Original subtitles

laughing

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starring tommy rettig as jeff miller

jan clayton as his mother ellen

george cleveland as gramps

and of course

lassie

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what are you sneaking for

i had to sneak out so i gotta sneak back

now you go around in the parlor window

but don't let anybody see you

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shhh

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in the kitchen and the doors open so

we'll have to be real quiet

now if you get caught don't say anything

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[Applause]

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we made it

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keep out of sight sure okay

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now remember what you're supposed to do

just like we've been working on it

oh dad

yeah

have you seen jeff

he's seen him since breakfast

yeah

yeah

what do you want him for oh he knows

he's supposed to practice an hour before

going to his lesson you know he hates

that fiddle-like poison so you said many

times well i'm only stating facts

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oh he's in the parlor practicing

bless his heart

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come back here you crazy

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oh hi mom i was just practicing well is

the duet necessary huh

oh you mean lassie you know very well

what i mean i tried to keep her quiet

but i guess you just can't stand the

pain the pain she's been fighting it up

to now

you finally must have got the best of

her what are you talking about

well i read in the encyclopedia there

are certain types of sounds that hurts a

dog's ear something awful yeah miss

miller just right about that dogs have

got awful sensitive ears

obviously we can't let lassie go on

suffering like this oh no it'd be too

cruel of course you could always get her

some earmuffs

seems like we're up against a real

problem well it looks like i'll either

have to give up playing the violin or

we'll have to give up lassie whatever

you say mom give up lassie why she's

practically family oh she is family

well then we don't have any other choice

you'll just have to give up the violin

i'll call mr butterfield

i'm sure he'll understand

[Applause]

[Music]

hmm

you got baiting out there to catch a

school of whales we're gonna be out all

afternoon

boy

this oughta catch a big one

lassie

come here girl

well we're getting ready to go fishing

she's coming with us oh this won't take

a few minutes dear

want to try a little experiment

experiment what she mean grams search me

you

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what's that

somebody's playing a violin

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this violin playing doesn't seem to

bother lassie's ears at all now isn't

that strange

yeah

oh say what do you know

how do you like that

i'd even bet you to say that she's

actually enjoying it look at her tail

she's just being brave that's all i'll

bet you just standing up fighting back

the pain

oh anyone can see she's enjoying it

she just can't stand the sound of the

violin when it's played poorly

that's all

something tells me that's the way she's

gonna hear it

so isn't it wonderful jeff it isn't a

question of you're getting rid of lassie

after all

it isn't no the solution is simple

if you care anything about lassie's poor

sensitive ears well you'll just buckle

down and practice real hard so you'll

play better

looks like you're up a tree son

it's a lucky thing i didn't call mr

butterfield and cancel your lesson today

yeah

lucky

what about all those nice juicy worms we

went and dug up oh they won't go to

waste porky jeff will be back in time

for you to get in a little fishing

yes mia come on we better go get the

worms out of the sun

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not now lassie i gotta think once you

start taking lessons you're stuck for

years and years and years

gramps you just gotta help me i don't

know what i can do boy i'd like to do

what mom wants but i hate that violin

it's awful

i tell you what yeah

i got an idea buzzing around my head

what is it now hold on it ain't nothing

to save you from that lesson this

afternoon

and i won't be able to do anything if

you don't stop these shenanigans like

all this business that you and lassie

cooked up can't you tell me what you're

figuring on doing

look did your old gramps ever let you

down

then you just take it easy and leave it

to me

okay okay all right

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i told you no more shenanigans you can't

come with me

i promise grams

okay

looks like i gotta put you in the barn

come on

and you go

and anyway i don't know whether i ought

to feel sorry for you or not you were

supposed to help me out of this jam

but now all of a sudden you're a music

lover

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i wasn't your fault girl

anyway everything's gonna be okay gramps

is working on a scheme

but you gotta stay in here

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um

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[Applause]

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you'd better go on home i'll meet you

later mr butterfield won't mind if i

come along and watch i'm not thinking of

mr butterfield okay wait porky i'd

rather suffer alone

but i'm your friend your pal and i

yeah you're my pal remember i even let

you come to the dentist with me once and

it didn't hurt half so bad with you

sitting there well but i even gave you

my tooth oh that's dear friend yeah i

don't see why

well

okay

but just sit quiet don't do anything to

get me in trouble

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we aren't making very much progress are

with jeffrey i'm just playing what it

says

here if i weren't sure such a thing is

impossible i'd say your playing gets

increasingly worse but i yeah you are

fighting me jeffrey

yes sir

no sir i mean

whatever you say sir

my pudgy little friend if you must stuff

yourself would you mind doing it

silently with a banana we have enough

strange noises in this room

yes sir i mean no sir i mean

whatever you say sir

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very well jeffrey once more

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now what is it

nothing sir

i'm beginning to doubt my own ears

continue

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that's enough put your violin away i

have a note to write

a note to who

your mother

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as you know i came to calverton for my

health but if i continue to be exposed

to violin playing like your sons

and howling dogs under my window

i will go to an early grave

therefore madam i beg of you save your

money and my nerves sincerely francis

butterfield

honest mom i like lassie in the barn she

didn't go with me

you can ask porky oh so you dragged

porky with you too

no

he just came because

well because we're pals

no wonder you drove poor mr butterfield

out of his mind and no wonder he had to

write a note like this

no shenanigans gramps believe me jeff i

hate to do this but you give me no other

choice

yes ma'am

i'm going to find you a teacher in

capital city and i'm going to drive you

there myself every saturday every

saturday yes

i suppose you change your clothes and

finish stacking the wood behind the barn

well i

i was supposed to go fishing with porky

no

fishing

so

i gotta go someplace be back in about an

hour

you think i'm i'm being too severe don't

you nope

probably doing what you think best

well where are you going

down nation can't a man go and take a

drive without getting the third degree

and oh yeah uh set up another place for

supper tonight

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foreign

you know miss miller

them some of the best videos that i've

had in a long time

real splendiferous

uh

especially that they're yellow cornbread

i'm so glad you enjoyed it you know

there's nothing that i like better than

fresh baked yellow cornbread

last time i had any as good as this was

the time that they

made me honorary chief for the chippewa

engines

carly

oh hey you'd like to hear about that

wouldn't you son

yes

i'm supposed to go to bed right after

supper on account of something oh well

it doesn't have to be right after i tell

you what

don't you all go into the parlor while i

clean up good idea come on flynn

you were gonna tell me what was in this

sack i was wait now chuck i'll do better

than that i'll show you come on

just a minute you're going to get a

surprise here

yeah

there she is

yeah sure

only back where i come from we call them

fiddles that fiddle and you've been

through a lot haven't you slept oh we

sure have you know in my day a fiddler

with a mighty respected fellow

mighty handyman to have around too why

well sure now that's a good question son

and i'm just the man that can answer it

you see a traveling out over the plains

in the old days why a good fiddler was

the only thing that the pioneers had you

know to get their minds off of wild

beasts and scalp hunting engines

tell them about the time you was made

honorary chief of the chippewa indian

slim i'll bet that was exciting well it

sure was hey do you want to hear about

that son yeah i guess so

well you see it was up around lake huron

that's up in the wilds of get your goomy

well our wagon train it was circled

clean around

all the way around with bloodthirsty

indians just a whooping and hollering

like all get out

and they're closing in for the kill

but

in their horses they were just going

round and round in a circle and they

kept coming in closer and closer and

they were shooting areas too shooting

errors just as fast as they could string

them

but just that minute an idea hit me

yes sir right straight out of the blue

and i started playing ginny get around

and buy criminy that done it what'd it

do well sir they suddenly broke out on

the loose and they just scattered and

carried them screaming devils in every

which direction get her and just clean

out of sight

why why'd they do it you see them horses

and their injuries were going around and

around in a circle

but the minute they heard me playing

jenny get around

why they just busted loose and went

crazy with all kinds of confusion

because you see

ginny get around as a square dance

uh

well anyway

that night the head man of the chippewa

tribal engines

he come down to where we was camped

yesterday he wanted to talk to the

fiddling man uh that's me

and he wanted to smoke a pipe a piece

whether it was in that they made me

honorary chief of the chippewa tribe

engines

yeah say would you like to hear how that

tune goes

one two

three

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no sir i never once told a gun just that

little old fiddle there yet i come to be

friends with some of the smartest the

toughest the fightingest hombres in the

whole west uh say young fella you uh

used to play harmonica didn't you i sure

did

well how about you and me whip an

opportunity you know it's a funny thing

you just have to have it with me ellen

how about you on the organ huh well i

i'll try but i'm not sure i can follow

you oh chuck she's follow the beat man

well here we go laughing in the scratch

ducks in the middle pond one two

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i never thought i'd be playing square

dances on the yard

you'd say that was a real wingding

mudmaster yes i'd better say goodnight

mr hawkins glad to have met you oh oh

well yeah i'm glad to meet you too son

but you don't mind if i go to my room

now do you mom well of course not jeff

but

i thought we were having fun oh i'm sure

but i think i'll go to my room good

night everybody

if jeff has no feelings for

[Laughter]

cut it out now no more

this is a new deal

by crimey i'm gonna learn how to play

this thing if it kills me

chew my tobacco and swallow my juice

like to go to heaven but it ain't no use

all right come on

mom would you do me a favor

i can't get any practicing done with

lassie in there would you keep her in

here for me

uh-huh

thanks mom

well i'll be

and i'll join you

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[Applause]

[Laughter]

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you