Amazon.com: Lassie: Best of Jeff's Collie [DVD] : Provost, John, Reilly, Hugh, Rettig, Tommy, Cleveland, George: Movies & TV (original) (raw)
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Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2007
This DVD contains an early episode of the 1954 series starring Tommy Rettig, where Lassie is awarded to the boy after a relative dies. It also contains the transition episode aired in 1957 where an aging Rettig is replaced with tiny Jon Provost. Gramps has died, Ellen decides to move herself and her son to Capital City to teach music, and lease the farm to the Martins, who have adopted a little orphan boy. The dog decides what she wants to do in this episode as she does in the first episode. The actors in the first post-transitional season who play Timmy's parents are abruptly replaced without explanation. For those who remember this series from their early baby boomer years, the DVD brings back memories. Solid American virtue is everywhere to be found.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2019
This show is one that evokes the days of childhood and innocence. The love shown between characters and the dog warms the heart. The disc, though used, offered no problems. I am well pleased with this purchase.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2004
I was born twenty years after the three episodes you'll find on this DVD set. I grew up with the 'Timmy' episodes of LASSIE on Nickelodeon, but I longed to see the 'Jeff' episodes which I knew about via my parents' recollections of the show. I was finally able to catch JEFF'S COLLIE on Animal Planet in 1997. However, that network didn't run (to my knowledge) the pivotal episode, "The Transition"--included on this 3-episode set--in which the Jeff era gave way to the Timmy era. Jon Provost and Tommy Rettig together! I was finally able to see this milestone in the LASSIE TV universe thanks to this release.
If you're into LASSIE, TV or otherwise, and especially the Tommy Rettig ('Jeff') era, this is an excellent set to start with, including the show's premiere episode from 1954, "The Inheritance." Sandwiched in the middle is "Lassie's Pups," famous for Jeff's harrowing nighttime journey to the vet's office, and "The Transition" rounds out the set. The quality of the transfer is as good as anything I've seen, even though the original copies of these shows were not in the best of wear when they were copied. These early episodes are a bit clunky at times, storywise, yet they're endearing too thanks to strong performances by Jan Clayton, George Cleveland, and especially Tommy Rettig, a truly gifted child actor fifty years ago or today. If you're going to collect LASSIE's TV adventures, here's where you want to start.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2011
After so many years of not seeing these original Lassie TV shows, it was a joy to revisit a simpler time in TV and life. I have wonderful childhood memories of watching Lassie every Sunday night with popcorn. Life was never so beautiful. The DVD quality is wonderful and the shows included classic Lassie. Thank you to whoever copied these early films on disk.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2007
The Tommy Rettig "Lassie" delighted me tremendously as a young boy, and I love seeing these shows after 50 years. I recalled a sense of true, non-Hollywood-gloss reality about the way the farm looked, the way Jeff's mother (Jan Clayton) looked and spoke, and the way Jeff reacted like a real.
That's all here in this CD, but because the three shows are untypical -- Jeff gets Lassie, Jeff loses the farm, and a show where Lassie, sick, just lies down for 25 minutes, I don't feel the life of the farm and of being young and adventurous, the way the series moved me every usually Sunday night.
So, this a nice package. But I wish we could have more of the regular drama of a great kid, a great life, and a great dog.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2011
I am sorry but the selection had a lot of strange things that my kid was confused about. The Inheritance had adults fighting and a scary field hand. Okay, for the first one but a little edgy. Lassie's Pups was scary a little for with Jeff taking his bicycle in the night and then getting hurt and being all alone. More stressful but the kid was still a good kid. Then comes The Transition and there is this mysterious psycho little kid who cries all of the time, grandpa is dead and they are at a funeral, little kids fighting, and at the end, the little kid runs away, has to sleep out doors and tries to drown himself in a lake. And then Lassie is given away, totally unlike the first episode where Lassie picks its owner. A horrible collection for little kids younger than 6. Definitely not a group of episodes that were meant to be shown together.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2015
Jeff's Collie is my all time favorite!!!! I would like to see all the episodes on DVD to be able to purchase. At least I have these and I am SO thankful for this DVD. Want the rest!!!! Take note!!
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4.0 out of 5 stars Lassie comes home!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2012
Anyone who was an avid young 'telly' viewer of the 1950s will no doubt recall devouring the American 'for kids only' series such as 'Champion the Wonder Horse', 'Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin', 'My friend Flicka', 'Circus Boy',and of course, 'Lassie'. A boy and his dog/horse/elephant being a winning combination.This compilation includes the initial episode in which young Jeff Miller, played by talented Tommy Rettig, first encounters his future companion.In the second episode Lassie has pups. Thirdly we skip 3 years. Jeff is leaving and Timmy (Jon Provost)appears to take-over the role as the dogs best friend. Picture and sound quality are quite acceptable for a knock-down-price, even though I do think the playing time of 76 minutes a trifle meagre. In NTSC format only.