Lassie Come Home (1943)

Lack of good storyline.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Probably, the first of the stories about a dog that overcomes various obstacles to get back to what it considers home from hundreds of miles away. Obviously, MGM put a lot of thought and money into this production, which hopefully helped to cheer up a war-weary world. But, it doesn't take a world war to enjoy reruns of this classic., which spearheaded a series of Hollywood and TV sequels. Filmed in vibrant Technicolor, in various California locations, as well as Washington state, which substituted for the supposed Scotland and Yorkshire , England. ......The cast was perfectly selected, with Pal, a male collie, playing the central role of Lassie. Donald Crisp was always perfect for this type of role. I remember him in a rather similar role in "How Green Was my Valley". Else Lanchester plays his long-suffering wife, trying to feed her family, which included 14y.O. Roddy McDowell and Lassie, on virtually no income, as Crisp had been laid off as a coal miner. They finally came to the point where they had to sell Lassie, as their only significant asset. She was sold to the kindly Duke of Rudling, played by the charismatic Negel Bruce, who wants this beautiful dog as a show dog. However, she doesn't like the kennel keeper, Hynes(J. Pat O'Malley), who keeps her on a chain both inside her cage and outside on walks. She needs lots of time to be free to wander around and play. So, eventually, she gets free of Hynes and runs for the front gate. 11y.o. Elizabeth Taylor recognized that she was homesick, so opened the gate enough to let Lassie escape. She's starting her hundreds of miles odyssey from Scotland to Yorkshire. negotiating various forests, glens, shorelines and pastures. She is nearly killed by a rifle shot by a shepard(Alan Napier, and Arthur Shields), who suspected her of being a sheep killer. This is followed by a fight with their ferocious guard dog. Not injured seriously enough to sideline her, she continues onward, across a swollen river, laying exhausted on the other bank. A kindly elderly couple(played by Dame May Whitty and Ben Webster) take her in and nurse her back to health. But, eventually it's clear she has an agenda, and wants to be let free........ When she's nearly exhausted again, she meets a kindly old tinker(Edmund Gwenn) and his little dog Toots, out in a forest. Initially afraid, she soon accepts the food offered, and becomes friendly with Toots. But a crisis happens when a pair of thieves accost the tinker. Lassie and Toots help in beating them off, but Toots is killed. The tinker would like Lassie to take Toot's place, but recognizes that she wants her freedom. Lassie's last major hurdle is to outrun a pair of dog catchers. She has to jump out a second story window, and badly sprains or breaks a leg on landing, so that she has to limp the rest of the way home. You may rest assured that that things work out for Lassie, and between the Duke and Crisp, who part as friends.

You've got Roddy McDowell, Elizabeth Taylor, and Elsa Lanchester (the bride of Frankenstein) together to produce what is probably remembered as the dog movie of all time. We all know Lassie now, but she was introduced here. When the family cannot afford to keep her, the beautiful collie is sold to Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson), a rich Duke. But she becomes despondent and Taylor decides it would be best if she were let go. Lassie goes through obstacle after obstacle, beaten and run through briars, on and on. Her endurance is what this is all about. Roddy is quite good as the young boy who loses his dog. The final scene is probably one of the biggest tear jerkers ever.

After AOL pulled my (and a bajillion others) website on hometown-aol, I have finally re-created another in honor of my grandfather, Maj. Eric M. Knight. Please visit this informative web site: http://www.lassiecomehome.info This has been an exciting year for me as I traveled to Suriname just one year ago and trekked through the swamps to the exact crash site. I have posted pictures you may like to see. I was invited by a well-known Surinamese film maker who is making a documentary on Suriname in World War Two. A Dutch colony at the time of the plane crash in which my grandfather's life was tragically cut short in 1943, the people of Dutch Guiana naturally supported the Allies' attempts to free Europe from the Nazi threat. This was also why Knight, who had fought for the Canadians in World War One, re-enlisted in the US Army.Today, the Surinamese are an intelligent and friendly group of people who were terrific hosts to me.Thanks, Betsy

I love this movie. If I even watch a minute of it I'm guaranteed to cry. My favourite bit where I'm really howling my eyes out is near the end when Lassie has arrived at the cottage, looking like she's been through the wars, well, if you watch the movie, you'll know that she has!. The mother of the house attempts to feed her the last bit of food that they have in the house. The Lord who has bought the dog comes looking for lassie on the off chance that she will have traveller the hundreds of miles to be where she truly belongs. he recognises that it is indeed lassie but proclaims that there's no way that this bedraggled dog could possibly be Lassie and leaves, offering the man of the house a job looking after his dogs. Then the clock strikes four on the mantelshelf and Lassie who looks like she is unable to walk the length of herself gets up and makes her way limping pathetically toward the door. (By this time I'm working my way through the tissue box, howling "God love her") The mum and dad try to dissuade her but she keeps scratching at the door until it's opened. she makes her way toward the school to meet the boy (Roddy McDowell) and when he sees her (cue another load of tissues) he says Lassie, you've come home. It all works out in the end, the Dad gets his job with the lord looking after the dogs, Lassie has pups and the boy becomes friends with the lord's granddaughter. This movie should only be watched by people who enjoy a good greet!