Amazon.com
She started out the subject of a short story in the
Saturday Evening Post, and became a film and television star as well as an American icon. This hour-long video biography tells the story of the character Lassie, as well as bits of the lives of the eight dogs who played her. Former child actors Roddy McDowall, Claude Jarman Jr., Tommy Rettig, and Jon Provost discuss their on- and offscreen relationships with boy's best friend, and trainer Robert Weatherwax talks about the methods and philosophy started by his trainer father, Rudd, which he has continued. June Lockhart, one of the television moms, narrates and shares her memories, as do Janet Leigh and various directors and producers. There's not a lot of scandal revealed here, although we do learn why all the Lassies were male and that the canine actors had stunt doubles for fight scenes. Included are generous amounts of footage from Lassie's seven MGM films (including shots of a young Elizabeth Taylor) and her three television incarnations.
--Kimberly Heinrichs
