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Saturday, September 7, 2024

Collies in film

When you think of film stars of the canine persuasion, the first that is likely to come to mind is Lassie.  For the newer generations of canine cinephiles, they may think of golden retrievers, beagles, Dalmatians or even the malinois.  But for the classic canine film connoisseur, it would be either a collie or a German shepherd that tops the list.  As this is first and foremost a collie blog, we wanted to share two of our favorite films that feature a collie.


Of course we can’t talk about collie movies without Lassie, so the first film has to be Lassie Come Home.  This movie is based on the book written by Eric Knight.  The story is about the collie heroine, Lassie, who is separated from her boy, Joe.  Her love and devotion has Lassie traveling from Scotland to England in a perilous journey to reunite with her beloved family.  The movie is a classic, and many families got their first collie because of their love of the Lassie movies and television shows.



The next is a lesser known film, called Lad: A Dog.  Long time readers of our blog may be familiar with this title, as it was based on the Albert Payson Terhune book, of the same name.  This movie is about a collie named Lad.  This collie also has epic adventures, he saves the life of a child, wins a dog show, and rescues his family.  The books about Lad, and this film, were favorites of mine growing up.  In honor of this heroic collie, I had to name my very first collie Lad.  

Our Lad


Do you have a favorite movie about a dog? Let us know in the comments!


9 comments:

  1. I wanted a Lassie too. Loved the movies and the TV series! I love so many dog movies but right now, Hachi comes to mind. I know it's sad but it's a great movie.

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  2. Those are both great movies. Our favorite is "Turner and Hooch" but we also love a movie about a St. Bernard called "George!"

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  3. My mum tells me she loved to watch Lassie as a child.

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  4. My mom was the Lassie girl. I grew up watching Benji. There were others, but Benji was my favortie.

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  5. Lulu: "Those collies sure have their hands full keeping humans out of trouble! It seems to be a full time job!"
    Java Bean: "Our Dada couldn't think of a favorite dog movie but he did say that he and Mama went to see 'Beethoven' on a date at a drive-in movie back in the day, so I guess maybe that one."
    Lulu: "Sounds like that might be more Mama-related than dog-related ..."

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  6. Benji was good. I love dogs.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  7. Oh, Lassie! My absolute favorite movie (and TV show) from when I was kid! I always wanted a "Lassie Dog"/Collie, and when we moved to the country, my mother adopted one from a nearby farm who didn't want her anymore since she had been shot. Lady become such a big part of our family (my Mom and me and my father had recently passed away), and she and her bonded buddy Brandy gave us so much joy! Great post! So much fun reminiscing. Thanks for the great trip down Memory Lane!

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  8. Love, love, love Lassie!

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