''Son of Lassie'' (also known as ''Laddie, Son of Lassie'') is a 1945 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

produced by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford (né Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the "Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president Jo ...

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English people, English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best S ...

June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American retired actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol (1938 film), ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. She appeared primarily in 1950 ...

and

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

(credited as Lassie). A sequel to ''

Lassie Come Home ''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was d ...

'' (1943), the film focuses on the now adult Joe Carraclough after he joins the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and is shot down over Nazi-occupied Norway along with a stowaway, Lassie's son "Laddie" – played by

. ''Son of Lassie'' was released theatrically on April 20, 1945, by Loew's.

Plot

In England during World War II, the rough collie Lassie and her mischievous pup Laddie are devoted to their young master, Joe Carraclough, who is training in the Royal Air Force. Joe's father Sam is kennel man for the Duke of Rudling, and he is put in charge of a British Army war dogs training school on the Duke's Yorkshire estate. Lassie is too old for military service, but the day before Joe begins active duty as a flight navigator, Laddie is enrolled in the school. He lacks the discipline of the other dogs, but is resourceful. Laddie follows Joe to the air base, 40 miles away. For a reconnaissance flight over Nazi-occupied Norway, Joe's pilot arranges to have Laddie on board. The plane is hit and Joe bails out with Laddie in his arms. On the ground, the two are separated. Joe finds refuge in a church while Laddie is cared for by some children; the Nazis search for them both. Determined to return to England, Joe makes his way cross-country with the help of the Norwegian underground. All the while, Laddie is trying to find him. Joe is captured by the Nazis, but has escaped by the time Laddie tracks him to the prison camp. The Nazis use Laddie to find Joe; reunited, the pair escape. They complete the journey home to the Rudling estate, where Lassie and Sam Carraclough have been patiently awaiting them, along with the Duke's granddaughter Priscilla, who intends to marry Joe.

Cast

(credited as "Lassie") as Lassie and grown-up Laddie *

as Joe Carraclough *

as Sam Carraclough, Joe's father *

as Priscilla, the Duke of Rudling's granddaughter *

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was an English character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series '' The New Adventures of Sherlo ...

as Duke of Rudling, grandfather to Priscilla * Donald Curtis as Sgt. Eddie Brown * Robert Lewis as Sgt. Schmidt *

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

as Olav * William Severn as Henrik *

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry Leon Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rem ...

as Anton * Fay Helm as Joanna * Terry Moore as Thea (as Helen Koford, her birth name)

Production

Produced under the working title, ''Laddie, Son of Lassie'', the film originally had Elsa Lanchester playing the role of the adult Priscilla. Shortly after filming began, June Lockhart took over the role. It was the first movie filmed using the Technicolor monopack method. Principal filming took place from May 22 to mid-November 1944, in various locations throughout western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, including

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

and Christopher Point in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Other locations included

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in the United States. The wartime airfield scenes were shot at the air base at Patricia Bay which is now

Victoria International Airport Victoria International Airport serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is north northwest of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula, with the bulk of the airport (including the passenger terminal) in North Saanich, British Columbia, North Saa ...

. The aircraft used included

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

fighters, Bristol Bolingbroke and

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in ...

bombers of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. According to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', John Charles Reed sued MGM in October 1947 for

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

, claiming the film script was based on his 1943 story "Candy". The jury disagreed and the suit was dismissed. ''Son of Lassie'' reportedly popularized the name "Lad" for male dogs.

, the original male collie who played Lassie in ''

'' (1943) played Laddie. A 20-year-old June Lockhart, whose screen career had consisted of bit parts, had a more meaningful connection to the iconic Lassie story when in 1958, she took on the role of Ruth Martin, who adopts orphan Timmy (

Jon Provost Jonathan Bion Provost (born March 12, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series '' Lassie''. Life and career Provost was born in Los Angeles. At the age of four, Provost was cast in the film '' ...

) in the long-running TV series '' Lassie''.

Music

In 2010, Film Score Monthly released the complete scores of the seven Lassie feature films released by MGM between 1943 and 1955 as well as

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 orig ...

's score for '' It's a Dog's Life'' (1955) in the CD collection ''Lassie Come Home: The Canine Cinema Collection'', limited to 1000 copies. Due to the era when these scores were recorded, nearly half of the music masters have been lost so the scores had to be reconstructed and restored from the best available sources, mainly the Music and Effects tracks as well as monaural ¼″ tapes. The score for ''Son of Lassie'' was composed by

Herbert Stothart Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widely ackn ...

. Many of the Norwegian scenes use themes from Norwegian composer

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

, notably the

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

and the Peer Gynt Suite. Track listing for ''Son of Lassie'' (Disc 2) # Main Title/Laddie (beginning)* - 2:14 # Mischievous Puppy/My First Cake - 3:42 # Say It/Rudling Kennels - 3:24 # Training Routine (Stothart– Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 2:41 # That’s Where His Heart Is/Lowering the Colors - 2:20 # Bull Terrier/Infraction of Regulations - 3:13 # Laddie at Airfield & Waiting Dog (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 3:21 # Planes Taxiing/Plane Overdue - 4:52 # Parachute Landing (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 4:20 # Underground (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco)/Disconsolate Laddie (damaged) (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 4:14 # Occupied Village/Locked Storage - 3:40 # Injured Dog* (Castelnuovo-Tedesco)/Of Viking Ancestry - 5:49 # It Should Be Christmas - 0:54 # Frantic Dog (Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 4:43 # Leading the Blind (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 1:15 # Reprise (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 1:14 # Passport - 2:13 # It’s Laddie (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 0:40 # Seeking His Master (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 1:41 # Clown Sergeant/The Escape (Stothart–Castelnuovo-Tedesco)/Through the Rapids (Castelnuovo-Tedesco) - 8:34 # Back to the Yorkshire Moors - 0:38 # Final Episode - 2:04 #Overseas Title - 0:15 Contains Sound Effects Total Time: 68:48

Release

''Son of Lassie'' was released to theaters on April 20, 1945. A

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

home video release came on September 1, 1998. It was first released to Region 1 DVD by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

on August 24, 2004. It was re-released on November 7, 2006 in a three-movie, 2-disc set along ''

'' and '' Courage of Lassie''.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' of June 11, 1945, felt the sequel to ''

'' fell short of "being a worthy heir to the champion." ''Variety'' characterized the principal actors as "excellent" but the film was "sticky sentiment, and flamboyant adventures, carry ngsufficient interest to move it along.""Review: Son of Lassie." '' Variety'', 1945.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Collins, Ace. ''Lassie: A Dog's Life, The First Fifty Years''. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. . * Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings.'' Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1984. . * Haines, Richard W. ''Technicolor Movies: The History of Dye Transfer Printing.'' Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2003. . * Junker, Reynold Joseph Paul. ''Subway Music.'' Bloomington, Indiana: Iuniverse, 2005. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Son Of Lassie 1945 films Films shot in British Columbia American aviation films Films directed by S. Sylvan Simon Films scored by Herbert Stothart Lassie films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1945 drama films Films shot in Alberta American drama films Films set in Norway Norwegian campaign World War II films made in wartime