Lassie Come Home (1943)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Fred M. Wilcox

Writers:

Hugo Butler (screenplay)
Eric Knight (novel)

Release Date:

December 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family

Tagline:

A Thrilling Saga Of Courage And Loyalty !

Plot:

After her destitute family is forced to sell her, a collie named Lassie escapes from her new owner and begins the long trek from Scotland to her Yorkshire home.

Plot Keywords:

Lassie | Dog | Scotland | Escape | Duke

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 9

4:30 AM

TCM

Cast

Roddy McDowall	...	Joe Carraclough
Donald Crisp	...	Sam Carraclough
Dame May Whitty	...	Dally
Edmund Gwenn	...	Rowlie
Nigel Bruce	...	Duke of Rudling
Elsa Lanchester	...	Mrs. Carraclough
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Priscilla
Ben Webster	...	Dan'l Fadden
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Hynes (as J. Patrick O'Malley)
Alan Napier	...	Jock
Arthur Shields	...	Andrew
John Rogers	...	Snickers
Alec Craig	...	Buckles
Pal	...	Lassie (as Lassie)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (video rating) | Netherlands:6 (2008) | Finland:S | Norway:A | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #8995) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

After a nationwide hunt for a suitable dog for this movie failed, MGM called in dog trainer Rudd Weatherwax, who had many purebred collies, but Pal, his one-year old male collie (who had no papers), easily won the role. Pal retired at age 5, after which all subsequent Lassie films used direct descendants of Pal.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While speaking about whether to keep Lassie or not it is obvious that the large hearth behind the elderly couple is a drop screen. Shadows from the lights show behind the couple left to right as you watch, but the shadows on the hearth shine from the opposite direction right to left.

Quotes:

Joe Carraclough: Ye're my Lassie come home.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Bart Has Two Mommies (#17.14)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

America the Beautiful

I couldn't stand this movie

I managed to sit through about twenty minutes of this before I turned it off. What got to me was that stupid mutt's almost constant whining. Whining when it wasn't appropriate to the storyline. If I had a dog that whined that much, I wouldn't sell it, I would take it out and shoot it.

The whining was a blatant attempt by the movie maker to tug at the viewer's heartstrings. It was way overdone, to the point of being nauseating. I don't know how anyone can sit through this.

It's also phony in the extreme. I had a relative who had to give up a dog. It was amazing, how quickly the dog adjusted to the new owner. They don't seem to care who feeds them.

This might have been a good story, without the overt attempts to manipulate the emotions of the audience.

nomad