In the beautiful hills of Scotland, Lassie is a good-for-nothing collie. Afraid of water, the dog lets sheep drown. So, owner Rhys Williams (as Milton) trades her in, to lovable old doctor Edmund Gwenn (as William MacLure). Mr. Williams' son Tom Drake (as Tammas Milton) is studying doctoring with Mr. Gwenn, but his father wants him to be a farmer. Mr. Drake is courting pretty young Janet Leigh (as Margit Mitchell).
A colorful MGM gloss makes "Hills of Home" pleasant viewing, at times. The movie winds up far less carefully made than the initial scenic images suggest, however. It's nice to see Donald Crisp return to Lassie's supporting cast; his scenes with Gwenn provide some Scottish accented fun. Lassie veteran Tom Drake and starlet Janet Leigh are nice, but the lack of a child co-star hurts the story. Lassie's crossing of a river's broken bridge, to save her master, it a film highlight; though, it's difficult to accept Lassie was ever afraid of water.
**** Hills of Home (11/25/48) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Tom Drake, Lassie
A colorful MGM gloss makes "Hills of Home" pleasant viewing, at times. The movie winds up far less carefully made than the initial scenic images suggest, however. It's nice to see Donald Crisp return to Lassie's supporting cast; his scenes with Gwenn provide some Scottish accented fun. Lassie veteran Tom Drake and starlet Janet Leigh are nice, but the lack of a child co-star hurts the story. Lassie's crossing of a river's broken bridge, to save her master, it a film highlight; though, it's difficult to accept Lassie was ever afraid of water.
**** Hills of Home (11/25/48) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Tom Drake, Lassie