Challenge to Lassie
| Challenge to Lassie | |
|---|---|
 1949 film poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
| Produced by | Robert Sisk |
| Written by |
Eleanor Atkinson (story) William Ludwig |
| Starring |
Donald Crisp Edmund Gwenn Geraldine Brooks Lassie |
| Music by | André Previn |
| Cinematography | Charles Edgar Schoenbaum |
| Editing by | George White |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release dates | US October 31, 1949 |
| Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $775,000[1] |
| Box office | $1,155,000[1] |
Challenge to Lassie is an American drama directed by Richard Thorpe and released October 31, 1949 by MGM Studios. It was the fifth feature film starring the original Lassie, a collie named Pal and the fourth, and final, Lassie film that Donald Crisp would star in.
The movie is based on Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson's book Greyfriars Bobby which in turn is based on a true story. Twelve years after starring in Challenge to Lassie, Crisp would star in another movie based on the novel, Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog.
Set in Scotland in 1860, the film tells the story of a rough collie named Lassie whose master, Jock Gray, is killed by robbers in Edinburgh. After his death, the dog keeps a constant vigil beside her master's grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is in violation of the local dog laws. In the original novel, the title dog was a Skye Terrier named Bobby and his owner dies from pneumonia.
Plot
Jock Gray raises his collie Lassie to be an extraordinary sheep dog and companion. When he is beaten to death by robbers after he retires, Lassie keeps vigil over his grave and refuses to let anyone else take ownership of her. However, the law requires that all dogs be leashed and licensed by a legal owner. With no owner to pay her license and her only "home" being the church graveyard, Lassie faces an uncertain future.
Her late owner's friend John Traill, his law student son, and the keepers of the graveyard struggle to keep Lassie hidden from the zealous police Sergeant Davie and the town magistrate. Matters are brought to a head when they must go to court to plead for the dog's life before the Lord Provost.
Cast
- Donald Crisp as Jock Gray
- Edmund Gwenn as John Traill
- Geraldine Brooks as Susan Brown
- Reginald Owen as Sergeant Davie
- Alan Webb as James Brown
- Ross Ford as William Traill
- Henry Stephenson as Sir Charles Loring
- Alan Napier as The Lord Provost
- Sara Allgood as Mrs MacFarland
- Edmund Breon as Magistrate
- Arthur Shields as Doctor Lee
- Lumsden Hare as Mr MacFarland
- Charles Irwin as Sergeant Major
- Vernon Downing as Soldier
- Matthew Boulton as Butcher
- Gordon Richards as Constable
- Lassie as Lassie
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $850,000 in the US and Canada and $330,000 overseas resulting in a loss to the studio of $156,000.[1]
Availability
Challenge to Lassie was released to VHS on July 15, 1997 as part of the Lassie Collection series. It featured Geraldine Brooks on the cover with Lassie and was in a clamshell case. A second VHS version was released on September 1, 1998 featuring Donald Crisp and Lassie on the cover and in a standard slipcover case. Both versions are now out of print and no DVD version has been released, however it airs periodically on Turner Classic Movies.
References
External links
- Challenge to Lassie at the Internet Movie Database
- Challenge to Lassie at allmovie
- Challenge to Lassie at the TCM Movie Database
| ||||||||||||||