"The Magic of Lassie" is a notorious film which bombed at the box office and which Siskel & Ebert hated on their weekly review show. However, despite this, I had to see it because it starred some wonderful actors from old Hollywood...such as Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney and Alice Faye (among others). In the end, however, it turned out to be bittersweet...mostly because you can't help but think these fine old actors deserved better.
The plot to "The Magic of Lassie" is similar to the first Lassie film, "Lassie Come Home". Now I am not saying it's as good as the other film...just that there are similarities. It begins with a rich jerk-face (Pernell Roberts) trying to buy an old man's winery. But Clovis (Jimmy Stewart) doesn't want to sell...and the rich jerk-face insists he always gets what he wants. So, it's not surprising that he returns the next day....not to try to buy the winery but insisting Clovis' dog belongs to the rich jerk-face....and it had escaped many years ago. And, since the dog DOES have the tattoo that the jerk-face said would prove it was his, Clovis reluctantly gives the dog to him. Soon Lassie runs away because the guy IS a jerk-face and tries to find his way back home....many hundreds of miles away. And, like "Lassie Come Home", the doggy encounters all sorts of nice helpful people along the way.
The problem with this film isn't so much because it's derivative. Sure, it is a good example of 'been there...done that' but the bigger problem is the god-awful music which is incredibly schmaltzy. Surprisingly, it's written by the Sherman Brothers...who wrote some amazing music for Disney (such as the soundtrack to "Mary Poppins"). But it's just bad. As for the story, it's just okay and never really pulls the viewer into the story. Overall, it's just okay when it really should have been much, much better.
