There are conflicts in reviews I've read of this in my earlier research of the film. Some people refer to this as a "Lassie" film which happens to star Jeanette MacDonald, while others refer to it as just the opposite. For MacDonald to go from her long teaming with Nelson Eddy to the queen of canine movie stars might have seemed literally like going to the dogs, but the results of the film prove otherwise. Jeanette and Lassie definitely share the responsibility for making this one of the most delightful family films, written by the author of "The Yearling", and featuring its star, Claude Jarman Jr. in a most sensitive performance that is a joy to behold.
MacDonald is a widowed opera star who is returning to the concert scene when tragedy strikes her once again. She moves to the country, reluctantly taking along Lassie, yet initially shunning any contact with the locales, especially the children. But the local store owner's handy boy (Jarman) makes a quick impression on her (literally helping save Lassie from a rattle snake), and her closed heart begins to re-open. MacDonald begins to come back to life and is considering another concert tour when she comes to terms with the needs that are really important for her and for the people she's come to love.
The gorgeous color photography makes this an absolute joy to look at, filled with country sides and sunsets and rolling meadows in the hills. Percy Kilbride gives an amusing performance as the country store owner (William Goode-the e is not silent), with Margaret Hamilton and Ida Moore as two local women who are experts with snuff, and Lloyd Nolan as the owner of the house MacDonald rents who comes in late to the story and provides the moral of the story. Lewis Stone has a small role as one of MacDonald's advisers early in the film. She gets to sing a few songs (even an aria from "Madame Butterfly"), and for once, you can actually hear all the lyrics she is singing.
It must have seemed a comedown for Jeanette (here in her last film) to possibly take second fiddle to a dog, but she manages to rise above that thought, still looking equally as gorgeous as she had ten years before. It is a shame that she didn't make any films after this, because she is far from being beyond her prime, and mixes both comedy and pathos with dignity and beauty.
MacDonald is a widowed opera star who is returning to the concert scene when tragedy strikes her once again. She moves to the country, reluctantly taking along Lassie, yet initially shunning any contact with the locales, especially the children. But the local store owner's handy boy (Jarman) makes a quick impression on her (literally helping save Lassie from a rattle snake), and her closed heart begins to re-open. MacDonald begins to come back to life and is considering another concert tour when she comes to terms with the needs that are really important for her and for the people she's come to love.
The gorgeous color photography makes this an absolute joy to look at, filled with country sides and sunsets and rolling meadows in the hills. Percy Kilbride gives an amusing performance as the country store owner (William Goode-the e is not silent), with Margaret Hamilton and Ida Moore as two local women who are experts with snuff, and Lloyd Nolan as the owner of the house MacDonald rents who comes in late to the story and provides the moral of the story. Lewis Stone has a small role as one of MacDonald's advisers early in the film. She gets to sing a few songs (even an aria from "Madame Butterfly"), and for once, you can actually hear all the lyrics she is singing.
It must have seemed a comedown for Jeanette (here in her last film) to possibly take second fiddle to a dog, but she manages to rise above that thought, still looking equally as gorgeous as she had ten years before. It is a shame that she didn't make any films after this, because she is far from being beyond her prime, and mixes both comedy and pathos with dignity and beauty.