Don't listen to the negative reviews

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Beautiful Elizabeth Taylor. Darling Roddy MacDowall. Magnificent Lassie. Warm Edmund Gwenn. Loot his dog, or whatever his name, so small, sweet and brave. The bad guys were villainous scoundrels. Lassie and Loot really showed them what for. Donald Crisp fathers in several movies I have seen. Lassie or stunt dog magnificent swimming through that swamp and down that river. Lassie so smart. Knew when it was four o'clock every day. Lassie finding the way home after so long was totally amazing. Reminding me of my own darling canine who was the most loving and loyal of all. Brought tears. Lassie puppies at end so cute. Elizabeth and Roddy on bicycles so wonderful a final scene.

I feel compelled to rebut the curmudgeon who 'couldn't stand this movie'. First off, what a cast!..... eight of the greatest film stars and character actors who were ever on the screen, including 11 year old Elizabeth Taylor and 15 year old Roddy McDowall. You will never see child actors this talented in any film made today.Obviously, the writer is no animal lover. The complaint about Lassie continually whining is a whine in itself. Yes, the whining was meant to pull at the heartstrings. This movie was made in 1943, part of the greatest era in motion picture history. They knew how to tell stories back then, and 'this' story is about a dog trying to find its way home. The entire 'premise' of the film is a heart tugger!And one more point; no animal character dies in this film, unlike in 'Bambi' and some other Walt Disney films that scare very young children to death.This is one of MGM's best family films, a wonderful, heartwarming adventure story that anyone who loves dogs will enjoy again and again.

After AOL pulled my (and a bajillion others) website on hometown-aol, I have finally re-created another in honor of my grandfather, Maj. Eric M. Knight. Please visit this informative web site: http://www.lassiecomehome.info This has been an exciting year for me as I traveled to Suriname just one year ago and trekked through the swamps to the exact crash site. I have posted pictures you may like to see. I was invited by a well-known Surinamese film maker who is making a documentary on Suriname in World War Two. A Dutch colony at the time of the plane crash in which my grandfather's life was tragically cut short in 1943, the people of Dutch Guiana naturally supported the Allies' attempts to free Europe from the Nazi threat. This was also why Knight, who had fought for the Canadians in World War One, re-enlisted in the US Army.Today, the Surinamese are an intelligent and friendly group of people who were terrific hosts to me.Thanks, Betsy

Lassie makes a remarkable screen debut. Under the guidance of trainer Rudd Weatherwax, the dog will become one of the most popular and enduring animal "stars" ever. It's easy to see why, in "Lassie Come Home". The collie, and its descendants, performed this basic role for some decades to come.When the story begins, Lassie must be sold, by the poor Carracloughs: father Donald Crisp, mother Elsa Lancaster, and their boy Roddy McDowall. Mr. Crisp loses his job, and can't afford to keep the pet. Though Lassie is sold, his real emotional "owner" is the boy Joe, played by Mr. McDowall. McDowall's performance is terrific, and the others are no less than competent. The MGM color cinematography is gorgeous, and the story understandably sentimental. Interestingly, Elizabeth Taylor appears in her second film role; she will become Lassie's owner for the third series film, "Courage of Lassie" (1946). If "Lassie, Come Home" doesn't raise some emotion, you may not be human. ********* Lassie Come Home (1943) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Elizabeth Taylor, May Witty