MovieChat Forums > Lassie Come Home Discussion > Distance from Scotland to Yorkshire

Distance from Scotland to Yorkshire

posted 9 years ago by gleywong-86572
3 replies | jump to latest

I don't understand how far the Duke's estate in Scotland was from the Yorkshire home and school of Roddy's family.
In the first few scenes, Lassie can tell it's almost 4 pm to pick Roddy up from school, and does so, and the both walk the distance home. After Lassie is sold to the Duke, Lassie escapes her pen twice and makes her way to Roddy's school to pick him up at 4. This does not seem like a long distance, only a few minutes. Then comes the scene where Lassie escapes again, -- and Elizabeth recognizes that Lassie is heading south to Yorkshire. However, the rest of the movie consists of the long heroic trek along the seashore, etc back to find Roddy. What is the difference in these distances? When Roddy and his dad brought Lassie back to the Duke, they walked the distance. Was it a thousand miles, too? I'm confused. Can someone please explain this geography to me?

[–] practicepiano 9 years ago

I think you missed a conversation between the boy and his father, in which, after Lassie comes home twice, she is moved to Scotland:

- The Duke's taking her off to Scotland.

- Scotland?

- Aye. Her and half a dozen other likely show dogs. As soon as the shows are over,

she's to go back to Scotland, and she's never to come to Yorkshire anymore.

So, the Duke was in the Yorkshire area at first, and only went to Scotland later. I assume, as a wealthy man, he had homes in both areas.

[–] gleywong-86572 9 years ago

Thank you kindly for the prompt clarification !! I did miss that conversation (must have been off getting a snack). And yes,
I see now that the duke must have had 2 homes.

In watching just a few of these Lassie classics, I am struck by how little the scriptwriters thought to make the humans responsive to Lassie's communication with them -- they seem so callous or oblivious to what the dog is trying to tell them so clearly. Of course that makes for a tenser story, but it seems to ignore how much animals can communicate by their actions. I've not read the original book to see how the author tells it, but I do believe we try to understand animal communication more nowadays.They are not only intelligent but in tune with our emotions, sometimes better than we are.

Incidentally, what piano music do you play or compose? I'm a music lover myself -- mainly classical but if it's good and not too loud, I'll listen.

[–] practicepiano 9 years ago

You are welcome!

There are a few characters who are tuned in to dogs in the Lassie films. Edmund Gwenn's character is very attentive to them. I think seeing how each individual reacts to Lassie, and whether they learn from her, is always part of the story.

Sadly, how attentive humans are to what dogs are trying to tell them varies a lot today, as well. The fashion for harsh training methods comes back around periodically.

I'm from the school of thought that says, since animals don't speak in words, there is always a limit to how well we can understand them. Therefore, I think humans should always opt to be kind, and give the animal the benefit of the doubt.

I'm a music teacher -- over the years (lots and lots of them!), I've taught piano, elementary classroom music, and conducted choirs.

My composing and arranging is generally limited to pieces for my students.