Lassie Come Home is a 1943 drama directed by Fred M. Wilcox. It is an adaptation of a 1940 novel of the same name by Eric Knight. While young Joe Carraclough (Roddy McDowall) is at school one day, his impoverished father sells his beloved collie, Lassie, to the wealthy Duke of Rudling (Nigel Bruce). When Lassie does not meet him as usual at the end of the school day, Joe realizes what has happened and is inconsolable. Although Lassie repeatedly tries to return home, Joe's father eventually forces his son to tell Lassie to stay with her new family. The Duke of Rudling moves to Scotland soon afterwards, taking along Lassie and his granddaughter, Priscilla (Elizabeth Taylor). Since Priscilla sees that Lassie is unhappy without Joe, she decides to help the dog escape from her grandfather's home and the clutches of an evil trainer, Hynes (J. Patrick O'Malley). Brave Lassie then sets out on a perilous journey from Scotland to England to be reunited with her best friend.moreless