind, though girls weren't into Shop Class at this time. The daughter-in-law is a teacher, but has her only child in another school. Too much togetherness, perhaps? Plus, the ending left me unfulfilled. I think I may have found a glitch in the film. During a party for the young couple at the beginning of the film, everyone hears about the Pearl Harbor attack on a radio. However, during the dinner the discussion is centered on when this particular farm would get electricity for the first time. Magic radio?

The neighbors do make the film, especially the sections where a German wife eavesdrops (called "rubbernecking" then) on the rural party phone line. Jorgi Jorgensen is the preferred radio songster, and outhouses are still near the main house. Grandpa is so set on never seeing people again that he even rigs his mailbox to a pulley so he can bring it to the barn without meeting the mailman, a salt-of-the-earth type. One begins to think, that given enough time, Grandpa could fix just about anything -- even his own broken heart.

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
Submitted 11/17/03