Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961)

I have seen my fair share of wonderful dogs' movies, my favourites being Old Yeller and Lassie Come Home. Greyfriar's Bobby is another one of my favourites. It could have been perhaps a tad longer, but it is such a warm and touching film that moves at a generous pace that you don't mind. The scenery, costumes and sets are absolutely beautiful and very evocative, and I did like its somewhat old-fashioned albeit suitably cosy style of filming. The dialogue is well written, as is the engaging story and heart-rending ending, while all the characters are characters I care for. The acting is great, the dog of the title is the definite scene-stealer and it is a wonderful and adorable scene-stealing performances, but there are also superb performances from Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith and the kids are also surprisingly effective. Overall, a film that never fails to warm my heart and move me too. 9/10 Bethany Cox

As a USA transplant to Scotland, I loved the way this movie portrayed 19th century Scots. It actually managed to present a genuine Scottish feeling without horrible stereotyping and corny dialog. My local friends own the movie and love it— a real statement for what a good job was done.The scenes of Edinburgh are great (with the Edinburgh Castle backdrop). The story-line is so lovely and engaging that, even though at times I knew that I was being manipulated, I cried, laughed and loved every minute of it! The movie was obviously made in a different time in the history of film making; while at the same time the story is about a different time in humanity. I felt that the datedness of the filming techniques made the story even more beautiful and evocative.The dog is a show stealer, the kids are adorable and the adults are absolutely believable...Although I pretty much cried from beginning to end, I felt hopeful and more compassionate towards my fellow human beings after watching 'Greyfriars Bobby' than I felt beforehand. This is truly a classic and I loved it!

This is a great story well told and all the better for being true. I took a girlfriend to see it way back in 1962 and I remember she spent the last ten minutes of the film sobbing her heart out. I sat and watched it again on the television only last week along with my two grandsons, who have been brought up on a diet of movies dedicated to mindless violence and ever more extreme special effects, and they thoroughly enjoyed it too. They even shed the odd tear towards the end although they would never admit it. There was one slight error - the cost of a dog licence in the United Kingdom was 7/6 ( seven and sixpence or 37.5 new pence after we went decimal in 1971 ) and not seven shillings as in the film. Disney have always excelled in the making of feel good movies, movies that show the best in people and I for one wish they made more of them today.

I was probably 14 when I saw this film, back in the early 60's and I know I cried. I hadn't seen it since, although it was never far out of my memory, 'til I got the DVD recently and took the time to watch it again. It still brought a tear to my eye.Time can play tricks on your memory, but this case it was as good a film as I recalled. It doesn't have any jump cuts, the camera work is simple and steady. The acting however is superb, bringing a genuine life to this mostly true story of a dog's faithfulness to it's departed master.My family always had dogs, and I watched plenty of Lassie on TV and read the novels of Albert Payson Terhune, so I have always had a close relationship with dogs, my most recent being a 16 year old miniature dachshund.If you can get your family to sit through it, I suggest it as a great alternative to what's on TV today.