Lassie – The Painted Hills

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: C-    Film: C

 

 

Lassie is a franchise that has seen its best days gone by, though the name still conjures up family entertainment.  The last major feature was in the mid-1990s and last major TV version had Leonardo DiCaprio.  In the MGM-produced The Painted Hills, the gimmick was to have Lassie play another dog named Shep and may have been intent on launching a sub-franchise for the dog.  It did not work out.

 

MGM sold the character, which went on to big TV success and from the results of this mixed film, you can see why.  Shep is helping out 1870s miners, but no one could save the standard, tired, almost formulaic script.  The only plus is that this is not a jokey piece and is fine for young children who like animal tales.  Besides that, skip it.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image was originally issued in 3-strip Technicolor when they would actually shoot three black and white strips, but there is no evidence of those vibrant colors here.  Instead, the colors are usually dull and not so good, while there are detail limits and agedness in the transfer.  On the other hand, there are some good moments of color and this is still better than many TV prints in EastmanColor of various incarnations of Lassie on the big and small screen going bad, so it could be worse.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also average and shows its age, especially being a few generations down.  There only extra is text on the cast and crew.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo