Why so much hype?

Such a frustrating disappointment

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Set in Priestley's beloved Yorkshire,there is a picaresque quality to "Lassie come home" that is reminiscent of that great writer's early works.In particular it seems to me to that the casting of Mr E.Gwenn as a tinker brings to mind the spirit of the Geilgud 1933 "The Good Companions"and also "Anthony Lyveden",the one masterpiece by another unfashionable English novelist Dornford Yates. Both are works very much of their age,and the same can be said of "Lassie come home"with its noble working men in their Helen Allingham cottages and bluff kindhearted noblemen doting on their granddaughters. When a proud,unemployed Yorkshireman (Mr D.Crisp - not quite managing the dialect)is forced to sell his dog to the local Duke(Mr N.Bruce - pootling his way through good naturedly)his son(Master R.McDowall - making a good fist as a wee northern lad)is very upset. The dog(Pal - not at all fazed by being forced into a gender swap) is also unhappy and eventually manages a successful home run. By sea and land - rather like the Royal Marines - Lassie gallantly and doggedly(sorry) finds her way back to the bosom of her family. On her journey she briefly enriches the life of Mr Gwenn and Dame May Witty and her husband(rather touching,actually). I suspect today's children will find it a little unsophisticated,but in a kinder,more innocent age,I doubt if there was a dry eye in the house.

"Lassie Chien Fidèle" (=Faithful dog,French translation) was one of the first books I read when I was a child .It's a precious memory.Although it is not,IMHO, Wilcox's most memorable movie (it would rather be his impressive "forbidden planet"),it's still good value and excellent entertainment for the whole family.The color is wonderful .And the real star is Lassie herself for the other characters have less screen time than this extraordinary dog (male colley Pal) and most of them are brilliantly supporting :I particularly like Dame May Witty as the old lady who takes care of Lassie for a short while.Roddy Mac Dowall was a wunderkind ,my favorite of all the child actors of all time.He is very cute and he is really moving.When I saw the scene he shares with Elizabeth Taylor-very lovely too- in the kennels ,I couldn't help thinking that ,twenty years later ,they would be Octavian and Cleopatra!!!Like this?try these...National Velvet (Brown,1944)The Yearling (Brown,1946)How green was my valley (Ford,1941,with a younger McDowall)

Can I be honest? I wasn't expecting to love this film, I thought it would be childish and predictable. How wrong I was, Lassie Come Home is delightful! Sweet, moving and exciting, I absolutely loved the film. The cinematography is beautiful, and the scenery is lush and like looking at a watercolour painting. The music is also gorgeous, memorable and lyrical with amazing orchestration. The direction, script and story are also first rate, the script being intelligent, the direction assured and the story well paced. Also excellent was the acting, Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor are appealing as the children, Nigel Bruce gives a gruff, aggressive yet sympathetic performance with some Dr Watson-like facial expressions and Edmund Gwenn who I know best from the original Miracle on 34th Street is outstanding as Rowlie. What made the film though was Lassie, an astonishing canine performance from Pal, who acts so convincingly and moves as swiftly as the wind. Also Lassie's pining were so achingly sad, you couldn't help feel for the poor dog, especially in the very poignant ending. And yes, I cried when Toots died. Overall, I loved Lassie Come Home, though I do think it is deserving of a restoration. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I feel compelled to rebut the curmudgeon who 'couldn't stand this movie'. First off, what a cast!..... eight of the greatest film stars and character actors who were ever on the screen, including 11 year old Elizabeth Taylor and 15 year old Roddy McDowall. You will never see child actors this talented in any film made today.Obviously, the writer is no animal lover. The complaint about Lassie continually whining is a whine in itself. Yes, the whining was meant to pull at the heartstrings. This movie was made in 1943, part of the greatest era in motion picture history. They knew how to tell stories back then, and 'this' story is about a dog trying to find its way home. The entire 'premise' of the film is a heart tugger!And one more point; no animal character dies in this film, unlike in 'Bambi' and some other Walt Disney films that scare very young children to death.This is one of MGM's best family films, a wonderful, heartwarming adventure story that anyone who loves dogs will enjoy again and again.