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Reviews
Hills of Home (1948)
This is not a movie about Lassie, this is Lassie's debut in films.
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.
Of Mice and Men (1939)
This movie was broadcast on radio, before TV . I heard it in 1950 and never forgot it.
This movie has power. Some of todays movies are great extravaganzas but they have no power. The flawless performance given by Lon Chaney Jr. has never been surpassed. John Stienbeck wrote the story and is one of my favorite authors.
In this movie "Of Mice and Men" you can not help but be drawn into the story and feel every feeling that each character brings to the story. There are no big heroes here just people in a time of great tribulation. The director Lewis Milestone is superb in his making of this movie and also produced it.
I have seen all the remakes and there are none to compare. If you enjoy good movies don't miss this one and bring a box of Kleenex.