Famous Movie Dogs

A COLOR PARADE Short Subject.

A call goes out to cast two canines for a short scene in a feature film and FAMOUS MOVIE DOGS from around Hollywood arrive with their owners to audition.

This very amusing little picture shows the care which goes into the selection & training of canis familiaris for the movies. Several veteran dogs appear, most notably Asta from the THIN MAN series.

The film is dedicated to the memory of Rin-Tin-Tin; John Deering is the commentator.

Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

Some very famous movie dogs show up here, most notably Skippy, who played Asta in the THIN MAN series, and appeared in a dozen more movies. They are well-trained, with a fine variety of tricks, and cute as buttons.

There was a major aspect of Hollywood providing well-trained dogs for the movies. The Wrathers made a fine living from Lassie and his -- yes, his, all the screen Lassies were boys -- and silent screen comic Gale Henry and her second husband had many successful movie dogs, including Skippy.

Its one of the Warner Brothers Technicolor shorts intended to show off the process as much as whatever it is about. It's quite handsome.

Famous Movie Dogs (1940)

*** (out of 4)

John Deering narrates this rather interesting short that shows how dogs are cast in movies. We start off with a director needing two dogs and then go into the auditions, training and eventual filming of a scene. Asta (The Thin Man), Corky, Rex the Dog, Peggy and Whiskers are among the dog's featured and they make for a nice short, which will probably appeal to people of all ages. I've seen quite a few shorts but I believe this was my first to deal with how dogs were cast in movies. The behind the scenes footage of the picking of the animals was the most interesting thing as were the scenes showing the animals being trained to fit certain scenes in movies.

When a Hollywood casting call needs two dogs--one to play a wounded dog and the other his protector--every dog in Hollywood has his day--or so it seems.

They do in this audition, whereby two men are assigned to check out the local canines, most of whom have already had several film credits. Asta is examined briefly but not chosen; neither is Astor 2, a young pup. In this short subject dedicated to Rin Tin Tin, dogs of every size and description are put through their paces but it takes quite a few auditions before the director decides on his choice.

Finally, the brief scene involving a dog who is shot at and wounded is filmed. The other larger dog immediately goes on the attack, something already well rehearsed by his trainer--and the scene is over.

Directed by Del Frazier, it's an entertaining and amusing short filmed in color.