| All Ages
Cautions: some deceit, and an unsubmissive wife
Greyfriars Bobby is a great old family film based on the true story of a little dog whose faithfulness in guarding his master’s grave sparked a struggle between legal and moral principles and earned him the love of the entire city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Greyfriars Bobby is not high art, and some viewers may find the thick Scottish brogue a bit tricky at first, but the story has a genuineness and freshness uncommon to animal movies, making it a good choice for a pleasant, low-key movie for all ages.
1961 | Don Chaffey | 87 min
Some Deceit
Several positively-portrayed characters sneak Bobby into places where dogs are not allowed. One character tries to make other people think that he didn’t know there was a dog around, rather than get into trouble. A somewhat negatively-portrayed character lies that he is sick in bed to avoid someone. Children set up a plan to distract the caretaker while they go into the graveyard to catch Bobby, against regulations.
An Unsubmissive Wife
A side character’s wife decides that she likes Bobby and makes her husband help her care for him, despite his protests. Later, when the two of them are trying to persuade someone, she smugly tells her husband to be quiet, but this is a very brief segment and not played for attention.
An unmarried character states that the dog is “as great a scolder as the wife I never had.”
Note:
An unmarried character who doesn’t like living alone says that his books are wife and children to him. A childless older couple argues that, on one side, a dog could “be as much company as a bairn [young child],” but on the other side, “make just as much noise.”
A character is, from a distance, seen lying dead in his bed. His funeral is also shown.
Several positively-portrayed people rush past the guard into a courtroom, but they are rebuked by a wiser character.
One character invites another to “have a wee dram” with him and his wife. One character briefly encounters a few drunken men and is alarmed by them.
