- If you thought Lassie had little to draw on in way of predecessors, there's a revelation in store in this silent 1914 melodrama and its titular star, a fun-loving collie.
- If you thought Lassie had little to draw on in way of predecessors, there's a revelation in store in this silent 1914 melodrama and its titular star, a fun-loving collie who appeared in several Thanhouser films in 1914 and 1915 and who here proves fully capable of outwitting a horse, a speeding train and a disagreeable old lady. Shep plays the much-adored companion of a bourgeois couple's adolescent twin daughters. When the children's grandmother arrives one day showing a clear preference for one twin over the other (rather arbitrarily, one can't help feeling, but then, "The mother-in-law is an unpleasant member of the family," as a title card puts it squarely), she provokes a mischievous response from the spurned child that gets Shep in trouble, too. The grandmother leaves the house with her daughter and favored granddaughter in tow, resulting in an unhappy separation for the three playmates until a runaway horse-and-buggy spurs Shep to action. He saves the day and the family reunites in prayerful thanks. - Robert Avila
- Mrs. Mateland, a typical mother-in-law, makes trouble in the Stearns family. A mischievous prank of Madeline, one of the twins, in which Shep, their collie dog, figures, greatly exasperates the grandmother, and eventually causes a breach between Mr. and Mrs. Stearns. The wife and Marion go to live with Mrs. Mateland, and Mr. Stearns and Madeline stay in the old home. Shep, the innocent cause of the disaster, is taken by Marion and her mother. The twins miss one another keenly, but their parents obstinately refuse to be reconciled. Some weeks later, Madeline and her father drive to town. While the child is sitting alone in the carriage, the horse becomes frightened and runs away. He plunges toward a railway track, and exhausted, stops in the path of an approaching express. Madeline faints. But as the train is thundering down upon the carriage and the helpless young girl, horse and buggy are dragged to safety. The rescuer is Shep. Mrs. Maitland's dislike of Madeline melts away. The family is reunited, and Shep is the happiest member of it.—Moving Picture World synopsis
It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. Be the first to contribute.
Learn moreContribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content