Are Animals Actors?

I've heard producers ask that question. In any case, this short concerns various animal actors, including Daisy from Columbia's BLONDIE series, along with Daisy's trainer, Rennie Renfro.

Then it's on to dancing Doberman Pinschers, trained bears, seals, and the other animal acts that used to form part of vaudeville back in the day. Mostly dogs, though. Some interesting acts.

Speaking as a dog owner, I am continually astonished at the intelligence of so-called dumb animals. Mine is so smart, she has trained me to give her a treat whenever she does her business outside. I bristle when people suggest I train her to do tricks, or dress her in cute costumes for holidays. I don't think it wise to institute a battle of wills with my dog. Likely she would win.

Rennie Renfro was my grandfather and he was the first positive trainer! My grandfather was ahead of his time! My grandfather trained Frank Inn who was the owner of Benji and my grandfather trained the two Weatherwax brothers to train dogs, you know like Lassie!

Are Animals Actors? (1945)

** (out of 4)

Knox Manning narrates this Warner Brothers short that takes a look at various animal acts working in Hollywood. Clocking in at just 14-minutes, the short really does feel much longer as there's not too much imagination to be found and it appears that the studio just found a bunch of stock footage and threw it together so that they could have a film to be shown before a main feature. We see the dog Daisy do some tricks and then we see other dogs doing tricks. From here we get all sorts of special tricks done by monkeys, horses, seals and even a bear. I think the footage is mildly entertaining in its own right but this stuff is mainly going to appeal to film buffs who seek out every short they can get their hands on. None of the material will leave you wanted more and it's easy to say that it's better the acts were shown here instead of each one getting their own short. Manning's narration is pretty bland without delivering any laughs. One wonders if Manning was even putting any feeling into it.

This kind of garbage was more or less "accepted" so many years ago because most didn't realize what it actually took to make these animals do what they do. But it was only through fear and pain that a circus or Hollywood could make them do all these things. The man behind the curtain is a real piece of garbage. Watching the lions and tigers being abused. You see a man outside the cage with a gun ready to kill them if they get too "aggressive." Of course they might get too aggressive. THEY'RE LIONS AND TIGERS! Back then, and even now, too many people running these "shows", were not even questioned about How the animals became so trained. They just did what they did and so be it. At least now many f them are seen for what they are, abusers.