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The wacky premise of this superbly crafted film is that a German Shepherd, poisoned to permit his mistress's murder, goes to Beastitoria (animal heaven) and pleads to return to earth, reincarnated as private eye Rex Shepherd, to solve his own murder. Filled with witty dialogue, funny bits where the animal "breaks through" the human, this movie stars Dick Powell in a kind of takeoff on his "Murder My Sweet" serious shamus. I have tried to find it anywhere since seeing it in 1951 without luck. If anyone can locate it, please e-mail me.

One of the last of the "screwball comedies." Charming, rather than laugh-out-loud funny. A special treat for animal lovers. Silly, but played straight, this is one of those snuggle-by-the-fire-with-a-cup-of-cocoa (and your dog/s) films. Dick Powell returns to earth to sniff out his murderer, and he'll be dog-goned if he'll let the fellow get away. Yes; it's that bad/good. Cute asides and plays on words/visuals.

Interesting is that two of the leading characters appear in another (the BEST) "animal" film; Harvey.

Both ridiculous and magical, this is a comedic fantasy which really works. Former armed forces dog--a German Shepherd who just inherited a fortune from a wealthy people-hater--is poisoned and dies, reincarnated soon as a private detective out to solve his own murder. This set-up may sound an awful lot like that Chevy Chase/Benji comedy from the early-'80s, but those who give up on the picture early will be missing a treat. The writing is ticklish and pointed, and the sharp handling is sprightly and lyrical. Dick Powell is, as always, wonderful in the lead, matched by amusing Joyce Holden as his assistant (in her previous life, she was a horse). Sounds silly, but it works a special brand of wacky magic. *** from ****

I first saw this movie as a teenager on AMC during a lazy afternoon and it was an unexpected pleasure. When I read the brief summary of the movie, which read something like: "A murdered dog comes back to life as a man to hunt his killer," I actually expected a somewhat hard-boiled detective movie, despite the obviously outrageous premise. And I had no idea who Dick Powell was. The movie turned out to be very light-hearted and I was thoroughly entertained. Many light-hearted comedies of that era (early 1950s) make the mistake of just throwing in a lot of cute scenes and dialog and, though this movie does feature such scenes, it also has a lot of quite clever humor that keeps even the more cynical viewer satisfied. Even the murder mystery plot has intriguing aspects. The movie has a kind of fantasy atmosphere throughout that I really enjoy, and Dick Powell was never more likable than he is here. This role was perfect for him (unlike his earlier role in "Murder My Sweet"--see my review). I highly recommend it for good family fun.

A reader answered my message on the message board and informed me that this film was being offered on ebay. I went there and paid $40.00 and now have my own copy which was recorded from TV. I have since put it on msvcd and made a backup copy. I wasn't dissapointed even though it had been almost fifty years and I was surprized at how good my memory had been (or was it the writeups in imdb)? Its just a good old mystery from those years with a little (OK! A lot) of fantisy involved. The people holding this film should release it on DVD as an olde. There are still enough of us out here that enjoy theoldies. DickPowell wasn't singing in this one, but he sure was acting well. My suggestion is if you havn't seen it, you should. If you don't see it, you will be the loser.