The Sun Comes Up

I am often fond of the Turner Classic Movies even when they contain out-dated mores and occasional slights to my feminist sensibilities. This is typically because the story lines, the character development, or the acting is strong enough to compensate for a bit of backward thinking here and there. But this film manages to smash its thick, worthless message at you, over and over in every line, scene, and plot point. "Women should be at home caring for a child or they have no meaning in this world, and while you're at it, be sure to be a good home-grown, rural, backward idiot." I couldn't be bothered to stay for the last 15 minutes of this entirely predictable - from minute one - loathsome, uninspired, piece of garbage from a hopefully dead value system.

Except for the fact that I feel that MacDonald quit films because being paired with a dog was pretty much the last straw, I think that.so far, everything that's needed to be said has been said--although I'm sure that someone else will come up with something new observation.Viewers and fans always do with each viewing of the film. You get more and more perspectives as time goes by. But for me, I couldn't help but notice two things that strangely make a future connection to a future TV show which would become as much as a legend as Lassie. One is Barbara Billingsly (Beaver's mom) playing a nurse. The other is a kid named Mickey McGuire (Didn't Mickey Rooney use that name for a while when he was acting in the silents? Got it after playing the lead character in a series of "Toonerville Trolley" films based on the Fontaine Fox comic strip). He plays a boy named Cleaver! Somewhat odd and prophetic that the name and the actress should be in the same movie, don't you think?

An okay story line, with a delightful Percy Kilbride, but oh, the singing, like nails on a chalk board -- and to think there was a time this singing was enjoyed. I would say almost ANYONE born after 1980 will HATE the singing. I would say, really, anyone born after 1960 will HATE the singing -- but I'm sure there's a small handful that might enjoy it (somehow). Thank goodness for fast forward. NIce bright colour.

What a great movie! I cried at the end of it. Great acting , good plot ,Lassie was terrific, the singing was superb, Jeanette MacDonald was so very good etc. Etc.

This is not the type of Lassie movie/TV show I enjoyed as a kid. Here "she" plays a supporting, but key role. Older kids may enjoy it, once they get past the classical singing. I especially enjoyed the scenes with the shopkeeper. I found the ending much too predictable.

When the film begins, Helen (Jeanette MacDonald) is about to give a concert--her first since the death of her husband. However, after the concert, her dog, Lassie, runs into the road...and Helen's son is killed trying to catch him. Not surprisingly, Helen is NOT thrilled about keeping Lassie, but does. But she also needs a change and so runs off to the country to get away from it all. There she meets some lovely people...including a teenager (Claude Jarman Jr.) who is in need of a good home. While there is zero surprise in how the film ends up there, the story is enjoyable along the way. Like nearly all the Lassie films, this one is a winner....even if Lassie himself (yes, it's a HE) is a very bad dog in this one! By the way, this was Jeanette MacDonald's last film. And, oddly, she looks pretty horrible in this one due to the garish colors in the Technicolor film. She looked much better in black & white and the colors they chose for her were frankly not very flattering.