Courage of Lassie 1946 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Tom Drake, Selena Royle, George Cleveland, Harry Davenport, Morris Ankrum, Arthur Walsh, Catherine McLeod, Minor Watson
Lassie returns as a veteran of World War II, and his 14-year-old mistress (Elizabeth Taylor) helps the collie adjust to life at home.
|  | |
Forbidden Planet 1956 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller / Romance
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Richard Anderson, Earl Holliman, James Drury, George Wallace, Robert Dix, Jimmy Thompson, Harry Harvey Jr., Roger McGee, Peter Miller, James Best
This is probably the best science fiction movie of the 1950s. It is the year 2200, and spaceship Altair-4–commanded by John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen)–has landed on a faraway planet. There he is greeted by Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter (Anne Francis) who are the sole survivors of a colony of settlers. All is not as it should be, and the doctor does not intend to share the secrets of the planet.
|  | |
Hills of Home 1948 G, 97 min. Genre: Family / Adventure / Drama aka: Master of Lassie
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Tom Drake, Janet Leigh, Rhys Williams, Reginald Owen, Edmund Breon, Alan Napier, Hughie Green, Lumsden Hare, Eileen Erskine, Frederick Worlock, David Thursby
In the Scottish mountain town of Glen Urtach, Lassie has been tending sheep but is afraid of the water. Her owner, Dr. William MacLure (Edmund Gwenn), tries to cure Lassie's phobia but fails–until William has an accident, and Lassie dives into the raging river to save him.
|  | |
Lassie Come Home 1943 N/R, 88 min. Genre: Family / Adventure / Drama
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Edmund Gwenn, Dame May Whitty, Elizabeth Taylor, Nigel Bruce, Elsa Lanchester, J. Pat O'Malley, Alec Craig, Arthur Shields, Ben Webster, John Rogers, Alan Napier
A poor Yorkshire family sells its collie, Lassie, to the Duke of Rudling (Nigel Bruce), but Lassie escapes from her new home in Scotland and makes the long trip back to Yorkshire.
|  | |
The Secret Garden 1949 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Family
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell, Gladys Cooper, Elsa Lanchester, Brian Roper, Reginald Owen, Aubrey Mather, George Zucco, Lowell Gilmore
This is, perhaps, the best of several filmed versions of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic story. Orphaned and spoiled Mary (Margaret O'Brien) is sent to live with her uncle (Herbert Marshall) in his dark, run-down mansion. The uncle has turned gruff and uncaring since his wife died in a walled garden on the estate, which he now keeps locked. Likewise, he keeps his crippled son, Colin (Dean Stockwell), hidden away. Mary finds the key to the garden, and, with the help of another youth (Brian Roper), brings the garden to life. She also sneaks Colin into the garden on a daily basis. Each family member grows up in the process.
|  | |
Tennessee Champ 1954 N/R, 72 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Shelley Winters, Keenan Wynn, Dewey Martin, Earl Holliman, Dave O'Brien, Jack Kruschen, Charles Bronson, Yvette Dugay, Frank Richards, John Indrisano
Daniel Norson (Dewey Martin) is an upright boxer who tries to use his religion to influence his crooked manager, Willy Wurble (Keenan Wynn), to "do the right thing."
|  | |
| 1. Courage of Lassie (1946)
2. Forbidden Planet (1956)
3. Hills of Home (1948) aka: Master of Lassie
4. Lassie Come Home (1943)
5. The Secret Garden (1949)
6. Tennessee Champ (1954)
In The News
|