El cachorro de Lassie

Breathtakingly beautiful location photography (Banff National Park, Canada) provides a colorful background for a war story involving Lassie, Peter Lawford, June Lockhart, Donald Crisp, Leon Ames, William Severn and an early performance by Terry Moore when she was a child actress.

Dealing with the warm relationship between Joe (Peter Lawford) and his war-trained pup, it has moments of high suspense, humor and classic Lassie challenges as the dog attempts to become reunited with his master. Not as overtly sentimental as "Lassie Come Home", it scores on its own as one of the best in the string of Lassie films MGM made following the success of the first one.

The war scenes are well handled with much of the action having a realistic look, as does the German village, with everyone contributing their own well acted moments to an intriguing film. Little William Severn is appealing as the boy who discovers the wounded dog and must protect it from the German soldiers. June Lockhart is refreshingly natural as Lawford's sweetheart and there are the usual pleasant performances from Donald Crisp and Nigel Bruce. Lawford and Lassie have some strenuous stunts to perform in the rapids as they escape.

Definitely a Lassie film worth watching.

The first of many sequels to the classic 1943 Lassie movie finds original dog owner Joe Carraclough suffering from accelerated growth; in two years, he has grown about ten years - from boy Roddy McDowall to man Peter Lawford! Little Pricilla has experiences a similar growth spurt - from girl Elizabeth Taylor to woman June Lockhart (who would re-encounter Lassie a decade later, as young Timmy's mother). Donald Crisp as father Sam has holds up well, considering. Meanwhile, in dog years, Lassie has a son, Laddie. Presumably, "Pal" plays Mama "Lassie" and Son "Laddie" - but, it's possible an actual "Son of Lassie" is used in the film.

"Son of Lassie" is, understandably, not as good as the first Lassie film. The photography is absolutely beautiful, though; and, Pal/Lassie's performance is excellent - in fact, one could argue that the dog creates two separate characterizations (the Son a little less wise). Lawford in endearing as Joe. The World War II storyline is flawed, but inevitable, considering the time of release. The multiplication of Lassies was unnecessary, since it had been less than two years since the first Lassie. Still, it's a very well-photographed Lassie, with a rousing conclusion.

****** Son of Lassie (4/20/45) S. Sylvan Simon ~ Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart

"Son of Lassie" is a sequel to "Lassie Come Home", the first Lassie movie. The same characters return but time has past and the two leading children in the first movie (Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowell) are recast with adult actors (June Lockhart and Peter Lawford).

As I mentioned, time has passed and it is now during WWII. Lassie is older and spends her time chilling at home. Her/his son, Laddie (played by Pal...who is the dog who played Lassie in the films) is young and adores his owner, Joe (Lawford). However, when they try to make him a war dog, he's a total washout in camp. In fact, for much of the film he can't seem to do anything right.

Later, when Joe is in the Royal Air Force, Laddie does what his mother/father did in the first film....he goes on a cross country trek to find Joe. Amazingly, he does and the dog spends some time at the air base where Joe is stationed. Instead of going back home, however, Laddie stows away in Joe's plane...and they end up getting shot down over Norway. Most of the film consists of Laddie and Joe trying to find their way home.

Much of the time Laddie is in Norway, he's looking for Joe because they became separated. Again and again, Laddie alerts the Nazis and helps them catch Joe! So even though later Laddie proves himself, it's only after this dog nearly gets Joe killed!! Not exactly a great dog!

So is this entertaining? Yes. Even though I think the story could have been a lot better (making Pal not so stupid would have been a good start), it is enjoyable.

I was surprised to discover how much I enjoyed this movie. Having traveled in beautiful Norway several years ago -- the land of my ancestors -- and visited the WWII Resistance Museum in Oslo, the movie was of particular interest to me. I suspected the location shots were in Canada, for having traveled across the mountains of Norway, something didn't appear quite right, but very close. Lassie's performance as 'Laddie' is amazing and so many of the cast give fine performances, including a very young (22) Peter Lawford. Watch also for teenage Terry Moore! And sadly, one of the last movie roles by handsome former silent star Nils Asther as he slid into obscurity by the end of the '40s. Ironically, there is also 20-year-old June Lockhart, who later played the mother two decades later in the Lassie series on TV. A nice touch is the music of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg used throughout the score. Fine film for family viewing.

This is a fine movie for animal lovers, for it is far more that the usual canine showcase. It is an exceptionally well made film in terms of technical excellence. The dialogue is always appropriate, the cinematography is very good, and the color is flawless. As the movie progresses the symbiotic relationship between Joe (Peter Lawford) and Laddie (son of a Lassie) enhances both roles. The cultural setting is that of World War Two, and Laddie experiences the full range of wartime threats, from being bombed to being captured, and so on. The supporting actors are good beyond expectation, and the topography of Norway (even though the movie was filmed in Canada) is precise. What is particularly unique about this film is that Laddie is not portrayed as a human in dog's clothing. Laddie is a dog that does what dogs do, both rightly and wrongly. One wonders how many children in the post-war era better understood war and its dangers after seeing this film. There must have been many. Bottom line: Lawford is better as a member of the dog pack that he ever was as one of the rat pack. This movie should not be missed!