The Story Of Lassie | The Hollywood Collection

there's something that's always fascinated me and that's why lassie has retained this sort of affection lassie is a movie star on the level let's say of Betty Davis or Katharine Hepburn lassies the things that people remember the things that were good not the things that were bad by watching a lassie movie it kind of brings out the best in one's nature it is a half fairy tale but half real-life we see a pureness we see an innocence we see qualities in lassie that we hope are in us I'm June Lockhart and for over six years I played the role of Ruth Martin on televisions lassie show and on many a day I was out here at the Disney golden oak ranch north of Hollywood filming exteriors every Sunday night at 7 o'clock we came into homes across the country on CBS John Provost as Timmy Huw Riley as my husband and most important there was our collie Lassie we were supposed to be a pretty typical middle America family but in one very important way we were very different because in our home and in all the 17 years that there was a lassie program on network television lassie was never just a pet lassie participated she solved problems she saved people she saved her fellow animals and for over 50 years in the United States and in countries around the world audiences have watched and cared about the adventures of a collie a collie like no other lassie it all started in 1938 with a short story by Eric Nights that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post it appealed to so many readers the two years later night enlarged the story into a novel by 1943 in the midst of world war ii Lassie Come Home had become a major motion picture it featured such veteran actors as Donald Crispin Edmund Gwenn and a wonderful child actor Roddy McDowall but the star of the film would be an unknown unheralded collie going by the name of pal my father he had been working for MGM they knew of his reputation he'd done quite a few things and he was hired with his dog pal to be a stand-in for MGM's dog that was to play Lassie and he knew what scene that would be that would be the river crossing Velasquez time to return to Reddit McHale the scripts read like lassie in his river and swims across comes out exhausted and they saw that scene and the director of Freddy Wilcox got up he says well you know Palace why man and he says lassie swam out they decided to shoot the whole movie starring my father's dog pal who became lasted bounding you the one dog pal whom I adored I mean absolutely loved that dog destroyed it almost destroyed my association with any other animal because the dog was so amazing everything that the story represented it was very important to people it was emotionally very sound and it was an extraordinarily potent propaganda film in his time because of what it was saying about a nation of extremely brave stolid people you're quite sure that you want to sell it no your grace I have to Heinz put that collar on our leader from the back of the car lassie came on the lot around the same time that I did and that was when they were first starting lassie come home and of course I was very envious because although I love the part of Margaret and journey for Margaret I always hoped to do a lassie movie with Roddy McDowall well I know Elizabeth Taylor loved animals and so she was thrilled to be working with lassie she felt right at home with Lassie poor girl to return to her beloved master and exhausted lassie journeyed hundreds of miles from Scotland to England though she met on her way would long remember her someone else about Lima less and I dearly love to be inside thy mind and know what it is hmm that's the pretty of it you can understand some a man's language but man isn't bright enough to understand I my lassie come home the fact that it was so successful that it went through the roof I think was part of the joy of the whole thing of a film being done very simply that had this enormous success collie dogs and very specifically Lassie now had a secure future at MGM son of lassie carried on the story of Joe and his beloved colleague pal the original lassie now plays laddie son of lassie Good Morning Joe good morning goodbye yours truly had the very difficult job of trying to win Joe's affection despite the competition of an adoring laddie then what are you doing you shot down over Norway and separated from his master laddie searches for Joe through a land devastated by war once again the theme is the incredible hardship a dog will endure to return to his master this dog knows only his master in this country so you can see by his condition but he has been through and following him he'll follow his single trail no matter how many others have crossed it time to find your mouse turn out again and again this theme would be struck laddie could be dependent upon to protect a loved one come on come on yes our lights have come home when you would see lassie looked lovingly at whoever he was playing opposite with his Elizabeth Taylor or Ryder McDowell or myself I think it was very obvious that he was looking at Rudd and there was a mutual affection going on there and Rudd was an ordinary down-to-earth guy and very appreciative of where he was very hardworking kind to people and and to his animals and he was a wonderful person to be around this was his personal dog that stayed in the house this was somebody that was part of the family like another person in red weather waxes family well we'd have lasting the house and they say he's on the couch my fuss that's okay because he he bluffed the couch lassy had a limousine card taker do all the different sets and sometimes we would be on location or they would be on location on the back lots and lassie would be riding in her limousine with mr. Weatherwax and so we'd sort of wave and sometimes I'd be walking and lassie would be riding he'll go bring them back go bill in the first lassie film Elizabeth Taylor had a bit part encouraged of lassie she had a co-starring role opposite lassie this time lassie really Pound was called upon to play a collie named bill once again happiness is short-lived the injured bill has no identification tag and is soon recruited into the army report and once again lassie portrays in brilliant fashion a dog thrown into war you can't educated a combat patrol and a few hours will land on Red Beach five as you may have heard men this is the Aleutians big chance right fellow and a new kind of duty called alright report like a human being a dog can suffer shell-shocked come on fella let's get out of here the memory of love can bring healing lassy was like a sister or a brother to me I mean brave and loyal and kind and trustworthy lassie was just my glass he was when I saw him in the movies he was gentle and warm and loving and the old pro and I was the newcomer on the block and he was very patient with me very patient the story of those of home involved a country doctor who needed a companion a dog Wellcome less well I never saw that before in the course of their first few times together the doctor Edmund Gwenn found that the dog was afraid of water a collie afraid of water it can't be what it is it had to be against his nature so because kaali's normally love water was amazing to me how red Weatherwax had trained him come on good girl here it is for you come on come on the director went through Rudd because Rudd and Lassie spoke their own language and the director was not privy to that the relationship between a dog and master its origins lost in time but surviving every test with lassie be able to overcome her fear of water to save her master wouldn't leave it at some miracle Almighty God be kind the Wyndham McClure's he's been kind to us for 40 years and don't throw up his faults to him just think of the people he's helped if anyone has seen the picture of all the people in 1949 who were under contract at MGM it ranges from way in the back on the right to Spencer Tracy to the middle where there's Gable and Ava Gardner and they're right in the center right down on the first level is lassie and so I think that's is an indication of how important the dog was to L be mayor and to to the studio lassies appeal I don't think we have to relegate that to a decade because I think it's Universal and it's eternal you want good to triumph you want bravery to be rewarded you want loyalty to be rewarded and I think that that's what lassie always tried to tell us forbes magazine called me once and told me that the mg engrossed 248 million dollars with lassie and had been like the fifth highest grosser than Jim in the 40s every lassie film produced to that time was shot in color and reflected the MGM touch with top ranking stars and respected directors challenge to Lassie in 1949 was very much in the lassie tradition and it boasted some old friends actors Donald crisp and Edmund Gwenn off you go Lassie you can do it yourself now that's the girl once again the theme is a dog's loyalty to her master well could you spare a penny a tune well now lads I work for my money and you both look able to do the same where today is a celebration with me I'll stand you're both emil old jock has died unbeknownst to his friends even in death the loyalty persists there is only his faithful dog Lassie with my father's technique of training dogs he felt the dog shouldn't do tricks he'd seen a lot of movies and the dogs always looked at the trainer or they did not look natural they're being cute or so he tried to develop a technique that he would feel that a dog would look natural he would do everything when you wanted it but he would never look at the trainer he would actually portray that part he would actually change moods if it was a sad scene lassie should come in slow he should have his head down he should feel that mood it would be off a voice inflection the payment of the license cannot be accepted from you I so therefore improves the usual Fame and the dog will be put to death as the law provided we appeal what the sunset you would lose her place is a jokes grave her loyalty is to old Jacque and nothing save death will keep her from it a pretty speech mr. trail and one that I might have believed a few minutes ago but now the dog's actions make me suspicious if lassie is a wild and dangerous beast then I have committed perjury before this court and I have a right to clear myself very well the court will view your evidence if there be any mr. trail a convert apologize to you and halassi for myself and my colleagues for myself and all my colleagues believe me when I say that the stain of lassies death will not soon leave our thumbs I give you the freedom of the City of Edinburgh and a free citizen of Edinburgh needs no license the extraordinary thing for me in relation to Lassie as a fellow performer was that I really related to the dog as if it was another human being and of all the animals I've worked with that is the most human one I've ever encountered the Sun comes up was made about is about two years after the completion of the yearling so I was used to working with animals of course working with a dog who was trained at smart was a lot different than working with an untrained deer the Sun comes up there were three different dogs that we used it was Lassie laddie and major and lassie was the original lassie who I'm not sure how lassie was at that point maybe eight nine years old I guess the most difficult scene was the fire scene and lassie comes in and opens the door and leads us to safety it was lassi who was used pretty much inside to unlock the door and was was really kind of the smarter of the dogs they had a scene with had to jump down off the roof and major was one who did that so he was the more athletic the dogs I would say he was more the stuntman I never knew really how Rudd trained the dogs I was never aware of it on the set it was almost like he had read the script the night before and did his homework and we were never in a situation where we had to wait last he was always ready to go the thing I know that my father taught her will he be mayor is that last became is uh his pet project whenever anybody came to studio and he might want to visit the first place he took him in the first place they wander girl would see this dog lassie that made these movies and one day my father's watching lassie on one of the lawns the gardener came chased him off and leave me mayor heard about that and he put up signs that lassie can walk on any lawn in him gym at any time people say this is a male dog what do you call it Lassie female collie will lose her coat they both shed during a year during the summer they'll lose a lot of their coat but the female loses it to a greater degree to where you can actually notice the difference it's interesting well Rudd got the rights to the name lassie he was on a contract to MGM and they call it rut in one day and said we're not going to make any more lassie pictures we'll give you $40,000 we owe you Rudd said no look I don't want $40,000 give me the rights to the name Lassie that's all I want so they gave Rudd the Dave lassie and Russ's history from 1943 to 1951 lassie starred in seven feature films at MGM but times were changing and so too were the pictures that reflected them they wanted realism and they wanted what we get on the news they wanted the pictures to be and what I think happening happened with not just Lassie that wonderful family shows that used to be on the films went to television to young Jeff Miller I leave the best thing I've got my dog Lassie she's all yours in September of 1954 lassie appeared for the first time as a television program on the CBS network and the Campbell Soup Company would remain its sole sponsor for many years my friend Jan Clayton who played the lead in the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's carousel was to be the last show's first television mother there was no father on the show my father had supposedly been killed in the war but there was a grandfather played by George Cleveland darling you can't make her stay not if she doesn't want to but I haven't even had a chance mom oh please grabs please look boy there's one thing you got to understand Lord made animals free just like human beings and you can't force them to love you they got to do the design come on bet you're thirsty aren't you well I bet you're hungry come on of course you won't be getting lamb chops every day well lassie and I became very close and it got to a point where if Rudd was calling lassie and I was calling lassie lassie would stand there and look and not really know who to go to and sometimes would come to me instead of red so we had to put a little distance in the relationship so that lassie would know who his real master was he's my god now isn't she yes boy is all yours now she done inside I've been fortunate enough to know all the dogs our pilot was done with the old man and then the dog that I worked with was the second in line we've had eight lassies in 50 years this is the eighth lassie and what we've always looked for the original lassie had markings that are very distinct markings and they're actually genetic imperfection as far as the collie Club is concerned right here this is called a blaze and the collie people don't like the blaze because the blaze they'd rather have the the black dot look lassie has a full white collar the original dog pal established this pattern and then he has two front white legs and a lot of qualities don't when we're reading lassies we try to get those markings and they're all bred father the son now they all have different personalities you know they've all looked very much the same in their markings and they've all been trained and they've all performed similar but they all have different personalities I think perhaps up until this latest one Howard whom I adore I really liked mine the best I thought and and Howard reminds me a lot of mind just enough mischief to be a real dog but a urges look and a strong personality and playful and friendly she wants to shake hands darling you want this girl eat it how'd she do it why'd she try to hurt Lassie probably to keep Lassie from winning the race that was just a another way to make you unhappy I hate her I know I know darling but hating isn't gonna help Jeff will you listen to me maybe this is our chance to do something for Melanie she's run away mrs. Beasley saw her down on the lake road and she's a terribly unhappy a terribly frightened little girl I'd like you and Gramps to go down to the lake and bring her back Wow you mustn't think about it anymore it's all over darling we know that you didn't mean to poison Maya Sieber you didn't even know the meat was spoiled but I did try to make her lose the race was a bad thing no I don't know about that maybe it was a good thing maybe taught you something may I come in of course I wildflowers Oh Jett they're beautiful they smell pretty thank you oh there's a friend of yours who wants to say hello come on in would describe the philosophy of the show as good warm family values and of course in its time keep in mind that the show was filmed in the 1950s well I never went through a change of dog in my four years on the series it was all with the same dog after four years on the show there was some realization in 1957 that you could become typed and contrary to being good for your career became apparent that it could be as much of a curse as a blessing I was 15 years old I had been working in show business almost without a break since I was 5 years old and I wanted to go to regular school I was beginning to discover cars and girls why the guy I had the looks and everything they wanted but the most important part was Lassie I had to get lassies approval so I went and lived with red Weatherwax and his wife and lassie out on the ranch and obviously lassie and I got along great and that was basically and I got lassies approval I had the job after almost four years the Miller family left the fictitious town of Calverton at about the same time the lassie name and program were bought by oilman jack rather his wife an eventual co-producer was former child star Bonita Granville a new family Ruth and Paul Martin moved in with lassie and her now new master Timmy but there would soon be further changes my first father was John Sheppard Cloris Leachman was my mother in the original first couple episodes and actually she went on for about a half a season and then decided I think that you know she didn't want to be stuck in this kitchen baking cookies for seven years so one Sunday he saw my parents flourish Leachman and John and then the next Sunday it was June Lockhart and Hugh Reilly and they didn't even get one well maybe one letter because I don't know it's just think everybody would focus on the boy and the dog I was working in live television and appearing in plays on Broadway but there was something very appealing about being on a weekly television show that had as its main theme the need for more love in the world she would influence people of all ages all ages my mother god bless it was was quite ill she was in a hospital and a Russ wife brought lassie over to that hospital and lassie stood outside my mother's room Bush happened to be on a luckily on the first floor and she and I said what there's somebody I call up other one but there's somebody outside this winter that wants to say hello to you my mother went over and there stood Lassie well is one of those moments where you don't say anything cuz you don't have to lassie was looking at my mother with those big eyes and my mother crying beautiful tears you're heading for a peck of trouble when you keep putting off taking that boy back to his kinfolk I'm gonna call the welfare agency right now what do you call him for you talk to the boys answers mortar she knows he's here so all you gotta do is take him back that's all wait Timmy said he was tired told him to take a nap and a dumb good look he didn't get much sleep last night it's that underlying theme the understanding the caring the loving of lassie who could ask for anything better than that and grow when you can't come with me I don't guess I can't stop you if you wanted to move I believe there wouldn't be alone I got good news for you anyhow you're gonna stay with it's all summer I knew him mom fix it up cami yeah me just keep it peaceful he's alright mom I told him about staying with us thank you yes darling it's true Masey seems to understand to reach into the human heart her gift is the love that money cannot buy the love that asks nothing in return last you got tickles I'm glad you're my dog and you always will be won't you girl from the beginning lassie had been a television hit it's very first year at won an Emmy for Best children's program an average show was watched by over 33 million viewers now the question was with a new family in place with the magic of lassie continue the answer would be a resounding yes lastly likes everybody don't you girl but why would anybody be afraid of Lassie well now we mustn't judge people I'm sure the bride ELLs have a very good reason for not liking dogs well we must just try to show them that dogs like lassie make very fine friends don't you worry about it I think the importance of lassie was that you always learn something about an episode there was always a moral um feeling to it first thing we've got to do is make Henry like you nothing you have to do is make-believe you like you need awful she likes me sure she does Timmy she's wonderful I sure was did a real good job last spurt kidding to like you're dead if Timmy got stuck and lassie saved him it always ended with you no this is why that happened and so next time you won't get in trouble I don't want to frighten you man but there's a cougar prowling around this area I've set a series of four traps at each of these spots sometimes it wasn't only Timmy lassie had to save she came to my rescue more than once Wow good dog lassie do you remember that the c-clamp that the trapper brought from red I really learned a respect for animals they have just as many rights as we do hunters have been killing wild game with their bows and arrows shoot the poor things and let him wander off to die you want to baby care we'll get those men to me they're not only cruel their disgrace to an ancient sport now look for every hit you got a bet I get six today you only get five and don't we always hope for the best and isn't that what makes the best come true all right then now let's just hope for the best your lie alive and kick'n she did everything but put the handcuffs on these varmints you've tracked him down I think lassie was reaching for the Heartland for what we left when we moved into the cities that that kind of relationship the boy and the dog and the young man's parents was almost it was it was it was an ideal and that I think is what they were really trying to get across that you know yes this is a mythical town and a mythical family despite the fact that we we thought of lassie as a symbol and there was just one Lassie we did have to replace the dog on several occasions and Rudd would always have one in the hopper as it were there were fight scenes with lassie but lastly didn't do the fight scenes the dogs that did the fight scene was a different lassie and just as a stuntman would do a stunt for a movie star lassie had a stunt dog and lassie was not allowed to do and lastly did not have the nature I had to do fights he doesn't do anything that's unbelievable or he doesn't do anything that we believed that would make his character horny or laughable I'm gonna get please we believe that the more of a continuous scene you can get with a dog with less cuts it was also more believable to the audience hey right I think we're ready we want to get two men in position okay such as one scene we did there's a little cat stranded out in the middle of this lake and he's in this boat lassie sees him up on the bank and when I call I'm gonna be in the boat when I call me let go and Robert you stand over there and when last he gets all the Rope you crawl in there all right run call lassie come on my father's station opposite of the boat he makes lassie get in the water last he swims out he has lassie picked the Rope up I'm in the other direction where he was sent from so I call him back he brings the boat goes to shore I tell him to drop the rope my father tells him get in the boat pick up the cat I would call him out of the shot that was in the shot he'd saved the cat actors always know when the take is good because the director tells them so lassie always knew when the take was good because she got a piece of beef two dogs as good as you treat him and so uh we never had much problem with that during the movies that they want ever mister the dog anything I remember when we used to do a personal appearance was last between shows my father would have a writer put on his contract that said that we'd take lassie the hospitals I remember one time we went to a hospital with a little boy and he was dying and they said that he didn't probably have long to live the sensitivity to Kali I'll never forget we took last year normally we would say lousy put your feet up and he'd just put his feet up you know but he knew something about this boy and when he put his feet up it was very delicately and it's hard to talk about and the boy did pass away but he saw a last before he did and he knew it was lasting I remember we were shooting in Williamsburg Virginia at one time and lassie was not in the particular action and was lying in the station wagon all alone and there was one young boy standing by looking at Lassie and I hadn't be wandering around and this young boy I heard him say gee I wish I was Lassie it's hard to explain that out to me of why a dog would have such power over people but it's all associated with that lassie character and connection made between the dog and values values that we all care about and that are endearing and enduring my years with lassie were wonderful but the producers wanted to go beyond the farm to take the program to far-off locales and so shows about lassie and the farm family came to an end but this meant a new beginning we have written so many stories about this little boy and the dog that we were running into ourselves and so we decided that we were going to try to make the show with a forest ranger and that was a time we started making the show in color this time lassies master was forest ranger Cory Stewart a part played in all kinds of environments by actor Robert brain for the last half dozen years of the show we traveled all over the country on some programs the original color film has faded but viewing these moments in black and white has not lessened their drama he'll be if there's anyone up there help me the rope push it over evening our concept didn't change because of the changing scenery because lassie was still lassie and she transcended anything he tried to do with me need you laughing have I taught you to keep the commandments thou shalt not steal don't take the dog away from Laura Maddy ain't never asked how much you've got to do this for me come on she's his dog I know that now nothing I could do okay well ideas sprung from every place we could start with animals they could start with the location but they always went back to lassie and lassies reactions to things all we had to say clothes on lassie it seems as if she cries understands could feel the emotion of what we're trying to say and all I had to do was put the camera on Lassie and take a close-up at the beautiful face in those eyes and our point was taken for each of its years on CBS the lassie program had been number one in its time period it became the longest-running family show on network television in a film history sense lassie is an MGM dog I'm not even sure lassie bit a Rin Tin Tin was a Warner's dog I think bit lassie was more intuitive and regal and and had something that was very knowing and emotional and maybe a little sometimes that it's worst I think a little overwrought but nevertheless moving I'm not so sure people accept lassies apparent perception on the show as as being reality any more than they accept a mouse can talk when they're entertained by Mickey Mouse well in return for suspending that that belief in reality if you go into a wonderful Fantasyland by choice that that feels good to be into that's exactly why it's so wonderful to be able to see that it doesn't hurt anyone to be able to look back and see that there was a time when things were a little more peaceful a little more quiet a little more decent and a little safer for all of us hache skin about coronal mass is a free spirit he never had a leash he always ran loose come on hey come on get his feet up steel pick it up pull it sport Paul Paul that's a boy pick it up come on pick it up beat it up yeah that's my boy here get this for me take it out ticket that's it well maybe either isn't a dog like Lassie but there could be a dog like Lassie he's not super he's not anything special as far as strength or special feats but he has intelligence he's sensitive and he seems to understand the problems and the things around him hey last to see see see see nose like 85 to 90 command Oh turn your right turn state turn your left state alright lastly come on crawl crawl crawl crawl crawl crawl crawl come on crawl stay get over get over dad avoid negative date up dig data data data these up these have to get up Adam would eat up high steak on your right all right come on up stay put your head down stay put down any feet Dada boy take a bow that's it all right come on come on my father he said you know every boy needs a dog he says but every dog needs a boy give me those if you don't drop those well that's what it's all about a boy and a dog and boy's best friend as opposed to man's best friend this is a scene in which lassie takes away from our young hero his headphones he's constantly listening to MTV to rock and roll and hiding in effect from life and from the world and the dog is hip to that and wants to introduce this boy to the joys of nature looks gold I sure history was being repeated 50 years after the release of the first lassie feature film a new one was being made in addition two years on network television cable and syndication lassie programs continue to be shown around the world lassies message is still being seen and heard I think picture deals with the myth and acknowledges the old television series and the old movies and tries to find what there is in a contemporary setting that's relevant about that and I think that that kind of emotion is um when you put it on a screen and you tell a story in a very simple way can be very powerful well I hope that this film is part of a continuity of stories that involve boy and a dog that are fulfilling and ennobling to the human spirit a boy and a dog this goes down it through the history of motion pictures is phenomenal but it's always there's like Rob's apple pie it's the companionship it's the respect for one another the helping one another that you can't really get from say a boy and his cat the story of lassie is a classic tale that can be told again and again these images appeal to all of us suggesting a time we all want to share lassy simple stories of a boy and his dog and the bond that exists between them the lassie is also much much more as long as there is that yearning in our hearts for undemanding loyalty and courage for a love that asks little in return lassie will live forever my lassie come home you

Channel: The Hollywood Collection

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Keywords: theatre, actress, filmmaker, free, hollywood, stage, bio, biopic, actor, hollywood collection, cinema, star, film, michael caine, marilyn monroe, documentary, biography, lassie, theater, movie, director, animals, icon, legend, collie, border collie, dog, puppies, lassie biography, acting, lassie come home, lassie dog, lassie breed, lassie and timmy, lassie (fictional character), lassie animated, lassie tv series, lassie episodes, lassie come home movie, lassie the series

Id: Icb1W5z81Pw

Length: 60min 0sec (3600 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 23 2016