Hindsight

Classic Kids, or 100 films the kids in your life have to see by 13 or else!

Day 26:  Lassie Come Home (1943)

Synopsis: Joe's parents,  hard up for money,  have to sell Lassie to a wealthy Man in town.  The man ends up taking the dog to Scotland, hundreds of miles away, but lassie escapes and heads off for a long trek to her Yorkshire home and Joe who loves her.

Starring Roddy McDowall as Joe,  and Elizabeth Taylor as the little girl.  These two are so sweet together, it is not a surprise that off the screen they became friends, and remained so the rest of their lives.  Although Roddy is adorable, Taylor is so beautiful as a child it is actually mind-boggling.   

Trivia:  This is the first of seven Lassie films made throughout the 1940s. 

The film was shot in and around Monteray.

Themes:  Pets, Companionship, Courage, Persistence, Love

Media literacy questions for kids:  How did MGM make the film look as if it were shot in Yorkshire and Scotland?  What were the ostacles Lassie faced on her journey home?  Do you think a pet would really travel all of that distance to be back with her owner? Why were the Lassie films so popular during WWII?