HotToastyRag It's hard to call one particular dog "Hollywood's dog" because there are so many canine movies, but if there'a one dog who earned that title, it's Lassie. Written first in a short story, and filmed for the first time on screen in 1943, Lassie is a lovable, loyal collie. In this first film, Lassie's family resorts to desperate measures during their desperate times. They're broke and decide to sell the family dog to the Duke, but Lassie won't have it! She loves her little boy, Roddy MacDowell, too much, and follows the family after they move.If you're animal lover, keep your Kleenexes handy, but feel free to relax. Unlike Old Yeller, this is a true family film, and can be enjoyed by even the little kiddies. Donald Crisp and Elsa Lanchester play Roddy's parents; doesn't it seem like Donald Crisp is a perpetual father figure? He's just very trustworthy, even when he's doing something terrible, like selling his son's dog. And keep your eye out for a young, eleven-year-old Elizabeth Taylor! She's very beautiful, and for an actor to steal attention away from an on screen animal, that's an incredible achievement. Hollywood always warns against making movies with animals, since no one will pay attention to the human costars. Miss Taylor proved that old adage wrong, and it's easy to see why.

Hitchcoc 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.

jeremy3 I watched this movie specifically because I want to relax and enjoy a film that was innocent and dreamy. It turns out that Lassie was this and much more. It is a great film about how a dog lights up a lonely child's life. Lassie is there every day when school ends to meet his owner (Roddy McDowell). There is a lot more to this film. The boy's parents are good people, but they are poor and have the survival instinct of their class. They like Lassie, but also see dogs as a burden and an expense that are welcome only when there is work. Unfortunately, the boy's father is unemployed right now, and his Mom explains that it is either us or the dog that they can support. Lassie is sold to a wealthy landowner played by Nigel Bruce. Bruce plays a decent fellow, but one driven by a desire to breed animals that make him money and prestige at shows. He hires a mean man to tend his dogs, someone who is clearly from the lower classes and is in the wrong profession. He dislikes animals and only wants to control them and make them perform in shows. Lassie is eventually taken to Scotland, several hundred miles away from home in the Yorkshire. You guessed it. Lassie spends the rest of the movie making the perilous journey trying to get back home to the boy. This was the finest part of the film. The main flaw is the scenery was obviously California, not Scotland and England. Edmund Gwynn plays one of the most lovable characters - an old man who travels from town to town perform tricks with his dog companion. He represents the best in us all - kindness, honor, and appreciation. Other memorable characters are the elderly couple who rescue him from a rainstorm. The elderly lady is lonely. However, in one of the most heartwarming scenes of compassion she realizes that Lassie wants to get home to someone. She is willing to let go of the dog who relieves her loneliness so Lassie can be truly happy. What I liked most about this movie is that it was set in a bygone era of innocence. Dogs really make lives better for people. I also liked that it touched base on the people who are touched by dog's lives - what their dilemmas in life were.

olgaswen 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