Loyal Heart

Percy Marmont owes Beckett Bould a packet of money but can't pay. The winter has been hard on the crofter, and his wife needs to go to hospital. Bould demands payment, or he'll take everything Marmont has.... or his border collie

That's the start of this overly sentimental movie about border collies. I love dogs, and border collies are among the best breeds: intelligent, hard-working.... all the qualities a dog should have, and which are on display here, particularly in the sheepdog contest which Marmont's dog wins under the guidance of Marmont's son, Philip Kay.

It's under the direction of Oswald Mitchell, a director I hold a grudge against; he directed half a dozen of the "Old Mother Riley" movies. There's a sloppiness to this movie's end which I attribute to a director who could take charge of an Arthur Lucan performance and use his own name. But I'm willing to put that aside and admit this is a nice little movie, thanks to the dog.

A complete chance of pace for producer Louis H. Jackson (who usually made morbid 'psychological' subjects) is this blatant copy of 'Lassie Come Home' which isn't even in Technicolor (although that might be a blessing as it spares us the obviously Californian locations of the Hollywood original) and has a continuous score by Percival Mackey that quickly outstays it's welcome.

The refined young lass who puts in a fleeting appearance in jodhpurs was in reality the daughter of leading actor Percy Marmont.