European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 12, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Lassie turns 50 in m Page nov Collie came Home and is still with us by Bob Thomas the associated press r Iddle who has never said a word on the screen has never argued about a contract and yet has remained a Star for 50 years answer Lassie. All eight of them. The Lassie Saga began in late 1943 with the release of a b movie starring two immigrants from War ravaged Britain Roddy Mcdowall and Elizabeth Taylor. From that unpretentious Start has flowed eight More feature movies 400 television segments millions of toys books comic books and More. Somewhere in the world a Lassie to show has been seen every Day since the series began on sept. 12,1954. Next year will bring a Brand new Lassie movie now being filmed in Virginia. Why has Lassie prevailed when most Mars of 50 years ago human or not have faded Quot Lassie does t talk Back a observes Sheila Benson former los Angeles times film critic. Quot boy scouts done to have that kind of loyalty. Lassie is smarter than the average husband. Smarter than the average nuclear scientist in fact. Also Lassie keeps you warm when you Are  More seriously she adds a Lassie has always promoted that perhaps specious vision of the tight integral family that you find Only in books and Lassie  Mem produced Lassie come Home As a b movie destined for the wrong half of a double Bill. But the dog with its near human intelligence and Well developed sense of rectitude enthralled wartime americans. Lassie became a member of Mem s Star roster along with Lana Turner Van Johnson and Lionet Barrymore. After six starring roles Lassie shifted to television and appeared on lbs on sunday evenings from 1954 Mcdowall and pal in 1943�?Ts Lassie come Home. To1971 and in syndication and reruns Ever since. The Star of the new movie is an eighth generation Lassie trained by Bob Weatherwax son of the late founder of the dynasty Rudd Weatherwax. Quot this has the makings of a classic a real a movie a Bob Weatherwax boasted by Telephone from the film location in Tazewell a. The film is directed by Daniel Petrie fort Apache the Bronx and stars Helen Slater and Jon Kenney As the parents Tom Guiry As the boy and Richard Farnsworth As Grandfather. The plot. Producer Bonita Granville confers with cameraman Charles Van Enger while Lassie Hugh Reilly Jon Provost and june Lockhart wait for action on the set of the Lassie television series in May 1962. Quot it s basically a boy gets dog boy loses dog boy gets dog Back a a explained Weatherwax. Quot its what All romances arc  the new Lassie is the largest about 70 pounds. Like previous lassies this one is male too. The Trainer explained a males Are bigger they retain their hair and the coat looks  Lassie was created by Eric Knight who had a Collie named Toots. Knight was an English born author who worked in Hollywood and hated it. He wrote a Short Story Lassie come Home which incorporated memories of his youth into a Story about a Collie who travels alone from England to Scotland to rejoin the family that had been forced to sell him. After the Story was printed in the saturday evening Post in december 1938, Knight expanded it to a novel which became a Best seller. Mem bought the film rights for $10,000. Enter Rudd Weatherwax who trained movie dogs including Asta of the thin Man series. As a boy on his fathers Arizona ranch he and his Collie had herded sheep and goats. A new Book Lassie a dogs life by Ace Collins tells How Weatherwax a dog pal won the film role. Pal had auditioned but was deemed ugly. The Trainer put pal through a diet and training regimen and the dog was impressive enough to be picked As a stunt double. When the show dog chosen As Lassie walked at crossing a River on location Pat made the crossing. A became Lassie on the spot. Lassie come Home the Hyphen was dropped scored with sentimental wartime audiences and the dog became an immediate Star. More films followed along with a radio show that lasted from 1946 to 1949. Lassie appeared in books endorsements War Bond Tours comic strips. Registrations of purebred collies Rose 300 percent. At Mem Lassie was treated like a Star. In the 1949 portrait of the studio s 58 leading personalities Lassie had a place in the front Row along with Fred Astaire june Allyson Mary Astor and Ethel Barrymore. Lassies popularity waned in the postwar years and his contract was dropped in 1951. Three years later. Lass a debuted on lbs television and Drew High ratings for 17 years. The show lasted for two years in syndication afterwards and returned in 19891991. Two feature films have appeared lassies gnat adventure 1963which combined four to shows and the magic of Lassie 1978with Jimmy Stewart Mickey Rooney and Alice fuse. With a new feature in the wrote and Lassie reruns reaching a new generation of youngsters on the Nickelodeon Channel it appears the intelligent Collie will continue into the next Century Quot my father always said that Lassie was an institution a commented Bob Weatherwax. Quot he said a As. Long As there Are children there la be  a indeed All children love dogs especially ones that have been proved valiant Loyal and lovable. But Lassie has always appealed to adults As Well. The reasons Are not hard to discern. The Lassie adventures always took place in Rural settings with Homespun folks who Clung to old fashioned values. Each Story carried a moral lesson and right always prevailed. Lassie saw to that. To audiences in this troubled Century the message was a comforting one. Quot its curious a reflects Roddy Mcdowall who was lassies first Friend in Lassie come Home. Quot Lassie has been portrayed by eight different dogs and in films and television series with different stories. Yet v the dog is always appealing. Quot Why i done to know. Except for the banal observation that Lassie upholds the Basic values that Are the mortar of Good  unlike other boy companions of Lassie Over the years Mcdowall has remained an actor. Now 65, he maintains a Busy career in films and television often dealing in the macabre he is also an expert photographer and recently published a collection of Star shots double exposure take in. Looking Back a half Century Mcdowall recalls �?o1 was absolutely Dotty about Lassie. He was a marvelous animal very Bright and awesome in his intelligence Lassie come Home was a very special film / sunday december 12.1993