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Grace Kelly League (GKL)

Finalists: Casablanca vs. Lassie Come Home

This is, on the face, an odd matchup...both are love stories, except one is between a man and a woman, the other is between a boy and a dog. So we've got...

Casablanca was released in 1942, directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, and Paul Henreid. For all of the films that Bogart did where he was the 'hero', I can't think of another where he is at his most cool. African Queen and The Maltese Falcon would be tied for a close second, but Rick Blaine is so engaging, so much of a good guy. Ingrid Bergman is also excellent, and Curtiz does a very good job making her more beautiful than she's ever been. And there are Nazis. Nothing makes a film like having the Nazis as the bad guys. Oh, and did I mention Peter Lorre?

Lassie Come Home was released in 1943, directed by Fred Wilcox, and starred Roddy McDowell (at his most precocious), Donald Crisp, and Elsa Lanchester, along with a host of other great actors (including a very young Elizabeth Taylor), as well as a dog named Pal in the title role. This film (especially for a dog lover) is heart-achingly beautiful. The cinematography (shot in color in England and Ireland) drips with lush greens, and the acting is top-notch. But it's all about Lassie, and her trek to get back to her original owner.

Before I started writing this, I thought this was a slam-dunk...Casablanca hands-down. But Lassie is about unconditional love. Lassie herself travels scores of miles and nearly dies to find her way back home. I tear up just thinking about it.

sigh.

But, I still gotta go with Casablanca. For me, Lassie is more of a love story, but I'm a sucker for dogs. As a paragon of love stories, Casablanca has got it all, and it moves forward.