boblipton When preacher H.B. Warner drops dead during a sermon, reducing the town's population to his great-grand-daughter Natalie Wood, she follows his instructions and heads out to Sodom and Gomorrah, almost getting hit by a crashing plane, being eaten by a wildcat, and rescuing a collie. They are rescued by Dean Jagger, a country doctor, who's living with his foster father, druggist Walter Brennan a small but corrupt town run by Jerome Cowan. The story roams hither and yonder, involving Rocky Mountain fever, rotten kids, and a story line with plenty of laughs that eventually veers into a serious plot, a lecture on the necessity of getting your children vaccinated, and an over-the-top coincidence that saves the day at the end. It's carried by Dwan's impeccable direction, John Alton's flawless camerawork, and a cast of professionals that includes Ruth Warrick, Charlotte Greenwood, Margaret Hamilton, Hobart Cavanaugh, Alan Napier, Francis Ford.... well, Dwan had worked with everyone and could get them to come in. Lots of fun, and the dog was cute too.

MartinHafer In general, "Driftwood" is an agreeable family film. However, at times, the dialog is really quite stupid and could have improved from a re-write.The film begins in a virtual ghost town that is occupied by an insane old preacher who spends all his time preaching to his granddaughter (Natalie Wood). Soon, the old guy dies and the kid wanders into to desert where she witnesses a plan crash and adopts a dog that survived the crash. Soon, a nice doctor (Dean Jagger) finds this VERY precocious kid and brings her home. But, things don't go very smoothly (just see the film and you'll know what I mean) and it all culminates with an outbreak of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.My biggest problem was the bizarre dialog spoken by Natalie Wood. She talks like an adult religion professor--which just seems gimmicky and weird--and VERY heavy-handed. It also didn't help that he script was, at times, very saccharine. It's a shame, as the film had many good moments as well as good performances by Jagger and Walter Brennan. Not terrible but rather flawed. And, I should mention that the film features Wood saying 'Beelzebub' (an Old Testament word for Satan) about 9000 times. Again, no child talks like that!By the way, early in the film you'll see a delivery boy. Look closely, it's Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer of the Our Gang fame.

kenjha A little girl is not having a good day: her grand-pappy (her only relative) dies and then a plane crashes in her yard. The story is corny and the plot meanders somewhat, with the focus shifting from the plight of the little girl to small town politics to a spotted fever outbreak. In the same year she appeared in "Miracle on 34th Street," Wood here plays the youngster who quotes Bible verses. She is taken into the home of Brennan and Jagger (it's not clear why these two middle-aged men are living together). Warrick, who made her film debut in "Citizen Kane," and whose career went downhill from there, here plays the love interest of Jagger.

moonspinner55 Fine cast races through second-string drama about an orphaned girl from Bull Frog Springs, Nevada whose Collie dog may hold the answer to an outbreak of Spotted Fever that threatens a homey town. Begins well, with Natalie Wood (spunky with a solemn little face) just fine as the Bible-quoting youngster, but the plot gets all balled-up, spending too much time on the buffoonish town dolts (like a foolish mayor and his bratty son, whose complaints about a dog bite brings the entire town into the courtroom). The subplot about the disease is agonizing, yet not nearly as bad as a second one involving two unmarried women hoping for husbands. The movie rushes along at a fast clip, but it's not very inspiring, original or inventive. ** from ****