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| Elizabeth Taylor as Priscilla in "Lassie Come Home" (image from JSR Pages) |
REVIEW:
Elizabeth Taylor makes her debut at the Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios at the age of 10 in "Lassie Come Home". It was her second film during her long movie career. The first film was called "There's One Born Every Minute" and it had been produced by the Universal Studios in 1942. Elizabeth Taylor's contract with MGM would last for 18 years, until she made the film that earned her a first Oscar in 1960 for "BUtterfield 8".
The tiny little English girl was "discovered" by the film producer Sam Marx when she was bringing some sandwiches to her father, Francis L. Taylor. Her father and Sam Marx were civilian patrols in Los Angeles during the WWII. Sam Marx was looking for a girl with an English accent and with a stature no bigger than Roddy McDowall's (who was then 14 years old), for the part of Priscilla. The surreal beauty of the little Taylor and her natural acting ability impressed the producer, who offered her the part. McDowall and Taylor would again be distributed together in "The White Cliffs of Dover" in 1944. The two became lifetime friends and - at the peak of her fame - Taylor would expressly require the producers to hire Roddy McDowall to play the part of Octavian in "Cleopatra". "Lassie Come Home" is the kind of movie that is accessible to anyone between 5 and 95 years old...Such beautiful family films are rarely produced nowadays.
FILM TITLE
"LASSIE COME HOME" (USA/MGM/1943)
PROMO
"This low-budget film was not intended to be a hit. Nobody guessed that the story of a child and his dog would get such a huge success!" (The Motion Picture Guide)
"A Thrilling Saga Of Courage And Loyalty!" (MGM)
OVERVIEW
The film is set in Yorkshire (England), during the First World War. Joe's parents (Donald Crisp and Elsa Lanchester) are forced by the economic situation of the family to sell the dog that Joe (Roddy McDowall) is attached more and more of (Lassie). Although the Duke of Rudling (Nigel Bruce), the new owner of the dog, is a very nice man, Lassie escapes and prefers to come back to Joe on several occasions. The Duke goes to Scotland and takes Lassie with him, at hundreds of miles away from Yorkshire. Lassie still does not want to stay, even when the Duke's niece Priscilla (Elizabeth Taylor) takes care of her. Eventualy, Priscilla helps Lassie to escape. The trip back to Yorkshire is long and full of dangers and Lassie must rely on the kindness of the strangers to get back to Joe. The faithful Lassie will have to face a storm, dog thieves and dangerous criminals. When it seemed that Joe had lost all hope to ever see Lassie again, one day, coming home from school, he finds Lassie waiting for him, at 4 sharp in the afternoon, as she had always had done. The Duke of Rudling and Priscilla will let Lassie stay with Joe, impressed by her loyalty.
CAST
Roddy McDowall (Joe Carraclough), Donald Crisp (Sam Carraclough), Dame May Whitty (Dally) Edmund Gwenn (Rowlie), Nigel Bruce (Duke of Rudling), Elsa Lanchester (Mrs. Carraclough), Elizabeth Taylor (Priscilla, the Duke's niece).
DIRECTED BY
Fred M. Wilcox.
SCREENPLAY
Hugo Butler, from the novel by Eric Knight.
PRODUCED BY
Samuel Marx
COLOR FILM
Technicolor.
DURATION
89 minutes.
GENRE
drama, family, kids.
PRODUCTION DATES
between September 1942 - October 1942.
RELEASED
December 1943.
NOMINATED to
- Oscar for the best cinematography (Leonard Smith).
TRIVIA
- the number of Collie breed dogs increased from 3,000 to 18,400 in the U.S. alone after the premiere of this film;
- the dog Pal, who portrayed Lassie, was paid $250 a week, while Elizabeth Taylor (who would become the highest paid actress in the world) has received only $100 per week (some $700 at present value);
- Elizabeth Taylor was never tested for the part in this movie;
- Roddy McDowall (who plays Joe) became the life-long friend of Elizabeth Taylor;
- dozens of movies and TV series about Lassie followed, including another one with...Elizabeth Taylor: "The Courage Of Lassie"!
Watch TRAILER here.
