Sign of the Wolf

The story begins at a dog show. The German Shepherds are being judged and Smokey (that's a dog...not a person) is acting up. It keeps barking at another dog, Shadow, because Smokey apparently doesn't like it. In frustration, after the show, the owner of Smokey agrees to sell the dog to Shadow's owner. But there's a problem...the lady is flying the dogs to Shadow's owner and the plane ends up crashing. In the confusion, Smokey is mistaken for Shadow and vice-versa. Shadow is a good dog and despite a broken leg, he saves the woman and her employee (Mantan Moreland). As for Smokey, he joins up with crooks and gets involved in a life of crime. What's next?

I had TWO huge problems with the film. At the onset, when Smokey is misbehaving, the dog's owner slaps the dog in the show ring...something that should have gotten her in deep trouble with the dog show folks. Heck, I sure was unhappy to see that!! Second, when there's a crash, how can the woman who owned Smokey think Shadow is her dog? Plus, her employee loves the dog...and he made the same mistake. Yes, German Shepherds are similar but I could see the difference between them AND it was her dog. This just doesn't make much sense.

So is this any good? Well, although I have a dog and have had many, this sort of doggy film doesn't appeal to me very much. Apart from a few Lassie films and "Greyfriar's Bobby", I don't love dog films. So, whether or not you adore doggy flicks will definitely help determine how much you like or hate this movie. But, if you put this aside, the film still has the two problems I mentioned above. It's also basically a B-movie...a low budgeted one from a minor studio. About the only think I liked about it was Moreland, who did a good job with what he was given.

Grace Bradley crashes her plane, transporting Mantan Moreland and her two German Shepherds, onto Michael Whalen's silver fox farm. She thinks she has sold one of them because they fight, but Moreland has smuggled it onto the plane. One gets free and falls into the hands of two men who have been stealing the valuable critters. They use the dog to steal foxes, which gets blamed on the other.

There's a lot of plot going on int his Monogram picture based on a Jack London short story. Sometimes it gets lost in welter of performers, including Louise Beavers as Whalen's housekeeper, and Darryl Hickman as his brother. Hickman loves the dog and indulges in a lot of "What Lassie? Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota?" monologues while the action sequences are shot up by Big Bear Lake. It's an okay production for people who like movies about dogs.