It's a Dog's Life

I first saw It's A Dog's Life a long, long time ago on TV and immediately fell in love with Bull Terriers - I have since owned two and plan to get another. It depicts the breed pretty accurately, some can be scrappers but most are playful and friendly to all, and they have loads of personality. Yes, part of the plot is organized dog-fighting and there is violence towards a woman, both of which are repugnant to any decent person, but that knowledge shouldn't put anyone off watching - those scenes aren't nice, even though they do not show the actual violence, but all-in-all there's lots to love about this story. Wildfire the dog is a charmer and, best of all, the good guys win! I just hope this delightful film will be released on DVD sometime soon, so I can replace my old copied-from-TV VHS tape!!

This is a period piece, set in what appears to be the late 1800s. Much of the film is narrated by the main character, Wildfire, a bull terrier, who moves upward from the Bowery in this "rags-to-riches" fantasy. At times Wildfire's narration may be `too cute', but remarkably it doesn't stray too far. This device of personifying the dog truly works, particularly due to the script. Wildfire gets high praise for his performance. Dean Jagger is excellent as is Edmund Gwynne.

The film is well-paced and I found it much more entertaining that I anticipated. This is good escapist fare-the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad, but not too terribly so.

This is an odd one. Films from a dog's point of view with human narration have been done before, but usually from the standpoint of either a dog in a troubled family situation or from the standpoint of a dog trying to get back to a beloved master after they are separated. This one dares to be different. Wildfire is a dog of the Bowery, alone in the world except for his mother, not having or seeking a master. Not only does the dog's voice sound like Frank Sinatra, the dog uses Rat Pack terminology, and plays the cool sensitive loner like Sinatra as well. As one reviewer put it, this film is quite Runyonesque. Another odd device of the film is that you don't hear the other dogs saying anything - Wildfire is the only dog that communicates with the audience in human language. This makes the film less like a cartoon and keeps the focus on Wildfire.

The film starts out with Wildfire sensing that his mother is unhappy. He goes to the elder dog of the wharf and asks him what the problem is. It turns out that Wildfire's father was a Grand Champion who has a love them and leave them attitude with the ladies, that Wildfire's mom was one of those ladies, and the result was Wildfire. Wildfire then sets out on a quest to find and kill his father for what he did to his mother. Pretty odd stuff for a talking dog movie.

Along the way he encounters two groups of people. The first group consists of the fellows who hang out in the local pub and run a dog fighting ring - Wildfire at first thinks his father's name of "Grand Champion" came from being a champion fighting dog. He gets into the business himself for awhile, but never finds his father. In the second half of the film he is taken in by a kindly old long-time servant of the wealthy Wyndham family, Jeremiah Emmett Augustus Nolan (Edmund Gwynn). The Wyndhams have problems of their own, and Wildfire and the Wyndhams manage to help each other with their respective demons.

Although the themes of dog-fighting and violence to women are part of the film, let me assure you there is nothing shown or said that would be inappropriate for a ten year old. No violence is actually shown. Highly recommended as a feel good family film.

For me, this delightful film is reminiscent of the great classic Warner Bros. cartoons of the 50's. Especially the "dog themed" cartoons. Like the one where the mutt is trying to get Porky Pig to adopt him, remember? But the dog in this movie has a lot more "on the ball" and is not such a con-dog. If you like good Warner Bros. "dog" cartoons, you'll love this. Also, for you literati, I may add the term "Runyonesque" to this review. It's really quite unique in my experience, which is a neat trick in itself. What makes this film different from something from Disney? It's not overly cute. And not overly sentimental. And thus should be on the menu for adults as well as children.

This is a curious sort of movie, almost one of a kind. It's narrated by its central character, a white bull terrier, and though it would seem to be the sort of "family" movie parents take their kids to, it deals with staged dog fights on which men bet and in which dogs are killed. What's more the dog's first owner slaps his girlfriend around and she seems to enjoy it! Hardly Saturday matinee material. True, these elements are more implied than shown, but more oddities follow.

After setting up the dog as its central character, the movie introduces Jeff Richards and he temporarily takes over the story. Then he disappears and Edmund Gwenn belatedly enters the plot and the story begins to center around him. And then Jeff Richards comes back! Few movies have had such a shifting focus as this one. And why pick a bull terrier since this breed doesn't have the expressive eyes into which audiences can project all sorts of emotions? The bull terrier's blank look often seems at odds with the narration being spoken for him by actor Vic Morrow.

Perhaps most curiously, while this might have been designed as a movie with a special appeal to children, there are no children in it! In fact, two of the main characters are decidedly in the "senior citizen" class: Edmund Gwenn and Dean Jagger.

And yet ... the movie has a certain charm. Its early 1900s setting is pleasantly, though superficially, mounted. The cast is attractive, there are no slow spots in the story, and the whole thing's wrapped up in less than 90 minutes. Those who've seen the movie always seem to remember it, even though some of these memories may now be approaching 50 years in age.

Jeff Richards seems a bit miscast, (he doesn't have a tough-enough edge), but this is still one of his better parts at a time when he appeared to be moving toward stardom. For some reason or other, he never "clicked" and soon faded from view. Here he has a scene without his shirt, showing off the kind of chest hair which other actors shaved, and he looks lip-smackin' good! For even more footage of Jeff's chest, though in black-and-white, check out "Island of Lost Women."