| WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE: TITLES: | TCM Greatest Classic Films: Lassie February 1st Warner Retail $27.92, Our: $17.99 Lassie Come Home (1943), Son of Lassie (1945), Courage of Lassie (1946), Hills of Home (1948) |   |
In an unusual departure from its practice in their TCM's Greatest Classic Films line, Warner is including a new-to-DVD title, Hills of Home (1948), in its just announced TCM Greatest Classic Films: Lassie set.
The fourth entry in the Lassie film series, Hills of Home stars Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Tom Drake and Janet Leigh.
It will be a 2-disc set and will street on February 1st. All the bonus features from the previous three releases will carry over, plus two new ones:
- Vintage Short Fala at Hyde Park
- Classic Cartoon Puttin’ on the Dog
Retail will be $27.92, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only $17.99.
SYNOPSIS:
DISC 1:
Lassie Come Home (1943, 89 min.)
Is there a better god in all of Yorkshire? Every day, Lassie waits for Joe (Roddy McDowall) outside school. One day she isn't there and Joe learns terrible news: Lassie's been sold by his impoverished family.
This first Lassie screen adventure is a triumph whose appeal will endure as a long as there's a child, a dog and the special bond only they can form. Donald Crisp, Dame May Witty, Edmund Gwenn, Nigel Bruce and Elsa Lanchester form a splendid supporting cast. And 11-year-old Elizabeth Taylor (in her first MGM film) plays Priscilla, who understands Lassie more than adults do and helps her escape kennel captivity. Braving storms, hunger an peril, Lassie comes home. Better dog in all Yorkshire? How about best dog in the world? Joe Carraclough has grown into adulthood as a World War II RAF airman. And Lassie's son Laddie is so devoted to him that he secretly stows away on the plane when Joe leaves on a bombing run.
Son of Lassie (1945, 100 min.)
Joe Carraclough has grown into adulthood as a World War II RAF airman. And Lassie's son Laddie is so devoted to him that he secretly stows away on the plane when Joe leaves on a bombing run.
When the plane is shot out of the sky over enemy-occupied Norway, Joe and Laddie parachute from the burning aircraft and begin their wartime adventures in this lively sequel. Peter Lawford and June Lockhart (long-time star of TV's Lassie) are Joe and Priscilla, parts previously played by Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor. Donald Crisp and Nigel Bruce return as savvy dog trainers. And ready to win hearts and help win the war is a collie whose love matches his boundless courage.
BONUS FEATURES:
- Vintage Short Fala
- Lassie Movie Trailer Gallery
- Tom and Jerry Cartoon, Flirty Birdy
- Theatrical Trailers
DISC 2:
Courage of Lassie (1946, 93 min.)
Combat Patrol 4 is pinned down, taking heavy fire. The lone hope of getting reinforcement is to send through the lines the patrol's brave collie. "Either he gets through or we don't," one G.I. says.
Heroism and heartfelt values arrive on four feet in Courage of Lassie. Elizabeth Taylor (who was in Lassie Come Home three years earlier) stars, radiating the special love of a child for a dog. And everyone's favorite collie plays the beloved canine whose adventures range from his wilderness puppyhood to wartime service to postwar stress to a moving family reunion. The Pacific Northwest locales are eye-filling splendors and the story has stirring family appeal. What a treat to share with favorite two- and four-legged pals!
Hills of Home (1948, 97 min.)
An Scottish doctor (Edmund Gwenn) rescues Lassie from a cruel master but nearly regrets his deed when he finds the dog has a phobia of water. But hearts and minds change in this warm and winning story that co-stars Donald Crisp, Janet Leigh and Tom Drake.
BONUS FEATURES:
- Classic Cartoon Droopy in Northwest Hounded Police
- Classic Cartoon Tom and Jerry in Solid Serenade
- Vintage Short Fala at Hyde Park
- Classic Cartoon Puttin’ on the Dog
- Theatrical Trailers
