Episode Guide: Season 11 1964-1965

The ratings for "The Disappearance" proved high enough that, after season ten, Lassie left the farm forever and joined the U.S. Forest Service.

At first, the show's writers were stymied on how to make the change, knowing that Timmy would not willingly leave Lassie. At one point they considered having Paul join the Peace Corps, but apparently discovered that there was no rule at the time against Peace Corps volunteers having pets with them. They finally chose the out of having the Martins move to Australia. At that time, British quarantine laws for the prevention of rabies stated that any dog being brought into Australia had to be quarantined for six months—in England. (The law has since changed and the quarantine location is Australia; it is further being revised to be shortened or eliminated.) Knowing that being locked up for that length of time would break Lassie's heart, the Martins leave her with Cully Wilson in part one of a three-part story. By the end of the story, ownership has been transferred to Corey Stuart and Lassie's new life has begun.

"The Wayfarers" part 1 (09/06/64):

Initially excited when his parents break the news that the family is moving to Australia, Timmy changes his mind when he finds out Lassie would be quarantined for six months and cannot come with them. Cully: Andy Clyde. Narration: Bonita Granville Wrather.
   • Trivia: The head of the Australian program is David Gladwin Givens.

"The Wayfarers" part 2 (09/13/64):

Lassie has settled in living with Cully—and mostly occupied keeping Cully's mischievous Yorkshire terrier Silky in line—when the elderly man suffers another heart attack. Lassie fetches Doc Weaver, but in the process of his getting Cully to the hospital, Silky escapes, fair game for tourists at a tourist camp. Cully: Andy Clyde. Doc Weaver: Arthur Space. Narration: Bonita Granville Wrather.

"The Wayfarers" part 3 (09/20/64):

While Lassie and Silky wander Blue Canyon, where Silky is in danger from a marauding hawk, an old friend of the collie's shows up, Corey Stuart, who immediately heads out to find his missing friend. Cully: Andy Clyde. Doc Weaver: Arthur Space. Narration: Bonita Granville Wrather. Bill and Dave are uncredited.
   • Trivia: Corey is in the area because of an assignment in nearby Jefferson. (Interesting in that in one episode, one of the Millers' neighbors refers to Jeff as "Jefferson.") Corey's father was a ranger, too. This is mentioned again in "Cradle of the Deep." In this episode it is stated that Cully lives on Elmore Lane.
   • Note: This is the last appearance for Space on the series, although Clyde later returns in another role. It's very sad when Corey drives up to the deserted farm with its "For Sale" sign posted prominently at the gate; a very bleakly set scene with leaves scattered all over the farmyard and a lonely wind blowing. We are all leaving a place we loved for years, but a place that is home no more without Lassie.

"Incident of the Eagle" (09/27/64):

After Corey's survey plane strikes and injures a female eagle over Pine Ridge, Lassie tends her two helpless eaglets by feeding them and fending off a hungry bobcat while Corey and the game warden hunt down and treat the eagle. Game Warden Jack Conway: Gregg Barton. Dave: Robert Kenneally.
   • Note: This episode opens with what would be an archtypical scene in the ranger years, Lassie looking at and later wandering through scenes of forest animal life. Despite "all those forests to explore" that Corey talked about in the previous episode, they're still filming this one at Vasquez Rocks! I hadn't seen this episode in years, but I recalled a brief scene where Corey tells Lassie he has a letter from Timmy. I didn't see this scene in a recent broadcast; it was possibly edited out, or might be in another early episode—or very likely, was the wishful thinking of an 8-year-old who really missed Timmy! Corey does acknowledge this as their first "real" adventure by ending the episode with "I think we're going to make a pretty good team." The eagle later returns to do Lassie a good turn (see "Look Homeward, Lassie" below).

"Climb the Mountain Slowly" (10/04/64):

Thirteen-year-old Ricky Sutton foregoes childhood amusements, even baseball, to help his father complete an important logging operation which they hope will bring back business to the failing community of Denton, but is hurt and angry when co-workers tease him. His effort to drive a bulldozer to prove he's an adult spells danger for both him and Lassie. Ricky: Billy Hughes. Vince Sutton: Bill Williams. Grady: Med Flory.
   • Note: Hughes previously played Billy Joe Slocum/Yochim in two Timmy episodes, "Cracker Jack" and "Yochim's Christmas." By this episode his voice had changed. It was nice to hear his real voice, without the cornball hillbilly accent Billy Joe was given. Bill Williams was a cowboy star for years and made quite a few Lassie episodes in rugged roles. His other famous "role" was as husband to Perry Mason star Barbara Hale. The dog playing Lassie after she is tossed over the cliff is a different collie from "Baby", with a broad white stripe over the upper part of its mouth, at least on the right side. Some of the log-crossing scenes appear to be cribbed from "Lassie's Odyssey," and the dog who falls in the water almost looks like "Spook."

"Leave It to Lassie and the Beavers" (10/11/64):

New assistant district ranger Hank Whitfield has his baptism of fire after cantankerous Maude Lester threatens harm to the beavers who have dammed up the source of the stream that provides her ranch with water. The trick, Lassie discovers, is getting secretly softhearted Maude to like the beavers. Maude: Jeanette Nolan. Charlie: Owen Bush
   • Note: Hank's first episode—with a running gag with Maude misprouncing his last name to boot. Nolan's son Tim McIntire appears in several Lassie episodes, including "The Disappearance," and Nolan herself plays Ada Stratton in the Lassie telefilm Lassie: a New Beginning. There's a cute scene at the beginning where Lassie jumps every time Maude pounds her cane on the floor of the ranger station. The episode title appears to be an even more apppropriate pun on the series name Leave It to Beaver when you consider how many Beaver cast members appeared on Lassie: Hugh Beaumont, Ken Osmond, Richard Correll, and Stephen Talbot before this episode aired, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers afterward.

"Lassie and the Shifting Sands" (10/18/64):

While Corey acts as advisor on a beach recreation area project, Lassie befriends a little girl who has no one to play with. Then Gayle loses her grandmother's beloved bracelet, an anniversary gift from her late husband, on the beach, right before a storm blows up. Gayle Ellen MacLeod: Katie Sweet. Essie MacLeod: Sylvia Field. Ed Miller: Mark Tapscott.
   • Note: Sylvia Field had a lot of experience in the "grandmotherly" field after spending three years as the kind wife of beleagured Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace.

"Lassie and the Loner" (10/25/64):

Corey offers to help Jim Shelley, who the crew boss of the Chalk Mountain Erosion Control project considers unambitious and accident-prone, when he sees that the young man loves the wilderness and has potential as a ranger, but Jim refuses the pamphlet Corey gives him—to accept it would reveal his secret: he's illiterate. Jim: David Saber. Chet McCabe: William Bramley.

"Lassie and the Fugitive" part 1 (11/08/64):

A innocent farm dog left behind at a neighbor's home when his elderly owners move to town is shot while helping defend a flock of sheep from a pack of wild dogs. Lassie befriends him, but while tracking him down is set upon by the pack. Barney: Cal Bartlett. Dale Jensen: Douglas Kennedy. Elderly Man: Frank Ferguson. Stocker: Rayford Barnes. (The farm wife is uncredited.)
   • Note: "Spike," who played "Old Yeller," makes another guest appearance as the stray dog.

"Lassie and the Fugitive" part 2 (11/15/64):

Lassie fights off the leader of the dog pack to save her new friend while Corey and Barney search desperately for her, fearing the sheepmen hunting the wild dogs will kill her. She then leads the sheepmen astray in a dangerous game of hide-and-seek. Barney: Cal Bartlett. Dale Jensen: Douglas Kennedy. Stocker: Rayford Barnes.
   • Note: Opening narration by Bonita Granville Wrather.

"Nature's Way" (11/22/64):

A rancher, knowing he will be accused of overgrazing his land, hides his cattle in an area where there's quicksand, endangering his young son's life. Chuck Heinz: Kevin Brodie. Roland Heinz: Steve Brodie.

"Crossroad" (11/29/64):

Corey thinks Jim McKinnon has the smarts to go on to college, but he'd prefer to work so he can marry his girl Jody. Then, angered by an attack on his father, the impulsive young man goes hunting a wounded cougar—in the dark. Jim McKinnon: Doug Lambert. Hannah McKinnon: Sheila Bromley. Ben McKinnon: Karl Swenson. Wynn: Dennis Cross.
   • Note: Swenson later played series regular Karl Burkholm. The McKinnons' little terrier looks like the same dog as in "Trouble Below Zero." The shot of the horse in the barn is a cut from one of the Timmy episodes, possibly "Gentle Savage." There's Vasquez Rocks again, and the explosion looks like the one from "Lassie's Ordeal." Noted in the scenes where Corey and Lassie follow Jim into the woods, Lassie sitting by the fire, and in the jeep with Corey: the collie is played by the same dog used primarily in "Mountain Mystery" (see next).

"Mountain Mystery" (12/06/64):

Corey is sickened while surveying in Echo Canyon, and closes the forest 48 hours before the opening of tourist season. Facing the ire of the mayor and other local businessmen of the area, he searches for the source of the problem, which he is sure is in the water supply. He's right—and Lassie has ingested some of the poison! George Evans: Walter Reed. Mayor Fred Rankin: Bill Zuckert. Simpson: Charles Seel.
   • Note: The dog playing Lassie for the majority of this episode is not "Baby." It is a collie with a wide blaze like "Spook," but the blaze on the dog's right side goes around its mouth, and like "Spook" the blaze is freckled. At other angles, the dog occasionally looks just like "Spook." It is possible this episode, and the others noted, were filmed when "Baby" was first taken ill ("Baby" was the only Lassie descendant appearing on the series to retire early; he had cancer and died at the age of seven).

"Realm of the Wild" (12/13/64):

When a bear raids food from campers at the Twin Oaks campground, Corey helps the local game warden relocate the animal to an area away from tourists, not knowing the bear left a cub behind—luckily Lassie has found the little fellow and is leading him to safety, fighting off a bobcat and hawk to do so. Dick: Walter Stocker. Mr. Johnson: Glen Vernon.
   • Trivia: Corey is based at the Black Rock ranger station in this episode.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in this episode, although there are closeups of "Baby." The mother bear is a black bear, but the "cub" is not. It's a small species called a "sun bear," which is not indiginous to the U.S.

"The Little Christmas Tree" (12/20/64):

When Christmas trees being given away by the Pine Valley Community Church for families who would otherwise not have them are stolen, Lassie finds them, including the special tree picked out by young Billy for a secret project, in a tree lot run by two wayward brothers. Billy: Teddy Eccles. Mrs. Davis: Joan Tompkins. Frank Daniels: Bob Random. Rusty Daniels: Richard Correll. John: Allan Hunt. Joanne: Noanna Dix. Jimmy: Kerry MacLane.
   • Trivia: Corey helps out yearly at the Pine Valley Community Church.
   • Note: Teddy Eccles, later billed as "Ted," was a popular juvenile actor of the late 1960s and early 1970s. His television credits included the teen-age Franklin Roosevelt in the Emmy-award-winning miniseries Eleanor and Franklin, he did many voiceovers for cartoons—most famously Aaron, the little drummer boy, in the Rankin-Bass Christmas special—and he starred in the critically acclaimed family movie My Side of the Mountain. Richard Correll appeared in the Timmy episode "The Greyhound."

"Lassie Works a Miracle" (12/27/64):

Lassie saves from death an unpredictable stallion who has injured one person and almost hurt another, but in the process inadvertently frees the animal and sends its owner and Corey hunting him in the hills. Undaunted, Lassie sets out on a rescue mission of her own. Jetta: Mimsy Farmer. Bruce Henderson: Byron Morrow. Dekker: Hal Jon Norman. Bill: Lenny Geer.
   • Trivia: Takes place at the Running Springs Recreation Area in the Crown Butte National Forest. I couldn't find a Crown Butte National Forest, but there is a Crown Butte in Montana's Gallatin National Forest. Lassie is excited when they arrive, and Corey says she is eager to see "old friends," so it appears they have been there before.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery") is in evidence in this episode as well, especially in the action scenes. The stallion here is the same one that played "Square Deal" in "Horse Thief." Both are probably "Beaut," who played Fury.

"It's an Ill Wind" (01/03/65):

Since a logger's widow won't let her son keep Duchess, a stray cat, and her three kittens, he hides them in a woodland cave that Corey and Lassie discover. When a angry storm breaks out, both he and Lassie race to the cave to save them and are trapped by a fallen power line. Gary Porter: Ronnie Dapo. Ann Porter: Frances Rafferty.
   • Trivia: This takes place somewhere near a town called Summit Bluffs. It's somewhere near the coast.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in this episode. Scenes from "The Phone Hog" where a storm knocks wires down on a truck and breaks the phone lines are reused here. Ronnie Dapo was also a guest in the Timmy episode "Swimmers."

"Lassie and the Girl in the Canyon" (01/10/65):

Hank's visiting sister, a schoolteacher, takes a bad tumble while exploring Devil's Canyon with Lassie; Hank and Corey must find the quickest way to get her to safety without aggravating her possible back injury. Julia Whitfield: Gloria Talbot. Dr. Walker: John Zaremba. Ambulance Driver: Dusty Cadis.
   • Note: John Zaremba previously played Cully Wilson's doctor and also the orphanage director in "The Blind Colt." There's that white building again, the one that was also a hospital in the Timmy episode "Dognappers." Ah, look at that 1960s beehive haircut!

"Stranger in the Woods" (01/24/65):

Lassie, having inadvertently freed Louie, a mynah bird that the caretaker of the Pine Valley Zoo taught to say her name, searches in the woods for the escaped pet, who's being stalked by a fox. Casey Howell: Dabbs Greer.
   • Note: Presumably this is the same Pine Valley as in "Little Christmas Tree"? We must have missed the story of Lassie finding a fawn. The cuts during Lassie attacking the fox are almost too quick for you to notice, but what Lassie is fighting in that scene is a bobcat, not a fox.

"High Water" (01/31/65):

Rancher Wade Banning tells Corey he can't afford to replant his land after a forest fire, despite the risk of erosion and flooding, until his daughter and her collie puppy Tina are trapped in rising water caused by a storm. Linda Banning: Suzy Somers. Wade Banning: Tom Drake. Pete (Flood Control Officer): Peter Hansen.
   • Trivia: The Bannings live near the town of Braddock.
   • Note: "Suzy Somers" later grew up to be Suzanne Somers of Three's Company. Tom Drake appeared in the Lassie films Courage of Lassie and Hills of Home. The collie puppy is a birthday present from Corey; he picks it up from the express office and there is no sign that it might be an offspring of Lassie's. "Baby" appears in most of the close-ups, but the collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") is in major evidence in this episode as well.

"The Loser" (02/07/65):

Corey detours on the way to a new assignment in Brockton to visit the Gold Creek area, a deserted mineworks where he and his dad used to hunt and fish. When he and Lassie give chase after Eddie, a cynical escaped prisoner doing time for armed robbery who was about to steal Corey's car, they are all trapped in the mine after a cave-in. When Lassie finds a way out, can Eddie accept the faith that Corey and Lassie show him? Eddie Burch: Michael Pate. Highway Patrolman: Herbert Patterson.
   • Trivia: Eddie's father and uncle were coal miners who died in a cave-in.
   • Note: While "Baby" gets many close-ups, the collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") is in evidence in this episode in many of the action sequences.

"The Old Man in the Forest" (02/14/65):

Boone Sawyer, who lives in the midst of a National Forest in harmony with wild animals, is in trouble for frightening hunters away from a deer he raised; having befriended the recluse, Corey tries to help him before he gets arrested. Sheriff Dan Holbrook: Stuart Randall. Sawyer: Ford Rainey. Deputy: Lew Brown. 1st Hunter: Lane Chandler. 2nd Hunter: Ted Ryan.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze ("Mountain Mystery") plays Lassie in most of this episode. The character of Boone appears in the following season, this time played by John Anderson.

"Look Homeward, Lassie" part 1 (02/21/65):

When their airplane is struck by lightning near Little River Canyon while surveying storm activity, Corey and Lassie parachute from the damaged craft, but collie and man are separated. While Corey is in the hospital recovering from surgery after a head injury, Lassie, thrown into a stream by the landing, clears the water and picks her way across the desert, trying to find her way home. David Kirkland: Douglas Henderson. Helicopter Pilot: Robert Goshen. Doctor: Mark Tapscott. Radioman: H. Lloyd Nelson.
   • Note: The initial scene of Lassie in the water is from part one of "The Disappearance." We're back at Vasquez Rocks, I see, although long shots show an entirely different canyon.

"Look Homeward, Lassie" part 2 (02/28/65):

Lassie's foray into a ghost town leaves her the captive of a cantankerous prospector after he notices what a good effect she has on his stubborn burro and lures her with much-needed water. With the help of the burro, she gets away and then attempts to help two runaway boys in a boxcar. Prospector: Chubby Johnson. David Kirkland: Douglas Henderson. Scotty: Donald Losby. Steve: Rickey Kelman. Station Master: Phil Chambers.
   • Trivia: The boys are from Crescent Palms and jump from the train at Ravenna.
   • Note: Scotty notes that Lassie has "a funny look in her eyes" like she is looking for or going toward home (something Mort Morgan also notes in the next episode). This is probably where the title of the story comes from. The very last scene was originally used in "Lassie's Odyssey" as the closing scene of part one.

"Look Homeward, Lassie" part 3 (03/07/65):

Lassie's leg is injured while helping cattleman Mort Morgan avoid a stampede caused by a predatory wolf, and she later helps to track him down—as a mysterious eagle watches over her. Meanwhile, Corey appeals to his superiors to let him search for Lassie. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Mort Morgan: Roy Roberts. Doc Hargus: Nelson Olmstead. Bill Hoffman: Richard Travis. Sheriff: Harry Lauter.
   • Trivia: Corey has a friend named Jim Cannon who has a ham radio operation.
   • Note: Longtime followers of the series aren't hallucinating—the opening scene on the railroad tracks and the later fight with the wolf are direct cuts from "Lassie's Odyssey." (The original music for the train encounter was better!) There's also brief cuts of the Martin chicken coop! Also, the business with the eagle leading Lassie home is a bit inexplicable if you haven't seen "Incident of the Eagle" earlier in the season. This episode was shown in black and white; however, you can see color scenes from it in the View Master set "Lassie Look Homeward" (with the title reversed to "Lassie, Look Homeward" for the View Master presentation).

"Day of Devotion" (03/14/65):

A gander waits patiently while Corey and Hank race to save the life of his mate, the victim of metallic poisoning—it's Lassie who must take the goose lifesaving serum when Corey's truck breaks down. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Ray Proctor: Walter Stocker.

"Tinderbox" (03/21/65):

The Austin Kennels becomes a fire camp after a careless motorist's cigarette starts a raging forest fire during a dry spell. As young Doug Austin warns mountain residents of the fire, he is caught in the path of the flames. Doug Austin: Bob Diamond. Kip Austin: Richard Crane. Bill: Robert Patten. Helicopter Pilot: Robert Chadwick. Spruce Meadow Lookout: Garrison True.
   • Note: Check out the "careless motorist": jail this guy posthaste. He's the same clueless idiot who started the blaze in "The Fire Watchers" in the Timmy era. (This oft-reused clip shows up in the film Ed Washburne shows to the schoolchildren in "Three Alarm," too.) The fire-resistant tents that Corey and Doug use show up again in "A Time for Courage." Alas, after working well in two episodes, they can't save Corey from burns in "The Holocaust." First of three Lassie episodes featuring Bobby Diamond, who used to play Joey on Fury. Notice the Assistant Director in this episode; it's Robert Justman, who went on to "fame and fortune" in Star Trek. Possible inside joke?: The area Doug is warning is called Bonita Canyon—a tip of the hat to producer Bonita Granville Wrather, perhaps?

"Lassie and the Swamp Girl" (03/28/65):

When Corey consults with old Huber Dawes about allowing access to his swamp property, his lonely granddaughter Mattie falls in love with Lassie and undertakes a dangerous night journey throught the swamp to lure the collie home with her. Mattie: Suzanne Cupito. Huber Dawes: George Mitchell. Don Robertson: John Alvin.
   • Trivia: Robertson has a dog named Bluebell.
   • Note: Does Mattie look familiar? Suzanne Cupito changed her name and is now more familiarly known to audiences as model/actress Morgan Brittany. It's rather dark, but the building that Corey and Don walk into just before Mattie makes off with Lassie looks the same one that served as Colonel Klink's headquarters in Hogan's Heroes.

"Trouble Below Zero" (04/04/65):

Lassie's troubles have just begun after she follows a refrigerated delivery truck in which her buddy, a little mongrel named Binks, has been locked: she's chased away from the meat market, captured by the dog catcher, and finally must confront the market's guard dog, Duke. Joe Dawson: James Flavin. Danny: Lee Farr. Dog Catcher: Bill Henry. Harvey: Robert B. Williams. Man: Lloyd Nelson.
   • Trivia: "City Meat" operates out of the town of Crystal Springs, which appears to be an area in San Mateo, California.
   • Note: Corey does not appear in this episode. The exterior of Joe's Cafe looks like an actual roadside cafe. The German Shepherd who plays Duke looks like the same one who played the dog Timmy gives to Miss Hazlit's uncle in "The Unwanted." When Lassie is enclosed in the dog pound run, "Red," the dog who played "Fang" on Get Smart and also "Jeeper" in the episode of that title, is in the run next to her, and the dog in the very last run looks like the low-slung little dog who played "Ruff"/"Spot" in "Stable Mates"/Flip's dog "Butch."

"Runaround" (04/11/65):

An escaped baby chimpanzee named Debbie that Lassie rescues from the woods makes a shambles of the ranger station just as Corey and Hank prepare for inspection by a notoriously strict district ranger. Sheriff Jim Simmons: House Peters Jr. Hank: Clyde Howdy. Bill: John McKee. First Radio Operator: Ollie O'Toole. Second Radio Operator: Dorothy Lovett. Regional Ranger Monroe: Sydney Smith.
   • Note: There was just something in the fifties and sixties that made nearly every series feature an episode about a mischievous chimpanzee that wrecks something. Lassie had already unfortunately done many of these starting in the Jeff episodes ("The Chimp," "Happy," "The Watch Dog," "Casey," "The Man from Mars," etc.) and now chimp mania skipped into another era... Check out the barn Hank is working near; it looks like the same one they used for Al Livermore's horse barn in "High Tension."

"Long Ears" (04/28/65):

Lassie and Corey pursue Dusty, a runaway mule who hates his forced retirement from his job as lead mule of the pack-train that takes supplies to High Point Summit and Angel's Peak, and Lassie must take a hand when Dusty lingers under a tottery, condemned fire tower. Jake Palmer: Paul Fix. Jim Morse: James Beck.
   • Note: Fix previously appeared on Lassie in "The Sulky Race." Vasquez Rocks appears again.

"Lassie's Teamwork" (05/09/65):

Physical therapist Nancy Hoyt's charges Karen, Ann and Mike all joyously participate in a tree-replanting project as therapy, but Corey and Nancy worry about her fourth student, a despondent boy named Jimmy who cannot see beyond his limitations. The boy further loses hope after the seedling trees are burned by lightning-ignited fire. Nancy Hoyt: Bonita Granville Wrather. Jimmy: Robert Fuss. Karen: Robin Fuchs. Ann: Linda Willich. Mike: Richard Hipp Jr.
   • Note: The collie with the wide blaze (see "Mountain Mystery" and others) appears, but the dog who resembles, or is, "Spook" chiefly plays Lassie in this episode. Several reused scenes from older episodes appear, including Lassie racing across hayfields, and Corey sighting the smoke ("The Black Woods"; even a clip from a Jeff episode). The story was made in cooperation with the Crippled Children Society of L.A. County, California. Mike walks with the aid of braces, Ann walks with braces and one crutch, Karen appears to be paraplegic and must use a wheelchair, and Jimmy uses braces and crutches.

"Honor Bright" (05/16/65):

A young French boy secretly follows a Boy Scout Troop 17 being accompanied by Corey and Lassie, who are on a two-day campout, but is reluctant to join them because he doesn't want to feel foolish next to the Scouts. While they are preparing for a hike, Andre tries to pilot the Scouts' canoe with disastrous results. Andre Gervais: Peter Soli. Bobby Moore: Ricky Kelman. Troop Leader: Danny Flower.

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