Archive for the ‘1930′s-1950′s Animals’ Category

One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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One Hundred and One Dalmatians (often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians) is the seventeenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was made and produced by Walt Disney, and it was originally released to theaters on January 25, 1961 by Buena Vista Distribution. It is based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith.

The film features Rod Taylor as the voice of Pongo, the first of the Dalmatians, and Betty Lou Gerson as the voice of the villainous Cruella de Vil. The plot centers on the fate of the kidnapped puppies of Pongo and Perdita.

Plot

Pongo the Dalmatian lives in a London bachelor flat with his owner Roger Radcliffe, a songwriter. Bored with bachelor life, Pongo decides to find a wife for Roger and a mate for himself. While watching various female dog-human pairs out the window, he spots the perfect couple, a woman named Anita and her female Dalmatian, Perdita. He quickly gets Roger out of the house and drags him through the park to arrange a meeting. Pongo accidentally causes both Roger and Anita to fall into a pond, but it works out well as the couple falls in love. Both the human couple and the dog couple marry.

Later, Perdita gives birth to 15 puppies. One almost dies, but Roger is able to revive it by rubbing it vigorously in a towel. That same night, they are visited by Cruella De Vil, an wealthy former schoolmate of Anita’s. She offers to buy the entire litter of puppies for a large sum, but Roger says they are not selling any of the puppies. Weeks later, she hires Jasper and Horace Badun to steal all of the puppies. When Scotland Yard is unable to prove she stole them or find the puppies, Pongo and Perdita use the “Twilight Bark”, normally a canine gossip line, to ask for help from the other dogs in England.

Colonel, an old Sheepdog, and Sergeant Tibbs, a tabby cat, find the puppies in a place called Hell Hall, along with lots of other Dalmatian puppies who Cruella had purchased from various dog stores. Tibbs learns the puppies are going to be made into dog-skin fur coats and the Colonel quickly sends word back to London. Pongo and Perdita quickly make their way from London to retrieve their puppies. They arrive just as Horace and Jasper are about to kill the puppies. While the adult dogs attack the two men, Colonel and Tibbs guide them from the house.

After a happy reunion with their own puppies, the Pongos realize there are 84 other puppies with them. Horrified at Cruella’s plans, they decide to adopt all of the puppies, certain their pets would never reject them. The dogs being making their way back to London, aided by other animals along the way, with Cruella and the Baduns chasing behind them. In one town, they cover themselves with soot so they appear to be Labrador Retrievers, then pile inside a moving van going back to London. As the van is leaving, melting snow clears off the soot and Cruella spots them. She follows the van in her car and rams it, but the Baduns, trying to cut off the van from above, end up colliding with her, knocking both vehicles into a deep ravine. Cruella yells in frustration as the van drives away.

Back in London, Roger and Anita are attempting to celebrate Christmas and Roger’s first big hit, a song about Cruella, but they miss their friends. Suddenly barking is heard outside and after their nanny opens the door, the house is filled with dog. After wiping away more of the soot, the couple is delighted to realize their companions have returned home. They decide to use the money from the song to buy a large house in the country so they can keep all 101 Dalmatians.

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The Shaggy Dog

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney movie about Wilby Daniels, a teenager who is transformed into a sheep dog by a magic ring, and was the first ever Walt Disney live-action comedy. It starred Fred MacMurray, Tommy Kirk, Jean Hagen, Kevin Corcoran, Tim Considine, Roberta Shore, and Annette Funicello. The movie was originally intended as the pilot for a never-made TV series and advertised as “the funniest shaggy dog story ever told”, although it is not in fact a story of that genre. The director was Charles Barton, who also directed Spin and Marty for The Mickey Mouse Club. Veteran screenwriter Lillie Hayward also worked on the Spin and Marty serials, which featured several of the same young actors as The Shaggy Dog. Veteran Disney voice actor Paul Frees had a rare on-screen appearance in the film – for which he received no on-screen credit – as Dr. J.W. Galvin, a psychiatrist who examines Wilby’s father (MacMurray). Frees also did his usual voice acting by also playing the part of the narrator who informs the audience that Wilson Daniels is a “man noted for the fact he hates dogs”.

The Shaggy Dog was one of the top movies of 1959, and actually grossed higher than Ben-Hur.[citation needed]

Walt Disney Productions filmed a successful sequel in 1976 called The Shaggy D.A. which starred Dean Jones, Tim Conway, and Suzanne Pleshette. In 1988, a made-for-TV movie called The Return of the Shaggy Dog continued the adventures of the now-adult Wilby Daniels; although also a sequel to the original film, it did not share any continuity with the Dean Jones version. The Shaggy Dog was also remade as a 1994 TV movie.

In 2006, Disney released a “remake” of the movie with an entirely different story and characters, unrelated to the original trilogy. To tie-in with the theatrical release of the 2006 film, the original 1959 movie was re-issued in the USA as a special DVD labelled THE WILD & WOOLLY EDITION, which featured the movie in two forms; one in the original black and white, the other a colorized version. However, in the UK, the 1959 movie has only ever been made available on Disney DVD in black and white.

Tagline: The Funniest Shaggy Dog story ever told! Hello Dad… the funniest thing happened!

Plot

Wilby Daniels is constantly misunderstood by his father, Wilson. Wilson thinks Wilby is crazy half the time because of his elder son’s often dangerous inventions. As a mailman who often runs afoul of canines, this has caused his dislike of dogs, and he can’t understand why his younger son, Mongomery “Moochie” wants a dog so badly.

Wilby and his self-centered rival Buzz Miller take a new French girl, Francesca Andrassy, to the local museum. Wilby gets separated from the other two, who leave without him. Wilby ends up in a new wing, where he meets Professor Plumcutt, who tells him all about mystical ancient beliefs, including the legend of the Borgia family, who used shape-shifting as a weapon against their enemies.

On the way out, Wilby collides with a table of rings, ending up with one in the cuff of his pants which he finds later. It is the cursed Borgia ring, and when he reads the inscription on it, he turns into Chiffon, Francesca’s shaggy Old English sheepdog. Confused about what has happened, Wilby as a dog goes to Professor Plumcutt, who says he has invoked the Borgia curse upon himself, which can only be broken through an act of selflessness. After getting chased out of his own house, Wilby has a series of misadventures, as he constantly switches back and forth between human and dog forms. Only Moochie and Professor Plumcutt know his true identity when he is a dog, as Wilby has spoken to them both in dog form. Finally, he goes to a local dance (as a human) and while dancing turns into a dog. He runs out quickly, and goes home.

The next day, Wilby (as a dog) and Moochie are talking when Francesca’s butler comes out and drags Wilby into the house. The butler and Dr. Andrassy discuss plans to steal a government secret, and Wilby (still a dog) overhears. Unfortunately for him, he transforms into human Wilby right in front of the spies and is discovered, but not before he heard Dr. Andrassy expressing his wish to get rid of his own daughter.

The spies capture him and force Francesca to leave with them, leaving Wilby (human) bound and gagged in the closet. Moochie sneaks into the house after the Andrasses leave and discovers Wilby, as a dog, bound in the closet. Wilby reveals the secret to his father, who goes to the authorities, only to be accused of being either crazy or a spy himself.

Wilby steals Buzz’s car and pursues the spies. Mr. Daniels, Buzz and Moochie follow him and the police end up chasing everyone. The spies attempt to leave via boat, but Wilby (dog form) swims up and wrestles with the men, as Francesca gets knocked out of the boat. He then saves her life and drags her ashore, breaking the curse.

Mr. Daniels and Chiffon are declared heroes, Francesca leaves for Paris without her evil dad, who has been presumably arrested for espionage, and she gives Chiffon to the Daniels family for them to keep as thanks. Since Mr. Daniels has gotten such commendation for foiling a spy ring due to “his love of dogs”, he can no longer have his dog-hating attitude, and allows Moochie to care for Chiffon as he wanted a dog all along. Wilby and Buzz decide to forget their rivalry over Francesca and resume their friendship.

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Moby Dick

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and John Huston. The film starred Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab, Richard Basehart as Ishmael, Leo Genn as Starbuck, Friedrich Ledebur as Queequeg, and Orson Welles as Father Mapple.

The music score was written by Philip Sainton.

Production

During a meeting to discuss the screenplay, Ray Bradbury informed John Huston that regarding Melville’s novel, he had “never been able to read the damned thing”. According to the biography The Bradbury Chronicles, there was much tension and anger between the two men during the making of the film, allegedly due to Huston’s bullying attitude and attempts to tell Bradbury how to do his job, despite Bradbury being an accomplished writer. Bradbury’s novel Green Shadows, White Whale includes a fictionalized version of his writing the screenplay with John Huston in Ireland. Bradbury’s short story “Banshee” is another fictionalized account of what it was like to work with Huston on this film. In the television adaptation of the story for The Ray Bradbury Theater the Huston character was played by Peter O’Toole and the Bradbury surrogate by Charles Martin Smith.

The film was shot at Las Canteras beach, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. Some exterior scenes set in New Bedford were shot on location in Youghal, Ireland.

A myth that was put to rest in cinematographer Oswald Morris’ autobiography, “Huston, We Have A Problem,” is that no full length whale models were ever built for the production. Previous accounts have claimed that as many as three 60-foot rubber “white whales” were lost at sea during filming making them “navagational hazards.” According to Morris, the Pequod was followed by a barge with various whale parts (hump, back, fin, tail). These were used as needed; and, indeed, one twenty foot cylinder section did come loose from its tow-line and drifted away. Morris does not say if Gregory Peck was aboard the prop, but presumably the actor was as this has been corroborated by others involved in the production. 90% of the shots of the white whale are various size miniatures filmed in a water tank in Shepperton Studios in London. Whales and longboat models were built by special effects man, August Lohman, working in conjunction with art director Stephen Grimes. Studio shots also included a life-size Moby jaw and head – with working eyes. The head apparatus which could move like a rocking horse was employed when actors were in the water with the whale. Gregory Peck’s last speech is delivered in the studio while riding the white whale’s hump (a hole was drilled in the side of the whale so Peck could conceal his real leg).

Peck and Huston intended to shoot Herman Melville’s Typee in 1957, but the funding fell through. Not long after, the two had a falling out. According to one biography, Peck discovered to his disappointment, that he had not been Huston’s choice for Ahab; but in fact, Peck was thrust upon the director by the Mirisch brothers at Warner’s to secure financing. Peck felt Huston had deceived him into taking a part Peck felt he was ill-suited. Years later, the actor tried to patch up his differences with the director, but Huston rebuked him and the two never spoke to each other again.

As of 2008, Oswald Morris is the last surviving member of the film’s first unit.

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Lady and the Tramp

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney, and originally released to theaters on June 22, 1955 by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, it was the first animated feature filmed in the Cinemascope widescreen film process. The story pairs a female American Cocker Spaniel named Lady who lives with a prosperous, upper middle-class family, and a male stray mutt named Tramp.

Plot

One Christmas, Jim Dear gives his wife Darling a cocker spaniel puppy that they name Lady. Though initially determined that Lady would sleep in a basket in the kitchen like a proper “dog,” she ends up sleeping on the bed with the couple. When she is six months old, she receives a collar and license. Lady goes to show off her badge of “faith and respectability” to her canine friends Jock, a Scottish terrier and Trusty, a Bloodhound. Across town, a stray mutt, referred to as the Tramp by other characters, visits an Italian restaurant where he gets a large bone from the owner for his breakfast. He also spots his fellow strays Peg (a former Dog and Pony Showdog) Pekingese and Bull a Bulldog, locked up in a dog catcher‘s van and sets them free, leading the dogcatcher away in a decoy chase.

Later, Lady is saddened after Jim Dear refers to her as “THAT Dog”, and another occasion when Darling gently swats her for pulling on the yarn she was sewing with. When she tells Jock and Trusty about these events, and how Jim Dear is always asking about Darling’s “condition” they explain to her that Darling is pregnant and going to have a baby. While her friends try to explain, the Tramp wanders into the yard. He tells her that they are nothing but trouble and warn her that when the baby comes she’ll lose her comfortable place in their home. Jock and Trusty take a dislike to the stray and order him out of the yard, then try to reassure her that her humans would never be so cruel.

The baby boy arrives amidst much confusion. Curious, Lady creeps towards the nursery. Jim Dear spots her, but rather than ordering her away as she expected, he lets her in. Lady loves the baby as soon as she sees it, and assigns herself as its protector. Soon after the baby is born, Jim Dear and Darling decide to go on a trip together, leaving their Aunt Sarah to look after the baby and the house. She brings her two Siamese cats, Si and Am. While Aunt Sarah is looking at the baby, the two cats begin causing mischief. When they try to go upstairs to steal the baby’s milk, Lady barks at them and chases them, and the cats wreck the room in the process of being chased. Aunt Sarah comes down at all the noise and the two cats pretend to be hurt.

Blaming Lady for the trouble, Aunt Sarah takes her to a pet shop and has her muzzled. Terrified, Lady escapes from her arms and runs out into the streets. A pack of vicious street dogs chase her, but Tramp hears the barking and rescues her. Seeing the muzzle, he takes her to the zoo where they convince a beaver to remove the muzzle. With Lady free from the muzzle, the two dogs go around town and Tramp tells her about his life, and all the “homes” and names he has.

At dinnertime he takes her to his favorite Italian place, Tony’s, where Tony and Joe prepare the couple a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and serenade the couple. As they eat, the dogs inadvertently share a kiss. After dinner, they go for a walk through the park, lending up on a hill overlooking the town. In the morning, Tramps asks Lady to stay with him, but she feels she must watch over the baby so he agrees to take her home. On the way, he convinces her to stop to chase some chickens, but while they are escaping, the dogcatcher catches Lady. At the pound, Lady is teased a bit by the rougher strays for being high bred, but Peg (who has been caught again), has them lay off. The other dogs talk about Tramp’s many girlfriends, and how he is unwilling to ever settle down. They also predict that if he ever does, he’ll grow careless and likely be caught and put to sleep. The talk upsets Lady, but she is soon taken home. Aunt Sarah chains her to a doghouse in the back yard, much to her shame. Jock and Trusty visit to try to comfort her, and even propose marriage so she could move to one of their homes. Lady appreciates their gesture but gently turns them down.

Tramp tries to apologize for her being caught. When he calls her a “cute little trick” Lady furiously turns on him and questions him about all of his other girls. Refusing to see him, Tramp sadly leaves. Moments later, Lady sees a rat sneaking into the house. She barks frantically, but Aunt Sarah yells at her to be quiet. Tramp hears her and runs back to help. Following Lady’s directions, he gets into the house and finds the rat in the baby’s room and kills it. Lady, having broken her chain to follow him into the house, thanks him for his help. Aunt Sarah runs in, and seeing the overturned crib thinks Tramp attacked the baby. She pushes him into a closet and Lady into the basement then calls the pound to take Tramp away.

As the dogcatcher is taking him away, Jim Dear and Darling return home and Lady shows them the dead rat. Jock and Trusty, having overheard everything, chase after the dogcatcher van. Jock is convinced Trusty has long since lost his sense of smell, but the old bloodhound is able to find the wagon. They bark at the horses to make it stop, causing the wagon to fall. Jim Dear and Lady are not far behind and Lady is happily reunited with Tramp before they discover that the wagon fell on Trusty.

Christmas arrives and Tramp now has his own collar and license. She and Tramp have a litter of four puppies: three girls who look like Lady and a boy who looks like Tramp. Jock and Trusty come to see the family and Tramp’s new collar, with Trusty carefully walking on his injured leg.

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Animal Farm

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Animal Farm is a 1954 British animated feature based on the popular book by George Orwell. It was the first British animated feature released worldwide, but it was not the first British animated feature ever made (that honour goes to Handling Ships, an instructional film for the Admiralty made in 1945). It can, however, be said to be the first British animated feature film on general release.

Plot

The film generally follows the book closely, with the exception of the ending (see the section headed Epilogue).

Following the return of a drunken Mr. Jones to Manor Farm, the pig Old Major calls a meeting of all the animals. He tells them to revolt against Jones and to take control of the farm for themselves, calling for a life of equality and prosperity. Following his death that night, the two pigs Napoleon and Snowball assume command and the animals force Jones from the farm.

The revolutionaries destroy everything that reminds them of Jones and declare his house off-limits. Taking control, they rename the farm “Animal Farm”, painting the commandments on the side of a barn. The animals begin to work the farm for themselves, and the fields yield a successful crop. The pigs decide to spread the news of Animal Farm to other farms, encouraging their downtrodden kin to rise up against their masters. Snowball attempts to educate the animals and draws up plans for a windmill to generate electricity. Napoleon, backed by dogs that he has raised from puppies, drives Snowball from the farm (and most likely has him killed). He, along with his assistant Squealer, takes complete control of the farm, claims the windmill’s plans for himself, and orders the commencement of work on the windmill.

There is little food available to the other animals, but the pigs have plenty. Boxer the horse and his friend Benjamin the donkey work long hours helping to build the windmill, and later discover the pigs sleeping in beds in Jones’ house; the commandment against beds has been changed on the barn accordingly. The farm, under Napoleon’s leadership, begins to trade with the outside world, represented by Mr Whymper. Squealer tells the chickens that their eggs will be taken as trade goods, contradicting what they were told by Old Major. They attempt to revolt but are caught by the pigs. In a scene reminiscent of Stalin’s purges, the chickens (along with a sheep and a goose) confess their ‘crimes’ and are killed by the dogs. Their blood is used to edit one of the commandments.

The revolutionary song is forbidden by Napoleon, and trade continues. The other farmers become jealous of Whymper and attempt to seize Animal Farm. A battle ensues during which Boxer is shot in the leg, and from which the animals emerge triumphant. In the meantime, however Jones blows up the windmill. During the winter, the animals rebuild the windmill whilst the pigs languish in the farmhouse. Boxer’s health deteriorates until one night, when during a storm he collapses. A van, apparently an ambulance, arrives to take Boxer away, but turns out to be from Whymper’s glue factory. The pigs receive a case of whiskey in payment, and Squealer delivers a phony eulogy. The animals realise that the pigs have betrayed the revolution and used it for their own ends, but are subdued by the dogs.

Years afterwards, Napoleon’s schemes have proven so successful that other farms (or rather, their pig leaders) have joined his cause. During a meeting of the pigs, Benjamin the donkey discovers that they intend to suck the other animals completely dry with even more work and less food, and he stirs and leads a multi-farm revolution against Napoleon and his cohorts. The dogs are too drunk and tired to fight, making the revolt easier, and Napoleon and the other pig leaders perish with the other animals looking over their victory.

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Bedtime for Bonzo

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Bedtime for Bonzo is a 1951 comedy film directed by Fred de Cordova. It revolves around the attempts of the central character, Professor Peter Boyd (played by Ronald Reagan), to teach human morals to a chimpanzee, hoping to solve the “nature versus nurture” question. He hires a woman (played by Diana Lynn) to pose as the chimp’s mother while he plays father to it.

This movie is one of the most remembered of Reagan’s acting career although it was Reagan’s least favorite and he never saw the film.

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The Red Pony

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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In the coast range mountains on the western edge of the Salinas Valley is a ranch where Tom, a lad of about ten, longs for a pony. He lives with his mom, who was born there, her dad, a talkative pioneer who misses the old West, Tom’s dad Fred Tiflin, who comes from the city and after years on the ranch doesn’t feel at home there, and Billy, their trusted hand, a real cowboy. While Fred has to sort out whether he wants to stay a rancher and come to terms with his son being closer to Billy than to himself, Tom gets a pony and learns directly about responsibility and loss. What lessons can each learn, and are tragedy and hard choices all that life offers? Are laughter and joy anywhere?

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Mighty Joe Young

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Mighty Joe Young is an RKO Radio Pictures film made in 1949 by the same creative team responsible for King Kong.

Written by Merian C. Cooper (who provided the story) and Ruth Rose (screenplay), and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, it tells the story of a young woman, ‘Jill Young’, played by Terry Moore, living on her father’s farm in Africa, who ends up bringing the title character — a giant ape — to Hollywood. The movie co-stars Ben Johnson, as ‘Gregg’, in his first major role.

Willis O’Brien, who created the animation for King Kong, was the supervisor of special effects on this film, although by some accounts the majority of the animation was performed by Ray Harryhausen. The models (constructed by Kong’s builder Marcel Delgado) and animation are more sophisticated than Kong’s, containing more subtle gestures and even some comedic elements, such as one chase scene where Joe is riding in the back of a speeding truck and he spits at his pursuers. Despite this increased technical sophistication, this film, like Kong, features some serious scale issues, with Joe noticeably changing size between many shots. (The title character is not supposed to be as large as Kong – perhaps 10-12 feet tall.) Harryhausen has attributed these lapses to producer Cooper, who insisted Joe appear larger in some scenes for dramatic effect.

The film has become a minor classic, and has an affectionate following. Special effects artists consider it highly influential, with the elaborate orphanage rescue sequence lauded as one of the great stop-motion sequences in film history. It was remade in 1998 with Charlize Theron playing ‘Jill Young’. Another remake that takes place around 1949 is in talks.

Plot

After being taken from his home in Africa, Joe is an instant hit in the Hollywood nightclub “The Golden Safari” (on opening night he wins a tug-of-war with ten real-life strong men, including ex-boxer Primo Carnera, whom he throws into the audience), but the novelty wears off and he is tired and homesick after seventeen weeks of performing. An ill-conceived skit with Jill as an organ-grinder leaves Joe (and Jill) storming off-stage, and, to make matters worse, three drunks sneak backstage and ply Joe with liquor. He wrecks the place, and a court orders him shot.

Jill, Gregg, and O’Hara cook up a plan to get Joe out of the country–but on the way to a ship, they stop to rescue kids from a burning orphanage, and Joe redeems himself.

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The Yearling

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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The Yearling is a 1946 family film drama made by MGM. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Paul Osborn and John Lee Mahin (uncredited), adapted from the novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It tells the story of a boy who adopts a fawn as a pet and stars Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr., Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker.

The Yearling won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color and Best Cinematography, Color and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gregory Peck), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jane Wyman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. Jarman Jr., who gets the most screen time, was awarded a special “Juvenile Oscar”.

The film was remade as a television movie by CBS in 1994 starring Peter Strauss, Jean Smart and Wil Horneff as Penny, Ory and Jody Baxter respectively.

Plot

The Yearling is a timeless Pulitzer Prize winning story with earthy dialect about the Baxter family set in the south in the middle of a slew of southern escapades. The Baxter son, Jody Baxter, asks for something more than their comfortable home, a pet, in fact a fawn named Flag.

Penny Baxter, a rebel soldier, (Gregory Peck) and his wife, Ory (Jane Wyman), become pioneer farmers in Florida after the American Civil War. Jody Baxter (Claude Jarman Jr.), a boy in his pre-teen years, is their only surviving child. Jody has a wonderful relationship with his warm and loving pa. Ory, however, is still haunted by the deaths of the three other children of the family; she is very somber and hard-hearted and is (strangely) afraid that Jody will end up dying if she shows her parental love to him. Jody finds her somewhat unloving and unreasonable.

With all of his siblings dead and buried, Jody longs for a pet to play with and take care of. Penny is sympathetic and understanding, but Ory is rather disgusted. One day, when a rattler bites Penny, they kill a doe and use its organs to draw out the poison. Jody asks to adopt the doe’s orphaned fawn; Penny permits it but warns Jody that the fawn will have to be set free when it grows up.

Jody goes to ask his frail friend Fodderwing to name the fawn only to find he has recently died. However Fodderwing’s father says he always said that if he had a Fawn he would name him Flag, for the critter’s waving white tail.

Soon, he and Flag are inseparable. One year later, Flag grows up and becomes a total nuisance to the household and farm; it eats newly-grown corn, destroys fences, and tramples on tobacco crops. Penny orders Jody to take the deer out into the woods and shoot it to death. Jody takes the deer out, but does not have the courage to kill it; he orders the deer to go away and never return instead. But Flag comes back to their property. Finally, Ory (who Jody believes had always hated his pet) takes the gun and shoots it but only wounds the deer. Penny orders Jody to put the deer out of its misery. Rather than let his pet deer be in agonizing pain, he follows his father’s orders.

The loss of Jody’s beloved pet deer proves too much for him to handle; overwhelmed with anger and despair, he runs away from home. Three days later, he is rescued by a friendly boat captain and returns home. He and Penny quickly make up, and Penny tells him that Ory had been out searching for him. Just before Jody goes to bed, Ory returns and sees that he is back. She becomes filled with happiness and emotion, knowing that her huge fear of losing her last child is now over. She happily runs into Jody’s room and showers him with more affection than she ever gave him. She is no longer afraid to show her parental love to him.

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Courage of Lassie

Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Courage of Lassie is a 1946 MGM feature film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal in a story about a collie named Bill and his young companion, Kathie Merrick. When Bill is separated from Kathie following a vehicular accident, he is trained as a war dog, performs heroically, and, after many tribulations, is eventually reunited with his beloved Kathie. Though the film is called Courage of Lassie, Eric Knight’s fictional canine character Lassie does not appear in the film.

Courage of Lassie is the third of seven MGM films featuring a canine star called Lassie, who, in actuality, was a male collie named Pal. Using the stage name Lassie, Pal appeared as the titular character in the first film, Lassie Come Home and as Laddie in its sequel, Son of Lassie. Courage of Lassie has been released to VHS and DVD.

Plot

A collie pup is separated from his mother and grows to young adulthood in the forest. After being swept away in a torrent and then shot by a young hunter, he is found by Kathie Merrick (Elizabeth Taylor) and carried to her home. With the help of a kindly shepherd, Mr. MacBain (Frank Morgan), she tends him back to health, names him Bill, and teaches him to herd sheep.

One day, unknown to Kathie, Bill is hit by a truck and taken to an animal hospital. Kathie risks her life futilely searching for him on the island where they first met. Bill remains unclaimed in the hospital for two months and is sent to a War Dog Training Center. After training, he is shipped out with the troops. Duke performs heroically on the battlefield, but the stress and a wound cause him to become aggressive. Sent back to the War Dog Training Center to recover, he escapes, attacking livestock and threatening people as his finds his way to back to Kathie.

Merrick neighbors insist he be put down because of his attacks and Bill is impounded. A hearing is held and Mr. MacBain acts as Bill’s lawyer. He discovers an Army tattoo in Bill’s ear; a quick investigation reveals Bill is a war hero. All then realize that the dog who served on the battlefield was not himself after his war experiences and he will need time to adjust to civilian life. Bill is freed and joyfully reunited with Kathie.

Behind the scenes

The movie was shot on location in Railroad Creek by Lake Chelan near Holden.

Courage of Lassie was fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor’s second “Lassie” film as she had appeared in Lassie Come Home in the minor role of the Duke of Rudling’s granddaugter, Priscilla. Taylor received the first top billing of her career with Courage of Lassie. George Cleveland, the “Old Man” in the opening scenes of Courage of Lassie would become the star of the 1954 television series Lassie.

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