Lassie - Episode

As an earthquake occurs in the area, Ranger Corey Stuart becomes trapped under a tree about to be overtaken by a landslide, and when Lassie attempts to go for help, someone captures her and sells her to a laboratory that experiments on animals.
TRIVIA: This was the final Lassie episode for actor Robert Bray (Ranger Corey Stuart). In the next episode his character is written out of the series, and he did not appear except in clips from prior episodes. The public was told Bray was getting a little "long in the tooth" (ie: old) for the lead in the series, and producer Jack Wrather wanted younger actors for marketing the series to a younger audience. According to a 1968 Hollywood newspaper article "New Adventures and New Masters For Lassie", Wrather said that the series was going to "focus on more contemporary issues faced by the youth of the day". But the real truth, according to the publication "Lassie - A Dog's Life" by Ace Collins, was that Robert Bray's emotional problems and alcoholism brought about his departure from the series. The Lassie series dialogue coach Lloyd Nelson recounted of this wonderfully talented actor: "It was a very tragic situation...It was so sad the way he allowed alcohol to take control of him...The reshooting and looping he caused cost a lot of money, but nobody wanted to run him off. We all understood he had personal problems, and for years they gave him every chance to work them out." In 1942, Bray had joined the United States Marine Corps and saw action in the South Pacific during World War II, finishing the war at the rank of master sergeant. Speculation was that his military service may have been the reason for the alcoholism. The Lassie series was Bray's final work. He left Hollywood when his Lassie contract ended, and never appeared again in film or tv.
NOTE: Lassie and the Lassie Trademark are owned by Dreamworks Animation LLC. This episode was publicly broadcast in May 2016 via free over the air (OTA) antenna TV by GRIT TV, an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting. Recorded, edited to add titles/credits/copyright information, and uploaded by Collie Lover to RUclips with no remuneration whatsoever. All pre-video advertisements are authorized and placed by Lassie copyright owner.