MartinHafer When the film begins, Helen (Jeanette MacDonald) is about to give a concert--her first since the death of her husband. However, after the concert, her dog, Lassie, runs into the road...and Helen's son is killed trying to catch him. Not surprisingly, Helen is NOT thrilled about keeping Lassie, but does. But she also needs a change and so runs off to the country to get away from it all. There she meets some lovely people...including a teenager (Claude Jarman Jr.) who is in need of a good home. While there is zero surprise in how the film ends up there, the story is enjoyable along the way. Like nearly all the Lassie films, this one is a winner....even if Lassie himself (yes, it's a HE) is a very bad dog in this one! By the way, this was Jeanette MacDonald's last film. And, oddly, she looks pretty horrible in this one due to the garish colors in the Technicolor film. She looked much better in black & white and the colors they chose for her were frankly not very flattering.

bbmtwist Yes, I know.I'd never seen it - it was MacDonald's last film - what better way for MGM to say you are a has- been than to make her a "mother" in a Lassie movie. Drek! I prepared to "endure it" for Jeannette's sake.I was utterly captivated. What a lovely movie - classed up there with Friendly Persuasion in terms of truly loving, and truly honest human emotion. I keep trying to convince myself to pass this along, but I cry too much, it's too real, too human, too GOOD for that. For the lovers of what President Wilson tried to do for the US and what Obama in his footsteps is still unable to do for us, this is what the ideal of the US is as it lives on in ideals, honesty, and right thinking and feeling. Jeannette has four classical aria/song moments - a French song, a repetition of Puccini's Un Bel Di (Broadway Serenade), Songs My Mother Taught Me, and Romance. Not much to go on, but it doesn't matter. She is fine dramatically, as a war widow , whose son dies and is left alone, but is brought to life by her encounter with an orphan {exceptional performance by young actor, Claude Jarman, Jr.] Her son exits at 10 minutes into the film, young Jarman arrives at 20 minutes.Lewis Stone is seen briefly as an adviser. Percy Kilbridge is brilliant in a Charles Butterworth role as the local sage. Margaret Hamilton is unforgettable as a fashion-conscious spinster. Poor Lloyd Nolan doesn't arrive until an hour and 3 minutes in, but we know he will anchor the film, as he always did {most successfully in Peyton Place).Oh, do see it - that dog will melt you as will the story and the deft acting, direction and over-all good intentions of it.

drednm Jeanette MacDonald stars as a widowed concert singer who suffers another disaster and yearns to retire from the world. She loads up her nifty wood-paneled convertible (a Plymouth?) and dog (Lassie) and sets out. She finds a house in the mountains of a small Southern town and settles in. But she's never runs a household before and discovers she must do her own household chores, cooking, etc. This puts her into contact with the comical-but-wise town grocer (Percy Kilbride) and some other locals. Most annoying, however, is the boy Kilbride has sent to do chores. The boy and dog instantly bond. Slowly, MacDonald gets back her hold on her life, learns to love the boy (Claude Jarman) and return to her own world. But she'll never be the same.Full of funny moments and a few that will tug your heart strings, this is a nice old-fashioned film and well done by all involved. The Technicolor is also beautiful.MacDonald, in her final film appearance, looks great and turns in a terrific performance as the woman who learns to love again. She also sings a few songs, including a beautiful rendition of "Un Bel di Vedremo" from MADAMA BUTTERFLY. Kilbride is hilarious as is Margaret Hamilton as the nosy spinster. Jarman is solid in a role that could have been cloying. Others include Lloyd Nolan, Lewis Stone, Ida Moore, Dwayne Hickman, Hope Landin, and Barbara Billingsley.What a shame the great MacDonald never found another film vehicle. Voice aside, she was a marvelous actress with a great sense of comic timing. Her final film doesn't rank with her unforgettable films with Nelson Eddy, but it's a fine and memorable film in its own right.

Neil Doyle Nice, simple family film, a bit dated but still with enough charm and humor to make it agreeable--based on a novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of 'The Yearling'. Jeanette has her bitterness melted by Claude Jarman, Jr. and Lassie when she decides to retreat to the country to forget about the death of her son. An above-average Lassie film with a rather predictable ending after a tense fire sequence in which he rescues Claude Jarman, Jr. from a burning loft. A few nice songs by Jeanette, beautiful settings and some amusing performances by Percy Kilbride, Margaret Hamilton and others. Lloyd Nolan turns up for a cameo role. Pleasant entertainment. The blurb on the VHS copy I have cites a quote from the N.Y. Times which is so accurate: "Simple and sweet...Jeanette MacDonald has never looked lovelier."