Challenge to Lassie is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama directed by
Richard ThorpeRichard Thorpe was an American film director.Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and on the theatre stage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more...
and released October 31 1949 by
MGM StudiosMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B...
. It was the fifth feature film starring the original Lassie, a collie named
PalPal was a male Rough Collie and the first in a line of such dogs to portray the fictional female collie Lassie in film and television. Pal was born in California in 1940 and eventually brought to the notice of Rudd Weatherwax, a Hollywood animal trainer. In 1943, the dog was chosen to play Lassie...
and the fourth, and final, Lassie film that
Donald CrispDonald George Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
would star in.
The movie is based on
Eleanor Stackhouse AtkinsonEleanor Stackhouse Atkinson was an American author, journalist and teacher.She was born Eleanor Stackhouse in Rensselaer, Indiana, and later married Francis Blake Atkinson, himself also an author. She taught in schools in both Indianapolis and Chicago...
's book
Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in the 19th-century in Edinburgh and Scotland after reportedly spending fourteen years guarding his owner's grave, until his own death on 14th January 1872....
which in turn is based on a true story. Twelve years after starring in
Challenge to Lassie, Crisp would star in another movie based on the novel,
Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a DogGreyfriars Bobby is a Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith in a story about two Scottish men who compete for the affection of a Skye Terrier named Bobby...
.
Set in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1860, the film tells the story of a
rough collieThe Rough Collie is a breed of dog developed originally for herding in Scotland. It is also well known because of the works of author Albert Payson Terhune, and was popularized in later generations by the Lassie novel, movies, and television shows...
named
LassieLassie is a fictional collie dog character and a stage name for several dog actors. The fictional character was created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a talented dog...
whose master, Jock Gray, is killed by robbers in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
.
Challenge to Lassie is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama directed by
Richard ThorpeRichard Thorpe was an American film director.Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and on the theatre stage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more...
and released October 31 1949 by
MGM StudiosMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B...
. It was the fifth feature film starring the original Lassie, a collie named
PalPal was a male Rough Collie and the first in a line of such dogs to portray the fictional female collie Lassie in film and television. Pal was born in California in 1940 and eventually brought to the notice of Rudd Weatherwax, a Hollywood animal trainer. In 1943, the dog was chosen to play Lassie...
and the fourth, and final, Lassie film that
Donald CrispDonald George Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
would star in.
The movie is based on
Eleanor Stackhouse AtkinsonEleanor Stackhouse Atkinson was an American author, journalist and teacher.She was born Eleanor Stackhouse in Rensselaer, Indiana, and later married Francis Blake Atkinson, himself also an author. She taught in schools in both Indianapolis and Chicago...
's book
Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in the 19th-century in Edinburgh and Scotland after reportedly spending fourteen years guarding his owner's grave, until his own death on 14th January 1872....
which in turn is based on a true story. Twelve years after starring in
Challenge to Lassie, Crisp would star in another movie based on the novel,
Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a DogGreyfriars Bobby is a Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith in a story about two Scottish men who compete for the affection of a Skye Terrier named Bobby...
.
Set in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1860, the film tells the story of a
rough collieThe Rough Collie is a breed of dog developed originally for herding in Scotland. It is also well known because of the works of author Albert Payson Terhune, and was popularized in later generations by the Lassie novel, movies, and television shows...
named
LassieLassie is a fictional collie dog character and a stage name for several dog actors. The fictional character was created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a talented dog...
whose master, Jock Gray, is killed by robbers in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
. After his death, the dog keeps a constant vigil beside her master's grave in
Greyfriars KirkyardGreyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is in the hands of a separate trust from the church. For many people, the graveyard is associated primarily with Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal dog who guarded his master's grave...
, which is in violation of the local dog laws. In the original novel, the title dog was a
Skye TerrierThe Skye Terrier is a breed of dog that is a long, low terrier that is hardy.-Coat:The Skye is double coated, with a short, soft undercoat and a hard, straight topcoat, which must be flat against the body and free of curl. The ideal coat length is 5 1/2 inches , with no extra credit for a longer coat...
named Bobby and his owner dies from
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
.
Plot
Jock Gray raises his collie Lassie to be an extraordinary sheep dog and companion. When he is beaten to death by robbers after he retires, Lassie keeps vigil over his grave and refuses to let anyone else take ownership of her. However, the law requires that all dogs be leashed and licensed by a legal owner. With no owner to pay her license and her only "home" being the church graveyard, Lassie faces an uncertain future.
Her late owner's friend John Traill, his law student son, and the keepers of the graveyard struggle to keep Lassie hidden from the zealous police Sergeant Davie and the town
magistrateA magistrate is a judicial officer; in ancient Rome, the word magistratus denoted one of the highest government officers with judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a magistrate has limited law enforcement and administration authority...
. Matters are brought to a head when they must go to court to plead for the dog's life before the
Lord Provost.
Cast
- Donald Crisp
Donald George Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
as Jock Gray
- Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn was an Academy Award-winning English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund Kellaway in Wandsworth, London, , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in theatre in 1895...
as John Traill
- Geraldine Brooks
Geraldine Brooks was an American actress whose three-decade career on stage as well as in films and on television was noted with nominations for an Emmy in 1962 and a Tony in 1970....
as Susan Brown
- Reginald Owen
Reginald Owen, or John Reginald Owen, was a British character actor known for playing in many film roles in British and American movies and later in television programs...
as Sergeant Davie
- Alan Webb
Alan Webb was an English stage and film actor.-Biography:In 1936, Webb starred in Noel Coward's Tonight at 8:30. He also directed Coward's Peace In Our Time...
as James Brown
- Ross Ford as William Traill
- Henry Stephenson
Henry Stephenson , sometimes credited as Harry Stephenson, was a British character actor....
as Sir Charles Loring
- Alan Napier
Alan William Napier-Clavering was an English character actor. He is best known for playing Alfred in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
as The Lord Provost
- Sara Allgood
Sara Allgood was an Irish actress.-Biography:Allgood was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her sister was actress Maire O'Neill....
as Mrs MacFarland
- Edmund Breon
Edmund Breon was a Scottish film actor. He appeared in 131 films between 1907 and 1952.He was born in Hamilton, Scotland and died in Scotland.-Selected filmography:*Fantômas *Barrabas...
as Magistrate
- Arthur Shields
Arthur Shields was an Irish stage and film actor.Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, he started acting in the Abbey Theatre when still a young man. He was also an Irish Nationalist and fought in the Easter Uprising of 1916...
as Doctor Lee
- Lumsden Hare
Lumsden Hare was an actor who appeared in a large number of stage productions, many on Broadway, and films...
as Mr MacFarland
- Charles Irwin as Sergeant Major
- Lassie
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character and a stage name for several dog actors. The fictional character was created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a talented dog...
as Lassie
Availability
Challenge to Lassie was released to
VHSVideo Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, was a video tape recording standard developed during the 1970s. It was released to the public during the latter half of the decade. During the late part of the 1970s and the early 1980s it formed one-half of the VHS vs Betamax war, which it...
on July 15 1997 as part of the Lassie Collection series. It featured Geraldine Brooks on the cover with Lassie and was in a
clamshellThe flip or clamshell is an electronics form factor which is in two or more sections that fold via a hinge.When the clamshell is open, the device is ready for use. The interface components are kept inside the clamshell, which offers more surface area than when the device is closed...
case. A second VHS version was released on September 1 1998 featuring Donald Crisp and Lassie on the cover and in a standard slipcover case. Both versions are now out of print and no
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
version has been released, however it airs regularly on
Turner Classic Movies-Arts and sciences:* Theory of Condensed Matter group, a theoretical physics research group in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge* Tianjin Conservatory of Music...
.