follow me boys

By Todd Hofher

& Michael Smyth

The story is set in 1930 and begins with a band, Melody Murphy's Collegians, traveling by bus to their next scheduled gig. Among them, Lemuel Siddons, played by Fred MacMurray, is considering settling down, putting the traveling band scene behind him. When the bus makes a brief stop in the little town of Hickory, Lem gets his chance.

Lem gets a job at Hughes Mercantile and settles down in the community and that includes trying to win the affections Vida Downey (Vera Miles) though she's already seeing banker Ralph Hastings (Elliott Reid). Lem attends a town meeting where the topic comes up of how boys can be kept off the streets. He snatches a glance at the ideas Vida has scribbled down, and offers one of them to those in attendance: Let's start a Boy Scout troupe, with Lem as the scoutmaster!

And let the scouting begin! The town is happy, and so is Lem -- for now he's seeing Vida. But, there's one boy who won't join, and that's Whitey, portrayed by Kurt Russell. Whitey's only parent is his father, the town drunk, and the stigma of that has turned the boy into a defensive loner who won't let his guard down.

As their first date draws to a close, Lem and Vida happen across a burglary in progress: Whitey is stealing from Hughes Mercantile. Caught by surprise, Whitey falls from his reach, hurting his ankle. Lem, in Scoutmaster mode, doctors him up, lets him go free, and Whitey goes home, taking the scouting book he was offered.

Vera asks if was wise to let Whitey get away with his attempt to steal, and Lem recalls to her that he, himself, had been like Whitey during his own childhood; someone had helped turn Lem in the right direction, and he felt such a response was best for Whitey, too.

That second chance indeed has an impact on Whitey, who subsequently joins the scout troop -- but he's not the only one tying knots. Before long, Lem and Vida get married, and after a heart-wrenching discovery that they're unable to have children of their own, they turn their capacity to nurture toward the boys of the scout troupe, additionally adopting Whitey, after his father dies.

The years go by with major and minor developments, all while Lem serves as scoutmaster and mentor to the boys of Hickory. Boys grow up and we see them take on respectable roles -- Whitey is a doctor in town, another even becomes the state governor.

Age sneaks up on Lem, while he tries to keep pace with scouting responsibilities. Eventually, he must let go of his capacity to lead his scouts, but in the end the whole town -- even some of its former citizens -- rally around Lem in honor and appreciation.

Additional cast members of Follow Me, Boys! are Lillian Gish, Charlie Ruggles, Elliott Reid, Luana Patton, Donald May and Parley Baer.

Movie Availability

Follow Me, Boys! is available on DVD, but only in Fullscreen format. There is a short feature called "Looking Back with Lem's Boys" with modern interviews of some of the actors who portrayed boy's from Lem's first scout troop. There's also gallery of lobby cards and other promotional materials.

A Closer Look at Fred MacMurray

Fred MacMurray was born in Kankakee, IL in 1908 and was an actor of the silver screen before appearing in these seven movies for Disney:

"The Shaggy Dog" (1959)

"The Absent Minded Professor" (1961)

"Bon Voyage!" (1962)

"Son of Flubber" (1963)

"Follow Me, Boys!" (1966)

"The Happiest Miillionaire" (1967)

"Charley and the Angel" (1973)

Fred MacMurray died in 1991.