Casa mia

While I have seen more classic Hollywood movies than most anyone alive, I have only come to watch any of the Lassie films recently. I had assumed they'd be schmaltzy messes...and, apparently, I was wrong. After thoroughly enjoying the first film, "Lassie Come Home", I decided to try another Lassie film, "Hills of Home"...the fourth Lassie film. With seven in all, I still have five more MGM Lassie pictures to go.

This story has nothing to do with the previous Lassie stories. Oddly, this one finds Lassie as a damaged doggy, as his new master abuses the dog because it is a lousy sheepdog and won't go in the water if needed. Soon the kindly local doctor (Edmund Gwen) buys the dog and the rest of the film is mostly about his life in rural 19th century Scotland tending to the sick and dying...with Lassie as his constant companion and helper.

Like the first Lassie film, this one has a lot of polish and was made in Technicolor. It also features fine supporting actors in many of the leading roles--giving these wonderful actors a chance to shine. In fact, several were from the first Lassie film as well-- Gwen, Donald Crisp and Rhys Williams. Additional actors rounding out the main cast were Janet Leigh and Tom Drake. All in all, a fine and entertaining film...and one that might be best seen with some Kleenex nearby just in case! If I have any complaints about the picture it's that just about everyone seems inexplicably angry all the time...which is kinda weird!

Very heartwarming and quaint representation of the era. A Classic! Needs to be seen over and over again, to appreciate the sentiments portrayed. A story about the generous, faithful, over-worked and under-paid country doctor, and his grateful patients throughout the glen. Enjoyed listening to the Scottish accents, and the stereo-typical cultural stubbornness in accepting or giving compliments. Enjoyed the scenery too.

Perhaps the first time I saw it, I may have thought it to be slow-moving, too. But for those of us who enjoy watching "classic movies", it's wonderful.

However, for a Lassie movie, the dog has a relatively small part to play, in comparison to what you see in the Lassie series over a decade later.

Fred M. Wilcox directed this fourth film to feature Lassie, though again this tells a stand-alone story set in Scotland, where a country Doctor named William McClure(played by Edmund Gwenn) tends to the sick of his village, many of whom are poor, and on one visit he is "tricked" into taking Lassie as payment instead of cash, but is stunned to learn that the collie is afraid of the water, which is most embarrassing and inconvenient to his profession. He is also hoping that a young medical student training to be a doctor will take over his practice when he passes on, but first he is determined to break Lassie of her water fear, and a fierce storm will give him a chance to do just that... Charming and appealing film is fine fare for the whole family, and animal lovers alike.

In the beautiful hills of Scotland, Lassie is a good-for-nothing collie. Afraid of water, the dog lets sheep drown. So, owner Rhys Williams (as Milton) trades her in, to lovable old doctor Edmund Gwenn (as William MacLure). Mr. Williams' son Tom Drake (as Tammas Milton) is studying doctoring with Mr. Gwenn, but his father wants him to be a farmer. Mr. Drake is courting pretty young Janet Leigh (as Margit Mitchell).

A colorful MGM gloss makes "Hills of Home" pleasant viewing, at times. The movie winds up far less carefully made than the initial scenic images suggest, however. It's nice to see Donald Crisp return to Lassie's supporting cast; his scenes with Gwenn provide some Scottish accented fun. Lassie veteran Tom Drake and starlet Janet Leigh are nice, but the lack of a child co-star hurts the story. Lassie's crossing of a river's broken bridge, to save her master, it a film highlight; though, it's difficult to accept Lassie was ever afraid of water.

**** Hills of Home (11/25/48) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Tom Drake, Lassie

In remote Scotland, sheep dog Lassie is afraid of water and loses two lambs to drowning. Her owner is angry. She gets sold to unwitting Dr. William MacLure (Edmund Gwenn) who tries to train her to swim.

This is obviously going to end with Lassie swimming to save someone, preferably someone young and helpless. This ending is a version of that, but not the version I want. Even though the ending isn't what I want, it still packs an emotional punch. The rest of the movie is a bit meandering. It is up and down. Edmund Gwenn is Santa of course. Again, I want a kid with Lassie. It just works better.