Lassie + Jean Rescues

Lassie is shown alongside Jean Rescues, featuring America’s first canine screen star, Jean the Vitagraph Dog.

Lassie (1994)
Dir. Daniel Petrie
With Helen Slater, Tom Guiry, Jon Tenney
94min; Digital

Perhaps no pup is more synonymous with canines on screen than Lassie, the decade and medium-spanning collie. Across film and television, nine canine thespians took up the mantle of the screen’s most famous pooch, first originated in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight. Sweetly hitting all the right beats of a family romp—while backed by the sounds of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Allman Brothers—the titular dog’s 1994 foray on the silver screen serves as a charming portrait of the power of a dog’s love.

Preceded by:

Jean Rescues (1911)
Dir. Lawrence Trimble
With Florence Turner, Leo Delaney, William Humphrey, Jean
12min; Digital

Alice and her nit-picking fiance Oscar are at the beach alongside Jean—Alice’s dog and a constant annoyance to Oscar. When Oscar’s penchant for jealousy leaves another beachgoer in danger, the heroic Jean must save the day.