NFR Project: “Lassie Come Home”
Dir: Fred M. Wilcox
Scr: Hugo Butler
Pho: Leonard Smith
Ed: Ben Lewis
Premiere: Oct. 7, 1943
89 min.
Do you love dogs? I do. Growing up, the character of Lassie the collie was familiar to all of us due to several different TV shows that featured this canine hero.
It all started with this film, adapted from Eric Knight’s 1940 novel. In Yorkshire, an impoverished family is forced to sell their beloved dog Lassie to a Duke who raises dogs for sport and exhibition.
The problem is, Lassie loves her family and refuses to leave them. Several times she escapes, until she is transported all the way to Scotland. There she escapes again, and makes her laborious way on foot over hundreds of miles, encountering both hardships and kindness on her way.
The film features Roddy McDowall as her young master Joe, and Donald Crisp and Elsa Lancaster as his parents. The Duke is portrayed by the huffing and puffing Nigel Bruce, and his little granddaughter is played by Elizabeth Taylor. Along the way, Lassie interacts with solid character actors such as Dame Mae Whitty, Edmund Gwenn, Alan Napier, and Arthur Shields.
The film is simple and moving. We all want Lassie to come home! The intrepid Pal, a male collie who played Lassie, is intelligent and emotive, more so than many a human actor. The epic journey Lassie undergoes makes her a true champion, faithful and shall we say dogged? in her pursuit of home. This is a fun and exciting family classic that everyone in their right mind should love.
The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Meshes of the Afternoon.
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