Courage of Lassie (1946)

Bill's separated from his litter, making friends with the wild creatures until he's found and adopted by young Kathie. An accident separates him from her, and he's drafted into K-9 duty in ... See full summary »

Director:

Fred M. Wilcox

Writer:

Lionel Houser (original screenplay)

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Tom Drake

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Kathie Merrick
Frank Morgan	...	Harry MacBain
Tom Drake	...	Sergeant Smitty
Selena Royle	...	Mrs. Merrick
Harry Davenport	...	Judge Payson
George Cleveland	...	Old Man
Catherine McLeod	...	Alice Merrick (as Catherine Frances McLeod)
Morris Ankrum	...	Farmer Crews
Mitchell Lewis	...	Gil Elson
Jane Green	...	Mrs. Elson
David Holt	...	Pete Merrick
Bill Wallace	...	Sergeant Mac (as William Wallace)
Minor Watson	...	Sheriff Ed Grayson
Donald Curtis	...	Charlie
Clancy Cooper	...	Casey

Storyline

Bill's separated from his litter, making friends with the wild creatures until he's found and adopted by young Kathie. An accident separates him from her, and he's drafted into K-9 duty in the trenches until battle fatigue takes its toll and he turns vicious. And even though he finds his way back home, he may be condemned as a killer.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | lassie | sheepdog | dog actor | car crash | 

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Taglines:

As Refreshing As A Breath Of Spring !

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Genres:

Drama | Adventure | Family | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blue Sierra

Filming Locations:

Railroad Creek, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the title of the film suggests it, there is no mention of the character Lassie anywhere in the movie.

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Goofs

Kathie runs down the same piece of path twice when she first encounters Bill.

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Connections

Version of Lassie (1994)

User Reviews

Two dogs

Having recently watched the woeful AIR BUD 3: WORLD PUP, I've got to say that the dog-movie genre has fallen a long, long way since the halcyon days when this movie was made.

The movie does starts off a little unpromisingly, though, resembling one of those old wildlife episodes of 'Wonderful World of Disney' as cute puppy Lassie - otherwise known as Bill, for some reason - gambols playfully around beautiful Canadian locations, and enjoys lighthearted scrapes with assorted wildlife. Only when she is accidentally shot by a couple of young hunters and saved from mercy-killing by a young Elizabeth Taylor do things start moving.

It is always a little disconcerting to see a young Taylor at work, and be presented with the indisputable fact that her range and skill as an actress improved not one iota throughout her acting career: she was a poor actress as a child, and just as woeful as an adult. Lassie steals every scene they share, even when she's doing nothing. The sickly-sweet sincerity and relentless sentimentality are also pretty difficult to take during this period of the film; only when Lassie is run over by a truck while attempting to escape Taylor's acting do things improve.

Drafted into the army, Lassie saves a surrounded unit at the cost of her mental stability - a curiously effective performance here by Lassie as she flawlessly mimics mental and physical exhaustion - and then, by a series of unlikely circumstances, returns to her old stamping-ground as a mad-dog chicken killer.

While COURAGE OF LASSIE is not quite up to the standard of the original MGM movies in the series, it is still a well-crafted, beautifully shot and occasionally suspenseful flick that will please lovers of this genre and offers an unusual insight into the plight of shell-shocked veterans returning home after WWII.