I love this movie so much

Highly Overrated But Still Good

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Fred M. Wilcox returned to direct Lassie in his third film, but this is not a continuation of "Son Of Lassie", though original costar Elizabeth Taylor does return as a new character called Kathie Merrick, who rescues a collie pup, and names it Bill(Lassie is not the name here, despite the title!) whom she raises as a sheep-herder, until one day he is hit by a truck and taken to a veterinarian. Bill's life is saved, but is not identified, so is instead sent off as a war dog to assist soldiers in the trenches. Sadly, this experience turns Bill vicious, and upon his return home becomes a livestock killer. Can Kathie convince the court not to put Bill down? Strange film is mostly an uninspired rehash of the first two(unrelated) pictures, when it would have been far wiser to just continue that story, instead of creating this one. A wasted opportunity.

This film does have something important to say about PTSD and the military's gradual recognition of it as a medical condition during the second world war despite ignoring all the evidence from the 1914 - 1918 conflict.Apart from that,"The courage of Lassie" is merely a mildly diverting tale of a lost dog who gets press - ganged into the U.S.Army and ends up in the Aleutian Islands helping to rescue some ambushed soldiers. Miss E.Taylor is delightful as Lassie's erstwhile owner who is horrified to find her pet a changed animal when he makes his way back home after escaping from a railroad carriage carrying him to be p.u.t. d.o.w.n. after displaying aggressive behaviour to his handler. He goes on trial for totally uncharacteristic sheep killing and is condemned to death,only to be reprieved at the last minute when his military number is found tattooed on his skin. A little girl and her dog are reunited and millions of 8 year - olds all over the world weep copiously.Or they did in 1946. Now they'll probably turn on "Tour of Duty" and wipe out half the German Army in revenge. I think Ill stick with the weeping.

Lassie should have barked, "RE-WRITE!" during the third in the series, "Courage of Lassie". Elizabeth Taylor takes over the reigns as Lassie's owner. Obviously, the filmmakers were still not sure how to use Lassie as a name; so it's implied that the dog you love as Lassie is playing "Bill" (but it's really "Pal" playing "Lassie" playing "Bill"; and, it gets even more complicated in the film).Since it is 1946, we'll just have to go along with Lassie being drafted; but, is this "Lassie Come Home from World War II" - is Lassie an unpatriotic deserter? Then, the poor dog comes down with Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome, becomes a killer, and goes on trial. On the plus side: Lassie is terrific, as usual; the dog tries to make a bad script hunt. Elizabeth Taylor and the film look very nice in color; and, Frank Morgan feels like a good substitute for Donald Crisp, who was in the last Lassie film, and will be in the next one… **** Courage of Lassie (7/24/46) Fred M. Wilcox ~ Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Tom Drake

'Courage of Lassie' is not really about 'Lassie' but about a Lassie-like collie named Bill. 'Courage of Lassie' is one of the best Lassie films, in my opinion. The storyline is packed full of adventure in which Bill saves the day, but when Bill is hit by a truck and taken away from young Kathy (Elizabeth Taylor), Bill becomes an army dog in the second World War. (I think this is the only Lassie film to have a female girl as the dog's primary master.) There are also some happy parts of the movie, showing the deep friendship that the young girl and collie share. This, intertwined with Lassie saving sheep in a snow storm and becoming a war hero makes this a good film. It's not as good as 'Lassie Come Home', but it is still worth a watch if you enjoy films about dogs.