weezeralfalfa
First, there is no character in this film called Lassie!, although Lassie may have been the mother of Bill, sometimes called Duke, who starts out as a puppy. Like the first 2 of this film series, the collie, whatever its name is, gets lost for part of the film, has a series of adventures, and eventually finds its way home......Apparently most of the shoots were taken around Lake Chelan: a long, narrow former glacial valley, with substantial mountains on either side, located in north central Washington state.......This time, 14y.o. Elizabeth Taylor(as Kathie) serves as Bill's non-military master, while Tom Drake, as Stg. Smitty, renames the dog as Duke and serves as his master while in the army. In training Duke to be a War Dog, the screenplay is repeating the main plot of the previous film; "Son of Lassie". This time, the dog's unit is assigned to the Aleutians, to fight the Japanese......Some reviewers question the wisdom of the long(20min) initial section, in which the future Bill is accidentally separated from his litter mates, and spends months, judging from his size progression, as a wild dog, in the forest, not seeing any humans. We are treated to seeing various wild animals, some of which Bill interacts with. This should be especially interesting to children, but I found parts interesting too. No mention is made of how Bill manages to survive as such. Presumably, he would be poor at chasing and killing substantial prey, although he stole a fish from a bear! Also, he would be subject to predation by carnivores such as cougars coyotes, or wolves and maybe even hawks and large owls. Also, when Kathie finds him wounded from a gunshot, and picks him up, she should have been wary that he might be a wild dog, and bite her. When recovered, she trains him to be a sheepdog. But, one day, he is run over by a truck. The driver takes him to a vet, but makes little effort finding his owner. So, after a couple months of rehabilitation, it's decided to give him to the army and make a war dog out of him, rechristening him as Duke. On duty, one day he is assigned to carry a message from a patrol in trouble to another patrol, traveling under heavy fire. He is hit and the message lost. He grows weaker and his legs are covered with mud making walking more difficult. He collapses as he reaches his goal. Strangely, there seems to be no radio contact between the 2 patrols. Thus, they ask the exhausted dog to guide them to the patrol in need of ammunition and more personnel. Slowly, he makes his way. He is considered a hero for his extreme effort. However, he then turns mean toward his handler and others. He's suffering from PTSD(or shell shock). It's decided to send him back to Washington state for some R&R. Serendipitously, he manages to jump off the train exactly when it passes Lake Chelan! But, he doesn't immediately find anyone who recognizes him. To survive, he steals chickens from various people. When he is finally found by Kathie, initially, he's hostile. But, there is a sudden change in him when she is knocked unconscious from a fall. He is now back to his old self. But, the victims of his raids want him declared a public nuisance and put away. A trial is held and it looks bad for Bill. But, Frank Morgan: a friend of Kathie's, notices a marking on one ear, and someone identifies it as a war dog ID. Morgan calls up the nearby dog training center and asks for Bill's record, finding that he is regarded as a war hero. This told to the judge, he decides to suspend the expected death penalty, and place him under the supervision of Kathie and Morgan. Note that it's not clear whether he still belongs to the army, or whether they want him released. This is not discussed. By the way, it would be nice for the owner, whoever it might be, to pay for the damage, which was not denied.......Now, suppose Bill were a man, a homeless veteran with a good record, who stole some chickens to keep from starving. Would he have received the same leniency? Should the past character of a person who has committed a crime be considered in sentencing? I think so.......This film is currently available in economical 3 and 4 packs of MGM Lassie-like films.
AaronCapenBanner
Fred M. Wilcox returned to direct Lassie in his third film, but this is not a continuation of "Son Of Lassie", though original costar Elizabeth Taylor does return as a new character called Kathie Merrick, who rescues a collie pup, and names it Bill(Lassie is not the name here, despite the title!) whom she raises as a sheep-herder, until one day he is hit by a truck and taken to a veterinarian. Bill's life is saved, but is not identified, so is instead sent off as a war dog to assist soldiers in the trenches. Sadly, this experience turns Bill vicious, and upon his return home becomes a livestock killer. Can Kathie convince the court not to put Bill down? Strange film is mostly an uninspired rehash of the first two(unrelated) pictures, when it would have been far wiser to just continue that story, instead of creating this one. A wasted opportunity.
Ralph
I'm reading glimpses of other reviews here and many are a bit skeptical of this movie and of Lassie being a shell shocked war vet. Well I grew up watching Lassie the 50's TV show and I must admit I'm very partial to everything I've seen with Lassie in it. Yes we should all know that Lassie was played by more than one dog (its obvious that thats the way they make dog movies, isn't it?), that Lassie was a female, all that geeky stuff, I say whatever. I was not expecting anything from this movie and had it on in the background as I was surfing the web this morning and doing other tasks, I ended up getting very focused on this film! It's just another testament that if it's a Lassie movie, it's good entertainment. I wish I had watched this with my now teenage daughter while we had the opportunity, I know it would have strengthened our relationship at least just a little. Work overseas and divorce tell me that wont happen any time soon (if ever). If I ever get the chance no matter how old she is I'll try to see this at home with her. It has Liz Taylor and her pet's loving bond in Lassie which is very wholesome, it also has a lot of adult overtones with war and such, so it should keep any mature adult interested. In todays overly skeptical world, I'm happy I have not fallen into the trap to not really enjoy a Lassie movie. 8 of 10.
helpless_dancer
Well, folks, there were no surprises in this one. A young girl adopts a lost puppy and takes it in for her own, turning it into a first class sheep dog. Then the inseparable pair are separated and the dog must face a cruel world without his master. The film has the usual [and some unusual] assortment of adventures from the collie being shot, run over, drafted, shot again, ran to exhaustion, put on trial, exonerated, and then a tearful re-union with the little girl [the dog didn't shed a tear]. Some little girl. Wow! I liked it, but then, I am a hopeless dog lover: it was pretty corny, though. Nice Canadian scenery throughout, should be a winner with the kids.
