Plot SynopsisAfter the credits, the film begins with a prologue - typed and superimposed over a page of newspaper:It all happened in the "dark ages" of the newspaper game - - when to a reporter "getting that story" justified anything short of murder.She steps into the back of the boat and sits down next to the rudder.Sensing something foreboding, heir dog barks, jumps after them into the water and swims toward hem as they push off from the dock.]Appropriately, Joey is the first to sight the lone figure riding toward the farm.His eyes open wide in awe.As the deer moves away, Joey runs back to the cabin.He locates his father, Joe Starrett (Van Heflin), a determined, hard-working homesteader who toils doggedly to build a life on the land with his family.The melodramatic film, a combination of pathos, slapstick and comedy, was a tribute to the art of body language and pantomime - a lone hold-out against the assault of the alking film.