The Littlest Hobo (1958) on DVD

DESCRIPTION:

While beloved collie Lassie captivated TV viewers; this simple; sweet-natured film; shot all over 1950s Los Angeles; follows a clever German Shepherd who hops off a freight train and soon rescues a lamb bound for slaughter. Along the way; the canny canine outwits the cops; a dog catcher and some predatory bums; even arriving at a soup kitchen as the preacher welcomes his “lost sheep.” He also helps a wheelchair-bound girl take her first steps and earns his woolly pal a gubernatorial pardon. Improbable? More like irresistible. So much so that The Littlest Hobo graduated to lasting fame in two popular Canadian TV series across two decades; first-time director Charles R. Rondeau became a prolific helmer of episodic TV; and young lead Buddy Hart would go on to play Chester Anderson on Leave It to Beaver. Buoyed by a breezy; jazz-inflected score by Ronald Stein and the lovely tune “Road Without End;” sung by Randy Sparks; The Littlest Hobo; long out of circulation but happily back to win over a new generation; is the doggonedest charmer ever.