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:

Dog | Lassie | Scotland | Duke | Escape

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
May Beatty	...	Heavy Woman (uncredited)
George Broughton	...	Allen (uncredited)
Sherlee Collier	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
Howard Davies	...	Cobbler (uncredited)
Hugh Harrison	...	Schoolteacher on Stairway (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Tom (uncredited)
Nelson Leigh	...	Joe's Teacher (uncredited)
Janet Littlewood	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
Roy Parry	...	A.J. Halstead - Butcher (uncredited)
John Power	...	Miner (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred M. Wilcox

Writing credits
Hugo Butler		(screenplay)
Eric Knight		(novel "Lassie Come-Home")

Produced by
Samuel Marx	....	producer
Harry Rapf	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Dore Schary	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Daniele Amfitheatrof
Eric Zeisl		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Leonard Smith		(director of photography)
Charles P. Boyle		(director of photography) (uncredited)

Film Editing by
Ben Lewis

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Charles J. Hunt	....	unit manager (uncredited)
George Yohalem	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Andre	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Alfred Raboch	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Mildred Griffiths	....	associate set decorator
Paul Groesse	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Stunts
Larry Kert	....	stunts: Roddy McDowall (uncredited)

Music Department
Wally Heglin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Henri Jaffa	....	associate technicolor color director
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director
Frank Inn	....	dog trainer (uncredited)
Rudd Weatherwax	....	dog trainer: "Lassie" (uncredited)

Thanks
Eric Knight	....	dedicatee (as Major Eric Knight)

Production Companies

• Loew's (as Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• Loew's (1943) (USA) (theatrical) (uncredited)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (triple feature with "Son of Lassie" and "Courage of Lassie")
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

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) | West Germany:6 (f) | 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:

Elizabeth Taylor replaced the actress Maria Flynn, who was not seen to be afraid of the dog on the set. But when the "rushes" came back from the Metrocolor processing lab, three days later, her fear of the male collie showed. And the production was halted. The producer was walking the 600 block of North Foothill Road in Beverly Hills doing his nightly patrol as an air raid warden when he met Francis Taylor, who patrolled the 700 block. Knowing he and Sara wanted to get their daughter into the movies, he asked him to bring Elizabeth to the studio. There she was introduced to Lassie and the production resumed.

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:

Mrs. Carraclough: Oh, well. Ye may as well know it right off. Lassie won't be waiting for ye at school anymore.
Joe Carraclough: Why not? What's happened?
Mrs. Carraclough: Because she's sold; that's why not.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "My Mother the Car: Lassie, I Mean Mother, Come Home (#1.4)" (1965)

Soundtrack:

I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls

Lovely family film with storybook cinematography...

From Eric Knight's book about a beautiful Collie in England, a family dog dedicated to the little boy who loves her, who is unfortunately sold to a kennel-owner out of Scotland. Majority of the picture involves Lassie's treacherous journey home, meeting stray people and a sweet elderly couple along the way. Popular movie for the whole family is occasionally cloying and manipulative--and the dog's agitated whining left me uneasy--however the Oscar-nominated cinematography by Leonard Smith is gorgeous to behold, and the film unfolds like a lovely storybook remembered from childhood. The early-morning, dream-like surreality of several sequences raises goosebumps (aided by the marvelous score from Daniele Amfitheatrof), though the dog isn't always directed well, and some of the adult actors go over the top with their performances. Youngsters Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor are both appealing, and the conclusion is topped with a cute, if corny, final touch. **1/2 from ****