Lassie (2005)

A family in financial crisis is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog. Hundreds of miles away from her true family, Lassie escapes and sets out on a journey home.

Director:

Charles Sturridge

Writers:

Eric Knight (novel), Charles Sturridge

Stars:

John Lynch, Samantha Morton, Peter O'Toole

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	The Duke
Samantha Morton	...	Sarah Carraclough
John Lynch	...	Sam Carraclough
Peter Dinklage	...	Rowlie
Gerry O'Brien	...	Watson
Steve Pemberton	...	Hynes
Eamonn Hunt	...	Alf Patterson
Edward Fox	...	Hulton
Jim Roche	...	Miner
John Standing	...	French
Gregor Fisher	...	Mapes
Jonathan Mason	...	Joe Carraclough
Brian Pettifer	...	O'Donnell
Paul Meade	...	Policeman
Jamie Lee	...	Tom

Storyline

Life is hard for Yorkshire miner's son Joe Carraclough, who is beaten at school by a his teacher, his only consolation is his collie Lassie. It gets worse: when the mine is decommissioned, his father, Sam, is forced to sell the dog to the duke, who owns the local estate. The Duke's servant, Hynes, scares the dog, who keeps running back, so the Carracloughs have to keep returning her, until the Duke moves to the Scottish Highlands for the holiday season. Lassie escapes, embarking on a desperate journey home, with daunting Glasgow dogcatchers and taken in by a circus performer. It looks like a miracle is needed, by Christmas.

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Plot Keywords:

human dog relationship | lassie | dog | yorkshire | scottish highlands | 

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Taglines:

More Than A Hero. A Legend.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild violent content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site [United States]

Country:

USA France Ireland UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lassie kehrt zurück

Filming Locations:

Clancy Barracks, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£132,926 (United Kingdom), 18 December 2005, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$374,879, 3 September 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$652,163, 5 October 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Odyssey Entertainment, Classic Media Productions, Davis-Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One thread that connects all the Lassie projects is Lassie herself. Every one of the long string of Lassie productions has featured a collie directly descended from the original canine star, a dog named Pal. The new film was made with 8-year-old Lassie the ninth, and three other non-related collies, whose biggest challenge were in scenes swimming across Loch Ness on her way home. "They weren't bred to be water dogs, who have more webbing between their feet and more fat on their body to insulate them for the water," said trainer Carol Riggins, who has steered the Lassie stable through Lassies seven, eight and nine. "Collies don't have that. When you put them in the water, as soon as they get wet to the skin you have to take them out and you have to blow dry them before you can do the rest of the scene. When they get in the water they get cold and their muscles don't work as well."

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Goofs

The steam train has a British Railways logo on the tender, but British Railways didn't come into existence until after the war, certainly not before or during the war, the period in which the film is set.

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Quotes

The Duke: Mr. Hynes. Please do not say another word. Never, under any circumstances whatsoever, will I allow anybody to attack an animal of mine. Collect what wages are due to you and leave my property immediately. Otherwise I will not be answerable for the consequences.

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Crazy Credits

There are no credits at the beginning of the film, not even the film's title. All that is seen is the logo of the production company.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Peter Dinklage Performances (2015)

User Reviews

Truly Moving Picture

I saw this film on August 24th, 2006 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Film Festival's Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

Obviously this is an often-told tale about a boy and his beautiful and intelligent collie. But … this is an especially fine telling of that story and specifically of the loyalty and love that can happen between a boy and his dog.

The story is set in England prior to World War II. The boy, Joe, is from a working class family and the father loses his coal mining job when the coal peters out. Lassie catches the eye of a rich Duke played by Peter O'Toole and Joe's parents reluctantly sell Lassie to obtain much needed cash. This causes Joe to go into a deep sadness. But to make things worse for Joe and his parents, Lassie regularly escapes the Duke's dog handler and finds his way back to Joe. Over and over the dog is honorably returned to the Duke because a deal is a deal.

Finally the Duke goes off to his other home in Northern Scotland 500 miles away and takes Lassie with him. Lassie escapes again and the rest of the movie revolves around the impossible attempted journey back to Joe.

Lassie is obligated to steal the movie, but he doesn't quite do this. There are too many other interesting things going on. Peter O'Toole is a great curmudgeon with a slowly revealed heart of gold. The English countryside is gorgeous. And the rich class- poor class dichotomy is adroitly told.

Honor and integrity and human dignity are human traits that can be shown by anyone despite their age or sex or income or social status in life. That's a message worth communicating in a movie.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.