weezeralfalfa Shot when the 3rd Reich was on it's knees. the scripted locations are in Yorkshire, England and coastal occupied Norway, mostly shot in several Canadian locations, most noticeably in Banff National Park, as backdrops for many of the Norwegian scenes. It's the first of 6 MGM sequels to the first in the series: "Lassie Come Home". We have several personnel changes among the stars. Thus, Peter Lawford takes the place of Roddy McDowell, as Joe , while June Lockhart takes the place of Elizabeth Taylor, as Joe's girlfriend: Pricilla .. Both are young adults, whereas Roddy and Elizabeth were children or mid-teens. Donald Crisp returns as Joe's father: Sam, while Nigel Bruce returns as the Duke of Radling, although his estate has been relocated from the Scottish highlands to Yorkshire.......The film begins with puppy capers, as Lassie's young puppy, Laddie, generally makes a mess of things, including chewing up the Duke's flower bed. We go through a phase of genuine slapstick, with little Laddie causing several people or things to fall to the ground, making off with some laundry. The kids should like that. ......But, then things turn more serious, as an older Laddie tries out being a War Dog. True to expectations, he funks the tests badly. Nonetheless, he's given a collar saying War Dog? He gets involved with the nearby airbase, following Joe's bus all the 40 miles, Jumping on or in planes Joe is in, chasing his airplane taking off, and even being a stowaway on a reconnaissance mission to coastal Norway. Of course, their plane is shot down, necessitating a parachute exit. Lassie lands with no problem, but Joe's still attached parachute drags him, until his head hit's a boulder, knocking him out. Laddie goes looking for help, finding a couple of German soldiers. They read War Dog on his collar, but fortunately Joe has recovered and left by then. Laddie runs away, being shot at. The soldiers look for him and Joe, who remain separated. At one point, Laddie discovers the cabin where Joe and his friend Brown are hiding out. Brown is there, and locks Laddie in a closet when he sees a couple of German soldiers coming. The soldiers figure out that Brown is a spy, and shoot him, being unaware of Laddie. Before leaving, they throw a bomb in the cabin, destroying it. However, Laddie survives, under some rubble, which he manages to push out of the way enough to allow escape. The film continues with Laddie's and Joe's adventures in Norway, mostly separate, but reunited near the end, when they take a fishing boat back to England. To me, it's at least as entertaining as "Lassie Come Home", so I give it a high mark. It's on a DVD. Chose the economical 4 MGM Lassie film package.

AaronCapenBanner S. Sylvan Simon directed this sequel to "Lassie Come Home", set several years later, with Lassie's son being a trained war dog who assists a grown-up Joe(now played by Peter Lawford) while he is behind enemy lines in Norway during WWII, where he is now a soldier who must flee the Nazis in his bid for freedom. June Lockhart takes over the role of Priscilla from Elizabeth Taylor, who here is romantically involved with Joe, praying for his safe return. Donald Crisp returns as his father Sam, and Nigel Bruce also returns as the Duke of Rudling. Entertaining continuation of the first film pretty much gets it right with an interesting wartime setting, though it's a pity the time-frame didn't allow the return of original actors Roddy McDowall & Elizabeth Taylor, though Lawford & Lockhart do just fine.

wes-connors The first of many sequels to the classic 1943 Lassie movie finds original dog owner Joe Carraclough suffering from accelerated growth; in two years, he has grown about ten years - from boy Roddy McDowall to man Peter Lawford! Little Pricilla has experiences a similar growth spurt - from girl Elizabeth Taylor to woman June Lockhart (who would re-encounter Lassie a decade later, as young Timmy's mother). Donald Crisp as father Sam has holds up well, considering. Meanwhile, in dog years, Lassie has a son, Laddie. Presumably, "Pal" plays Mama "Lassie" and Son "Laddie" - but, it's possible an actual "Son of Lassie" is used in the film."Son of Lassie" is, understandably, not as good as the first Lassie film. The photography is absolutely beautiful, though; and, Pal/Lassie's performance is excellent - in fact, one could argue that the dog creates two separate characterizations (the Son a little less wise). Lawford in endearing as Joe. The World War II storyline is flawed, but inevitable, considering the time of release. The multiplication of Lassies was unnecessary, since it had been less than two years since the first Lassie. Still, it's a very well-photographed Lassie, with a rousing conclusion. ****** Son of Lassie (4/20/45) S. Sylvan Simon ~ Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart

Neil Doyle Breathtakingly beautiful location photography (Banff National Park, Canada) provides a colorful background for a war story involving Lassie, Peter Lawford, June Lockhart, Donald Crisp, Leon Ames, William Severn and an early performance by Terry Moore when she was a child actress. Dealing with the warm relationship between Joe (Peter Lawford) and his war-trained pup, it has moments of high suspense, humor and classic Lassie challenges as the dog attempts to become reunited with his master. Not as overtly sentimental as "Lassie Come Home", it scores on its own as one of the best in the string of Lassie films MGM made following the success of the first one.The war scenes are well handled with much of the action having a realistic look, as does the German village, with everyone contributing their own well acted moments to an intriguing film. Little William Severn is appealing as the boy who discovers the wounded dog and must protect it from the German soldiers. June Lockhart is refreshingly natural as Lawford's sweetheart and there are the usual pleasant performances from Donald Crisp and Nigel Bruce. Lawford and Lassie have some strenuous stunts to perform in the rapids as they escape. Definitely a Lassie film worth watching.