The Tender Years (1948)

The first of the Edward L. Alperson "Alson Productions" for 20th Century-Fox distribution, featuring the return to the screen, after nearly a four-year absence, of comedian Joe E. Brown, in a non-comedic role. The story is set in a small mid-western town in the 1880's, where minister William "Will" Norris becomes involved in the vicious fights held in the local dog-pit when one of the injured animals escapes its brutal master and seeks refuge in the Norris home. Forced by law to return the dog to its owner, the minister goes against his religious teachings and, with his son Ted, steals the dog in an effort to rouse public sympathy against the dog fights and against cruelty to all animals. The film was endorsed in many locations by local chapters of the American Humane Society and/or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.