Synopsis:
Wisconsin, 1941. A group of rural townspeople gather on a farm field, eagerly observing amateur pilot Dale Rounds (Brent Crawford) as he prepares his airplane, Red Betsy, for its inaugural flight....
Wisconsin, 1941. A group of rural townspeople gather on a farm field, eagerly observing amateur pilot Dale Rounds (Brent Crawford) as he prepares his airplane, Red Betsy, for its inaugural flight. Dale built Red Betsy with the help of his father, Emmet (Leo Burmester) from spare automotive parts. As the community watches with growing excitement and skepticism, Dale and Emmet are determined to show that their contraption can really fly.
Waiting expectantly in the sidelines are Dale's girlfriend Winifred (Alison Elliott), and mother Helen (Lois Smith). After a few false starts, the airplane barrels down the makeshift runway and glides effortlessly into the air, clearing the treetops. The crowd erupts into enthusiastic cheers and applause. That evening, Dale and Winifred discuss their plans of getting married and moving to the state capitol in Madison.Winifred believes that Emmet doesn't like her. "He keeps referring to me in the third person ... like I'm not even there," she says. Dale assures Winifred that his father likes her, however he realizes that Emmet will have a problem with them moving away.
Dinner at the Rounds home is marred by radio reports of the war in Europe. Emmet doesn't want to hear of such "foolishness" at his dinner table, and angrily turns off the radio. Amidst the growing tension, Dale says, "Dad, Mom ...Winifred and I have an announcement to make."
The engagement party takes place at the Rounds farmhouse. A large portion of the community attends, including Grandpa Charles (William Wise), Grandma K (Isa Thomas), Charles Jr. (Nathan Connor), his wife Edna (Carrie VanDeest), and their young son Charlie ( John Filmanowicz). Helen is given the difficult job of breaking the news of Dale and Winfired's decision to the grumpy, curmudgeonly Emmet. When she finally does, Emmet responds with predictable anger and resentment. A few moments later, the radio brings news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, causing Helen to collapse in the kitchen. Emmet and Dale struggle to revive her, but she has already passed.
The United States enters World War II, and Dale decides to enlist.Winifred will stay behind, teach at the local school, and live in a little house on the Rounds property. They get married by a Justice of the Peace shortly before Dale leaves for the war. "Promise me one thing," Dale says to Winifred. "That you'll look after my Dad a little."
It is this promise that takes Winifred and Emmet in a direction they could not have foreseen. Left alone together, they must find a way to live with each other through a birth, another death, and the coming of electricity and progress to the rural community in which they live. -- © Lang Films, LLC
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