For the last holiday weekend of the summer, you couldn’t pick a better family picture than this re-make of the original “Lassie Come Home.” No, there’s no Timmy from the TV series. This is a traditional re-telling, based on Eric Knight’s 1940 British novel.

The story begins in 1938, just before the outbreak of W.W. II in a gritty Yorkshire mining town, where the Carracloughs (John Lynch, Samantha Morton) are suffering such hard times that they’re forced to sell their beloved border collie, Lassie, to the Duke of Rudling (Peter O’Toole) whose granddaughter Cilla (Hester Odgers) fancies her. But Lassie runs from the Duke’s cruel kennel-master (Steve Pemberton) and returns to nine year-old Joe Carraclough (Jonathan Mason). In exasperation, the Duke has the dog transported ‘way up north to Scotland to breed with his champion collie. But – with the help of sympathetic Cilla – Lassie escapes and embarks on a 500-mile journey home. Her adventures include an encounter with an irate truck driver, a gun-toting farmer, Loch Ness monster spotters, Glasgow dogcatchers, and a startled courtroom judge. But Lassie’s most memorable friendship is forged with kindly Rowlie (Peter Dinklage), an itinerant puppeteer and his dog Toots. And the heartwarming conclusion is a tearjerker.

Writer/director/producer Charles Sturridge elicits stirring performances not only from the well-trained dog but also from the two youngsters, while scene-stealing Peter O’Toole is superb, as is the Irish, Scottish and Isle of Man scenery.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Lassie is a timeless, sentimental 7. Yes, they are still making a few movies the way the used to – with no CGI…and on a personal note, my father, S. Sylvan Simon, directed the first “Lassie” sequel, “Son of Lassie,” in which I, as a child, had a bit part.