The Rookie Cop

Tim Holt is fine as the title character but the film is full of the clichés common with B pictures of this sort: a police commissioner who hates dogs; the hero being captured; an all-too-easy escape, etc. And why would any man bring his girl along to investigate a place where known killers may possibly be present? To add suspense, of course! It's a watchable movie, but kids and dog fanciers will enjoy it more than I did. Ace is billed 4th as "The Wonder Dog," and he is in the tradition of smart dogs that Rin Tin Tin began in the silent era. Janet Shaw is lovely to look at as the love interest, and not a bad actress either. Virginia Weidler, as the next door neighbor kid who wants to become a cop, provides the only comic relief, and is a plus. I've always been fond of her. She's there for the kids to root for and I'm sure all will cheer when she gets to shoot her water gun full of onion juice into the eyes of a baddie.

Our forgetful filmmakers department: When Janet Shaw reads a newspaper account of a crime, we see the name in print as "Midgit Mason," but she reads it as "Monte Mason," the name the guy (Monte Montague) was called in the film.

She is and I'd say this is a movie primarily for lovers of dogs. I've had shepherds for many years and often had people on the street call the Ace the Wonder Dog. So here he is.

Ace is the pet of the title character. Tim Holt plays the honest young police officer who knows his dog can help at his job. Virginia Weidler is a neighbor. I always enjoy her. Here she has a fluffy little female fog Ace kind of likes.

There are lots of bad guys here. A bad gal or two, as well. The plot is very far from original. It's a pastiche of clichés.

But Ace does his job. I won't say how he fares as a crime fighter. But he certainly saves the movie

Rookie cop Clem Maitland and his police dog Ace happen upon a robbery and catch the criminal. Police Commissioner Hugh Thomas is under siege by the newspapers and orders Clem to leave Ace at home. A fur factory gets robbed. Clem's friend Tom Hadley gets picked out of the lineup by the watchman. Clem and Ace have to clear Tom's name and find the real criminals.

This is a B-movie but it does hit a few quadrants and it's surprising good. I love the police dog premise. Quite frankly, this is even before Lassie got a movie. The little girl ropes in the kiddie crowd if the dog doesn't. Other than the commissioner's unlikely dismissal of the dog, the story is actually compelling. This is a good doggie cop movie.

While I enjoyed "The Rookie Cop", I think the review by Ace-22 got it right when it said the film was filled with cliches...such as the ease to which the dog unties the cop, the stupidity of the Police Inspector and more. However, despite these deficits the film IS entertaining and I liked the real star of the movie, Ace the Wonder Dog. Heck, I think he was a better actor and was more interesting than the humans in the film!

A young cop (Tim Holt) has brought his pet German Shepherd to work with him. Despite the dog foiling crimes and proving its worth, the addle-brained Inspector refuses to allow the dog on the force and later, for no clear reason, suspends the cop! However, in the end, you just know the dog and his master will prove their worth when it comes to nabbing a local crime gang.

The acting is okay in this film, though I must say Ace the Wonder Dog is probably the best actor in the movie. A script that occasionally makes little sense, however, and some one-dimensional characters mean that this B-movie is entertaining but not especially good.

I always enjoy Tim Holt as an actor who is most notable for his many good performances as a cowboy out on the trail. In Tim Holt's westerns he is usually accompanied by a comical sidekick. In "The Rookie Cop" I felt the roles were reversed. The real star of this film is Ace the German Shepherd dog who travels on patrol with his partner rookie cop, Clem Maitland played by Tim Holt.

Although the story line has been done a thousand times over, which is the old plot where the bad guys seem to be a step ahead of the eventual film's hero by cheating, lying, and stealing, eventually good overcomes evil.

Ace is in great form simply by opening car doors, attacking the bad guys by their arms, freeing his partner Clem whose hands were tied, and sniffing out the bad guys. Of course this is not a heavy crime drama, and most film fans know that Ace is going to come out on top, but 'eh, who doesn't like a dog hero? Tim Holt is good too, but Ace is the star if you like dog hero films as I do.

Woof...Woof...Woof...I give the film 3 out of 4 Woof's.