Lassie
Lassie | |
---|---|
First appearance | Lassie Come-Home |
Created by | Eric Knight |
Portrayed by | Pal |
In-universe information | |
Species | Rough Collie |
Gender | Female |
Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a 1940 full-length novel, Lassie Come-Home. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fictional female collie of the same name, featured in the British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half Brothers". In "The Half Brothers", Lassie is loved only by her young master and guides the adults back to where two boys are lost in a snowstorm.[1]
Knight's novel was filmed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1943 as Lassie Come Home, with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the television series Lassie debuted and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today.[2]
History
Elizabeth Gaskell short story
An early depiction of Lassie is found in British writer Elizabeth Gaskell's 1859 short story "The Half-brothers". In the story, Lassie is described as a female collie with "intelligent, apprehensive eyes" who rescues two half-brothers who are lost and dying in the snow. When the younger brother can no longer carry on, elder brother Gregory, Lassie's master, ties a handkerchief around Lassie's neck and sends her home. Lassie arrives home, and leads the search party to the boys. When they arrive Gregory is dead, but his younger half-brother is saved. Thus, Gaskell apparently originated the character Lassie and, at the same time, defined the "Lassie saves the day" storyline that is the essence of subsequent Lassie tales.
World War I incident
According to writer Nigel Clarke in the "Shipwreck Guide to Dorset and South Devon", the original Lassie that inspired so many films and television episodes was a rough-haired crossbreed who saved the life of a sailor during World War I.
Half collie, Lassie was owned by the landlord of the Pilot Boat, a pub in the port of Lyme Regis. On New Year's Day in 1915 the Royal Navy battleship Formidable was torpedoed by a German submarine off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. In a storm that followed the accident, a life raft containing bodies was blown along the coast to Lyme Regis. In helping to deal with the crisis, the local pub in Lyme Regis, called the Pilot Boat, offered its cellar as a mortuary.
When the bodies had been laid out on the stone floor, Lassie, a crossbred collie owned by the pub owner, found her way down amongst the bodies, and she began to lick the face of one of the victims, Able Seaman John Cowan. She stayed beside him for more than half an hour, nuzzling him and keeping him warm with her fur. To everyone's astonishment, Cowan eventually stirred. He was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery. He visited Lassie again when he returned to thank all who saved his life.
When the officers heard the story of Lassie and what she did to rescue Cowan, they told it again and again to any reporter who would listen as it was inspirational and heart-warming. Hollywood got hold of the story, and so a star was born.
Eric Knight short story and novel
The fictional character of Lassie was created by English author
Movies and television
In 1943, the novel was adapted into a feature film,
Between 1954-1973, the television series
In 2005, a remake of the original Lassie Come Home movie was produced in the United Kingdom. Starring Peter O'Toole and Samantha Morton, Lassie was released in 2006.[5]
Additionally, two animated TV series featuring the canine were produced. The first was
Lassie continues to make personal and TV show appearances as well as marketing a line of pet food and a current pet care TV show, Lassie's Pet Vet on
Media
Art
Lassie is featured in Our Nation's 200th Birthday, The Telephone's 100th Birthday (1976) by Stanley Meltzoff for Bell System.[8]
Films
List of films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1943 | Lassie Come Home | Lassie | Principal role played by Pal |
1945 | Son of Lassie | ||
1946 | Courage of Lassie | Bill (as credited; also called "Duke") | |
1948 | Hills of Home | Lassie | |
1949 | The Sun Comes Up | ||
1949 | Challenge to Lassie | ||
1951 | The Painted Hills | Shep | |
1963 | Lassie's Great Adventure (TV film)
|
Lassie | Principal role; compilation of television episodes |
1978 | The Magic of Lassie | Principal role played by Boy | |
1994 | Lassie | Principal role played by Howard | |
2005 | Lassie | Principal role played by Mason
Action scenes played by DR Dakota | |
2020 | Lassie Come Home[9] | Principal role played by Lukas |
Box office performance
Title | Year | Worldwide Gross | Rotten Tomatoes |
---|---|---|---|
Lassie Come Home | 1943 | $4,517,000 | 94% |
Son of Lassie | 1945 | TBA | TBA |
Courage of Lassie | 1946 | $4,100,000 | |
Hills of Home | 1948 | $2,312,000 | |
The Sun Comes Up | 1949 | $2,044,000 | |
Challenge to Lassie | 1949 | $1,155,000 | |
The Magic of Lassie | 1978 | TBA | |
Lassie (1994) | 1994 | $9,979,683 | 87% |
Lassie (2005) | 2005 | $6,442,854 | 93% |
Lassie Come Home (2020) | 2020 | $3,683,655 | N/A |
Total gross/average rating | $34,234,192 | 91.3% |
Radio
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1947–1948 | Lassie Show | Lassie | Principal role; ABC series |
1948–1950 | Lassie Show | Lassie | Principal role; NBC series |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1954–1973 | Lassie | Lassie | Principal role |
1968 | The Adventures of Neeka | Principal role; compilation of television episodes | |
1970 | Peace is Our Profession | Principal role; compilation of TV episodes | |
1970 | Well of Love | Principal role; compilation of TV episodes | |
1972 | Sound of Joy | Principal role; compilation of TV episodes | |
1972 | Lassie and the Spirit of Thunder Mountain
|
Principal role | |
1972 | Lassie's Rescue Rangers | Principal role | |
1980 | Taxi | Guest appearance (1 episode) | |
1989–1991 | The New Lassie | Principal role | |
1995 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Guest appearance (1 episode) | |
1997–1999 | Lassie | Principal role | |
2001 | Whose Line Is It Anyway?
|
Cameo appearance | |
1996 | Famous Dog Lassie | Principal role | |
2007 | Lassie's Pet Vet | Principal role | |
2014–2019 | The New Adventures of Lassie | Principal role |
Video games
Game | Title | Console | Year | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Lassie | PlayStation 2 | 2005 | [10] |
Books
- Lassie Come-Home
- Lassie: The Prize
- Forest Ranger Handbook
- Lassie: A Boy's Best Friend & Buried Treasure
- Lassie: Party Nightmare & Water Watchdog
- Lassie: Skateboard Stunt & Danger Zone
Seafarer Books
- Lassie and the Lost Little Sheep
- Lassie's Forest Adventure
Whitman Cozy-Corner
- Lassie: Rescue in the Storm
Whitman Novels
- Lassie and the Mystery of Blackberry Bog
- Lassie and the Secret of the Summer
- Lassie: Forbidden Valley
- Lassie: Treasure Hunter by Charles S. Strong
- Lassie: the Wild Mountain Trail
- Lassie and the Mystery of Bristlecone Pine
- Lassie and the Secret of the Smelter's Cave
- Lassie: Lost in the Snow
- Lassie: Trouble at Panter's Lake
Big Little Books
- Lassie: Adventure in Alaska
- Lassie and the Shabby Sheik
- Lassie: Old One Eye
Golden Books
- The Adventures of Lassie
- Lassie and Her Day in the Sun
- Lassie and Her Friends
- Lassie and the Big Clean-Up Day
- Lassie and the Daring Rescue
- Lassie and the Lost Explorer
- Lassie Shows the Way
- Lassie: The Great Escape
Tell-a-Tale Books
- Hooray for Lassie!
- Lassie and the Cub Scout
- Lassie and the Deer Mystery
- Lassie and the Firefighters
- Lassie and the Kittens
- Lassie Finds a Friend
- Lassie's Brave Adventure
- Lassie: The Busy Morning
Tip-Top Books
- Lassie: The Sandbar Rescue
Wonder Books
- Lassie's Long Trip
Marian Bray
- Lassie to the Rescue
- Lassie: Hayloft Hideout
- Lassie Under the Big Top
- Lassie: Treasure at Eagle Mountain
- Lassie: Danger at Echo Cliffs
The New Lassie
- The Puppy Problem
- Digging Up Danger
- The Big Blowup
- Water Watchdog
- Skateboard Dare
- Dangerous Party
See also
- Rough Collie
- Bessy, a Belgian comic strip inspired by the success of "Lassie" and which also featured a collie.
- John English
- Rin Tin Tin
- List of fictional dogs
- List of individual dogs
References
- ^ Gaskell, Elizabeth (1889). "The Half Brothers". Lizzie Leigh and Other Tales. London: Smith, Elder & Co.: 482–492.
- ^ "Lassie: The Perfect Dog Sets High Bar for Real Pups". NPR. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- Reed Elsevier Inc. January 1, 1943. Archived from the originalon 12 October 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ^ Harris, Norene (September–October 1973). "1973 PATSY Awards" (PDF). Animal Cavalcade. pp. 24–25. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- TownNews.com. Archived from the originalon 6 December 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ^ "Lassie's Rescue Rangers (TV Series 1973–1975) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- Reed Elsevier Inc. October 16, 2005. Archived from the originalon 4 January 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "Stanley Meltzoff Archives: The 1976 Bell System Telephone Book Cover" JKL Museum of Telephony (December 19, 2015); retrieved March 16, 2021
- ^ "Lassie Come Home - Film Review". www.weekendnotes.com.
- ^ "Lassie (PS2): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games". www.amazon.co.uk.
External links
- Official website
- Lassieweb.org, a comprehensive site about every facet of Lassie lore