Police Dog

If you were the chap at Scotland Yard trying to convince the Commissioner to enlarge the dog department; you could do worse than show him this rather lightweight, but enjoyable, drama about a police officer "Frank" (Tim Turner) who uses a police dog to try and track down the murderer of one of his colleagues. That's about the height of it - it's an uncomplicated manhunt, only the hunter has a much more sentive nose for the task. Joan Rice provides the glamour - though I wasn't quite sure what purpose her role served (as she is his sister!) and John le Mesurier and Christopher Lee make a few appearances to help the whole thing glide along seamlessly. Not a film you will remember, I suspect, but still worth a watch.

It might be bad but it's still a watchable enough British B-movie of the period - and at least less unintentionally funny than 'K-9' (which was MEANT to be funny).

Proficient enough as an unvarnished crime thriller filler, with the dog being trained in an effort to assist a fresh-faced copper hunt down a cop-killing burglar fiend, the film strays too far into anthropomorphic territory when the PC's girlfriend becomes jealous of the pooch. Otherwise it's heavy handed business as usual, right down to the patronising depiction of the struggling-but-otherwise-rosy working-class household.

Director Twist had a steady career as a competent editor of many distinguished British films throughout the 30s, which seemed to come to an abrupt end at the end of the decade. Quite why he abandoned it for a sporadic and ineffectual career in direction is a mystery - it can't have been the war as he had a significant hand in a number of films during the early 40s.

I'm an animal lover at heart so watching and enjoying this film was a given. It's certainly miles better than those incessantly awful Disney movies that have to make animals talk in order to appeal to the kids - I saw a clip of the superhero dog comedy UNDERDOG the other day and, by the gods, it's awful.

POLICE DOG is much more sedate and realistic, although the plotting isn't up to much. Your average copper loses his partner to a violent criminal and is paired up with an Alsatian, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend who feels that he loves the dog more than her.

This is much like the 1950s version of the James Belushi comedy K-9, albeit without the laughs. If you're a dog lover then you'll be in for a treat as Alsatians play a large role in the proceedings and have plenty of screen time. They're exceedingly well trained and get up to all kinds of escapades. The human cast don't really get much of a look in - after all, they're there merely to act as support for the dogs - although there are minor parts for John Le Mesurier and Christopher Lee, the latter with an amusing working class accent.

Frank is a policeman in London. Shortly after the story begins, Frank and his fellow foot patrolman partner give chase to a suspicious character. Frank is well behind when his partner catches up to the suspect. Surprisingly, the suspect pulls out a gun and shoots the policeman...and is able to escape. Frank is naturally upset and looks into integrating a police dog into his job. So, he takes a dog other cops thinks is too fierce and he soon turns Rex into a first class police doggy. But this helps to bring out hidden problems with Frank's relationship with Pat, as she's quite jealous of the dog and demands he give up either the dog or her. How does all this work out by the end of the movie?

In general, I avoid doggy movies. It isn't because I dislike dogs...heck, I've got one myself. But too many dog films are very schmaltzy...and, fortunately, "Police Dog" isn't schmaltzy nor poorly made. In fact, it's worth seeing. And, I do agree with the review that calls it "harmless British 'B' family film viewed by dog lovers and friend of Chris Lee".

By the way, if you do see this film note that Christopher Lee plays a cop...albeit a rather dim one! This is quite a departure for Lee as he often played clever, evil sorts in movies.

Director Derek Twist, about whom I must ashamedly confess I know not a thing, pulls off a spendid job of keeping the action interesting, even if the script rates far from a cliffhanger, or even just riveting.

The centrepiece is the relationship between Turner as the copper who loves dogs and becomes a dog handler and trainer for the British police, and Joan Rice as his wife, who takes a while to accept all that a copper's life actually entails, and the implications of bringing a cop canine into the household.

Rex III is quite splendid as the hero dog who manages to thwart and bring to justice the thief who opened the film with the cold-blooded murder of a fellow policeman.

Competent photography, lovely cars of the 1950s, and a good-natured atmosphere make POLICE DOG very pleasant viewing. 7/10.