Hills of Home (1948)

Memorable, crazy movie

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I love Lassie but this film is for the dogs (sorry). It takes place in a small Scottish village. Its doctor (Edmund Gwenn) buys Lassie from its owner. The problem is Lassie is afraid of water. The doctor realizes this and tries to help her. Tom Drake and Janet Leigh play the obligatory young couple in love. Lassie is great, the movie is shot in rich Technicolor and has beautiful settings--but that's about it. It's slow-moving, kind of confusing and has unlikable characters. The Scottish accents come and go at random and the acting is terrible. Gwenn looks miserable, Leigh is miscast and Drake is a total blank. This only gets a 4 for Lassie. She's just terrific!

In an idyllic Scottish village, poor collie dog Lassie fails at sheepherding because she's afraid of crossing through water; a crusty old doc inherits Lassie, but he doesn't much want her either, even after she warns him of a collapsed bridge down the road. Despite a handsome MGM production, this non-adventure is unrelievedly depressing and infuriating (if the simple-minded plot doesn't gnaw at you, the ridiculous Scottish accents and muttonchops on the men certainly will). The collie dog used for the film is a beautiful animal but, let's face it, not particularly gifted for the camera (most of the time, she hovers about on the edge of the frame, constantly looking to one side for directions). Lassie takes a real beating in this one (including harsh owners, icy, raging rivers and bad weather of all sorts), yet, oddly, much of the focus is on doctor Edmund Gwenn and the wet-eyed, hand-wringing families of his patients. This downer is truly one of the dreariest family films of all time, not helped by a colorless supporting cast which includes a wooden Janet Leigh in an early role. *1/2 from ****

This is my first comment on a film so please bear with me. This has been touted as the earliest Lassie film. I beg to differ on that point, it is a film in which Lassie has her debut. The film is about a country doctor in a small community.It's characters play believable roles of people in earlier times in a rural setting. The film's quality doesn't just rival The movie "The Grapes of Wrath" but keeps pace with it only in a different country in simpler times.The characters in the film are not overcooked, no one actor steals the whole show as it were and reveals every part of a rural community and its inhabitants, the pubs, the hardships, the wheeling and dealing.The film also has excellent dialog, a rare commodity in newer films and delivered to perfection. I found the ending particularly interesting as my ancestors are Scottish and many of the older traditions were included in the film down to the last detail.The film is only slow by modern standards, i found it moves along quite well given what the film is about,time period and location in which the story takes place.

Moving, lovely, touching and delightful--even makes you cry-- story of a dog and a doctor. This is an old Lassie MGM movie and the star, don't you ever forget, was and remains, Lassie--this was the original Lassie, the first in a long line--now there is Lassie #9. The location is Scotland and in are the very young Janet Leigh among other players such as Tom Drake, although he was 30 at this time, not looking it, however, and, of course, Lassie. I recommend this as a must see for all Lassie fans. Interesting to watch the difference in the original Lassie and today's Lassie---the sets look like sets and backdrops, easily forgiven in such a lovely story. Good fun and good family viewing. See it and you just may cry a tear or several by its completion.