Son of Lassie (1945)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Jeanne Bartlett (screenplay)
Jeanne Bartlett (story)
(more)

Release Date:

20 April 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

Laddie (Son of Lassie !) and his master are trapped in Norway during WW2 - has he inherited his mothers famous courage ? |

Plot Keywords:

Lassie | Dog | Dog Actor | Character Name In Title

Cast

Peter Lawford	...	Joe Carraclough
Donald Crisp	...	Sam Carraclough
June Lockhart	...	Priscilla
Nigel Bruce	...	Duke of Radling
William Severn	...	Henrik (as William 'Billy' Severn)
Leon Ames	...	Anton
Donald Curtis	...	Sergeant Eddie Brown
Nils Asther	...	Olav
Robert Lewis	...	Sergeant Schmidt
Fay Helm	...	Joanna
Peter Helmers	...	Willi
Otto Reichow	...	Karl
Patricia Prest	...	Hedda
Terry Moore	...	Thea (as Helen Koford)
Leon Tyler	...	Arne
Lotte Palfi Andor	...	Old Woman (as Lotta Palfi)
Eily Malyon	...	Washwoman
Lassie	...	Lassie
Pal	...	Laddie, Son of Lassie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louis V. Arco	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Barry Bernard	...	British Sergeant (uncredited)
Frederic Brunn	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Wally Cassell	...	POW (uncredited)
Frederick Giermann	...	Gestapo Officer (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Captain Grey (uncredited)
Fritz Leiber	...	Village Padre (uncredited)
Nelson Leigh	...	Flight Coordinator (uncredited)
Morton Lowry	...	Blind Corporal P.O.W. (uncredited)
Lester Matthews	...	Major Elliston (uncredited)
Marta Mitrovich	...	Norwegian Woman (uncredited)
Hans Schumm	...	German Commander (uncredited)
Susan Simon	...	Young girl who hides Lassie in wheelbarrow of logs (uncredited)
Arthur Space	...	Warrant Officer (uncredited)
Will Stanton	...	Dog Trainer (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
William Tannen	...	German Soldier with Grenade (uncredited)

Directed by
S. Sylvan Simon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jeanne Bartlett		screenplay
Jeanne Bartlett		story
Eric Knight		characters

Produced by
Samuel Marx	....	producer

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Charles Edgar Schoenbaum		(director of photography) (as Charles Schoenbaum)

Film Editing by
Ben Lewis

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Hubert Hobson		(as Hubert B. Hobson)

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herman E. Webber	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Paul Huldschinsky	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects
Danny Hall	....	special effects
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Robert Franklyn	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Henri Jaffa	....	associate technicolor color director
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1948) (1961) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (triple feature with "Lassie Come Home" and "Courage of Lassie")

Runtime:

USA:102 min | 100 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #10417) | Finland:K-8 (1961) | Finland:S (1948) | Netherlands:6 (2008) | USA:G | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The dog playing Laddie (the son of Lassie) is actually Pal - the dog who played the original Lassie in Lassie Come Home (1943).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Toward the end of the movie, while Joe and Laddie are escaping the work camp, Laddie bites the leg of a Nazi soldier. The "bait" to make Laddie bite can be seen under the pants-leg, in Laddie's mouth.

Quotes:

Village Padre: I don't think you will find a poor dog in this village. He wouldn't stop here. No refuse bins.
German Soldier: Why not?
Village Padre: Because there is no refuse.

Movie Connections:

Follows Lassie Come Home (1943)

One of the best Lassie films...gorgeous locations...

Breathtakingly beautiful location photography (Banff National Park, Canada) provides a colorful background for a war story involving Lassie, Peter Lawford, June Lockhart, Donald Crisp, Leon Ames, William Severn and an early performance by Terry Moore when she was a child actress.

Dealing with the warm relationship between Joe (Peter Lawford) and his war-trained pup, it has moments of high suspense, humor and classic Lassie challenges as the dog attempts to become reunited with his master. Not as overtly sentimental as "Lassie Come Home", it scores on its own as one of the best in the string of Lassie films MGM made following the success of the first one.

The war scenes are well handled with much of the action having a realistic look, as does the German village, with everyone contributing their own well acted moments to an intriguing film. Little William Severn is appealing as the boy who discovers the wounded dog and must protect it from the German soldiers. June Lockhart is refreshingly natural as Lawford's sweetheart and there are the usual pleasant performances from Donald Crisp and Nigel Bruce. Lawford and Lassie have some strenuous stunts to perform in the rapids as they escape.

Definitely a Lassie film worth watching.