weezeralfalfa Edmund Gwenn deserved an academy award for his dominating performance as the doctor for a small Scottish highland hamlet. Just the year before, he won the award for best supporting actor, for his portrayal of Kris Kringle, in "Miracle on 34th Street". This time, he was the lead actor.......So far, about 2/3 of the reviewers say they loved the film, while1/3 found it lacked appeal. Count me in the former group! I rate it as good as the first in the series of MGM films about Lassie; "Lassie Come Home". Think of this as being primarily a film about Dr. MacLure, with Lassie(Pal) the supporting actor, and maybe you will be more satisfied with it. Although it sure looks like the Scottish Highlands, amazingly, it was filmed at the MGM studios, or at Sonora Pass, in the Sierras.......Initially, Lassie was labeled useless as a sheepdog or traveling companion because she had a bizarre aversion to getting her feet wet, let along swimming. Several sheep drowned under her watch. The doctor tried to solve this problem by laying steppingstones part way across a shallow stream, and hopefully she would be brave and walk in the water the rest of the way. But, instead, Lassie jumped on the doctor's chest, knocking him into the water. I laughed out loud! Eventually, Lassie got used to being in water, and even swimming across a raging river in several scenes. This segment, was not realistic, however. The dog certainly would have been swept downstream a good ways while crossing. The same applies to the 2 men who were following Lassie(their crossing was not shown). Also, how could these 2 carry the unconscious Dr. MacLure across this raging river, when the bridge had been washed out?? In another incident, Lassie rendered a service to the doctor during a raging snowstorm, on a partially washed out bridge. His medical kit was tied onto her back, while she tightroped cross the missing part on the still intact narrow side beam, nearly slipping off several times........Tom Drake plays Tammas Milton, who is an informal understudy of the doctor, before he goes to medical school. Janet Leigh, with a thin Scottish accent, plays his girlfriend. Donald Crisp plays a friend, and various others play the families of the people the doctor tends to......This lush Technicolor film is currently available in an economical 4 pack of MGM Lassie films. including "Lassie Come Home".

preppy-3 I love Lassie but this film is for the dogs (sorry). It takes place in a small Scottish village. Its doctor (Edmund Gwenn) buys Lassie from its owner. The problem is Lassie is afraid of water. The doctor realizes this and tries to help her. Tom Drake and Janet Leigh play the obligatory young couple in love. Lassie is great, the movie is shot in rich Technicolor and has beautiful settings--but that's about it. It's slow-moving, kind of confusing and has unlikable characters. The Scottish accents come and go at random and the acting is terrible. Gwenn looks miserable, Leigh is miscast and Drake is a total blank. This only gets a 4 for Lassie. She's just terrific!

calvinnme This is a wonderful family film, but if you are expecting the emphasis to be on Lassie and her adventures, then you will likely be somewhat disappointed. Instead, the emphasis is on Dr. William MacLure (Edmund Gwenn), the elderly physician to a rural Scottish area in the 19th century. Donald Crisp plays Drumsheugh, MacClure's closest friend and a good adviser. These two actors, along with Tom Drake, who plays MacClures's assistant, were in several Lassie films during the 1940's playing different roles each time.MacClure is one of those doctors from a bygone era that makes house calls in the middle of the night and accepts payment in goods as well as money. At one point in the film, he is sitting at a table in a restaurant having tea as patient after patient comes up to him and practically forces payment upon him. MacClure loves his work, and payment is a secondary issue with him. One person, though, decides to cheat MacClure and gives him Lassie as payment, with MacClure believing that she is a sheep dog. MacClure figures she will be a good companion and messenger dog, so it doesn't matter so much that she turns out not to be a sheep dog. However, it does matter that she is afraid of water since the glen in which they live has heavy snow and rain at times, and crossing streams when getting to patients is a necessity. At first MacClure, angry at being deceived, decides to give Lassie away. However, he changes his mind and decides to teach the dog not to be afraid of water. This doesn't work out so well, as Lassie is willing to do just about anything short of swimming. MacClure gives up on this effort, but still he keeps Lassie. In spite of his complaints about her usefulness as a working dog, she is becoming a pet to him. This is something MacClure is not about to admit since his whole life has been about service to others. He has always denied himself anything he deems as a luxury, and this would certainly include having an animal whose only purpose is companionship.The rest of the film is about the good doctor facing the various medical crises that impact the residents of the glen. During this time, dog and master bond and become fast friends. MacClure is aware that his days as a doctor are coming to an end, and thus he has picked a young man of the village (Tom Drake) to travel to Edinburgh to study medicine and become his replacement upon graduation. Towards the end of the young man's time at medical school, MacClure is called out one snowy winter night on one of his house calls. He is knocked unconscious and will freeze to death in the snow unless Lassie is able to overcome her fear of the water and swim across the stream to bring help to the doctor.This is going to be one of those films you either love or hate. If you are ever in the mood for an old-fashioned rather slow-moving story that will really tug at your heartstrings, this movie really fits the bill.

wes-connors 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