Based on Eric Knight's 1938 novel about the most trustworthy of pooches, Lassie Come Home, the film is set on the eve of World War II in a Yorkshire mining town in northern England. The Carraclough family fall on hard times and have to sell Lassie to the Duke of Rudling (Peter O'Toole). Transported to the Duke's remote castle in the north of Scotland, Lassie is determined to escape from the clutches of the Duke and his evil trainer, in an effort to make her way home for Christmas and return to the family she loves.
Directed by
Charles Sturridge
Written by
Eric Knight (novel); Charles Sturridge (writer).
Starring
Samantha Morton (Sarah Carraclough); Peter O'Toole (The Duke); Hester Odgers (Cilla); Gerry O'Brien (Watson); Steve Pemberton (Hynes); Eamonn Hunt (Alf Patterson); John Lynch (Sam Carraclough); Jim Roche (Miner); Jonathan Mason (Joe Carraclough); Gabrielle Lloyd (Miss Branson); Paul Meade (Policeman); Susie Lambe (Martha (as Susie Lamb)); Jemma Redgrave (Daisy); Terence Orr (Butler); Alec Heggie (Truck Driver); Peter Dinklage (Rowlie). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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A Family Film Through and Through
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
This updated version of the Lassie story was a true joy to watch, and something of a rare gem in being a film that truly will appeal to the whole family from children to grandparents. Peter O'Toole (as the Duke) and Peter Dinkdale (as Rowlie the traveller) in particular turn in good performances, as does the young Jonathan Mason as Lassie's heartbroken young owner. As a side note the film also features a short Christmassy Church scene making it a film quite apt for watching with the family over the festive period. A story in which all's well that ends well, and in which truth, honesty and goodness win the day.
