I caught this 'Lassie' movie on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and suffice to say, it was unlike any other Lassie movie I had seen as a child. It is by far the darkest Lassie film I had seen and Lassie does not save the day simply by barking and people figuring out that Timmy has fallen into the well. However, it is not that good of a film, a bit of a slow starter with a pointless plot twist or two before the epic confrontation between Lassie or Shep as it were and her owner's killer! Granted, Lassie herself is a boy dog named Pal meaning the film is Shep played by Lassie, played by Pal.
The story has a prospector who is close to striking gold; unfortunately, his old partner has died leaving the son crushed. Well, the prospector has a dog that he tries to give to the boy, but the dog does not care too much for the new arrangements and instead goes back to her old owner. Well a man who teams up with the prospector to find the ultimate vein of gold; unfortunately, the man is of course greedy beyond belief and it is not too long before the prospector knows of the man's ill intent. Well, not soon enough to save himself. Soon it is up to Shep the dog to avenge her owner as she must be poisoned, shot and chased into the frozen mountains to finally get revenge for her owner!
This made for a pretty good episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It did start off a bit weak, mind you, as I was thinking that the short that preceded this film about hygiene was going to be the highlight, but the film picks up greatly once Lassie's owner is killed and Lassie begins her quest for revenge. Once that begins the laughter and riffs are in high gear especially during the chase sequence as for reasons unknown the killer is more affected by the cold than is a dog that is soaking wet.
So this 'Lassie' film gets points for being different I guess, but it is hardly a Lassie film when the dog in the film is called Shep and the dog that is supposedly Lassie is named Pal. These days you do not get many dog stars, but back in the day it was more normal. No stars would probably be caught dead having to have second billing to a dog these days including porno stars! The film had some dark elements to it so probably a bit rougher than what many parents were expecting from a Lassie film, but nothing that is all that extreme by today's standards. However, not a very good film either so they'd probably be better skipping this one all together.
The story has a prospector who is close to striking gold; unfortunately, his old partner has died leaving the son crushed. Well, the prospector has a dog that he tries to give to the boy, but the dog does not care too much for the new arrangements and instead goes back to her old owner. Well a man who teams up with the prospector to find the ultimate vein of gold; unfortunately, the man is of course greedy beyond belief and it is not too long before the prospector knows of the man's ill intent. Well, not soon enough to save himself. Soon it is up to Shep the dog to avenge her owner as she must be poisoned, shot and chased into the frozen mountains to finally get revenge for her owner!
This made for a pretty good episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It did start off a bit weak, mind you, as I was thinking that the short that preceded this film about hygiene was going to be the highlight, but the film picks up greatly once Lassie's owner is killed and Lassie begins her quest for revenge. Once that begins the laughter and riffs are in high gear especially during the chase sequence as for reasons unknown the killer is more affected by the cold than is a dog that is soaking wet.
So this 'Lassie' film gets points for being different I guess, but it is hardly a Lassie film when the dog in the film is called Shep and the dog that is supposedly Lassie is named Pal. These days you do not get many dog stars, but back in the day it was more normal. No stars would probably be caught dead having to have second billing to a dog these days including porno stars! The film had some dark elements to it so probably a bit rougher than what many parents were expecting from a Lassie film, but nothing that is all that extreme by today's standards. However, not a very good film either so they'd probably be better skipping this one all together.