WONDER DOGS

SPECIAL FEATURES

COMPANION TO

Wonder Dogs101 German Shepherd Dog Films

PROFILING SIX ADDITIONAL MOVIES

a booklet by

JORDAN TAYLOR

Copyright © 2013 by Jordan Taylor. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph copyright © 2012 mistty002. Cover design by Jordan Taylor. www.jordantaylorbooks.com

No trees were harmed in the creation or publicationof this work.

www.reeldogspress.com

INTRODUCTION

Couldn’t get enough GSD movies with Wonder Dogs: 101 German Shepherd Dog Films? This companion booklet of deleted scenes and special features brings you six more movie profiles, background on the writing of the original book, and why certain films were cut from those 101. Three of these can now be found in Wonder Dogs Special Features, along with one new discovery and two movies released after Wonder Dogs was published.

The decision to make the original Wonder Dogs a book of 101 films meant substantial cuts to find the perfect balance of titles. Old and new (1921 to 2010), largely from the United States, along with international films, produced by major studios and tiny companies, from the world’s biggest canine stars to forgotten dogs who only appeared in one film. The first shortlist contained over 300 movies. Many of these were cut for one of two reasons: either the German Shepherd Dog content was not high enough or

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the same starring dog was repeated in one or more other films on the list. Dogs like Strongheart, Rin-Tin-Tin, Ace, and Flame get more than one movie profiled out of the many from their careers, but most films were selected for diversity—something the GSD breed is famed for.

Examples that didn’t make it in because of low content include The Last Winter, a Canadian film from 1989 about a family in transition in the 1950s. The pretty, black and tan female, “Duchess,” holds a noticeable but small role here with little screen time. The Courage of Black Beauty (1957), The Three Lives of Thomasina (1964), Zebra in the Kitchen (1965), and Day of the Animals (1977) were other low content films pulled from the list.

Dogs (1976), a horror movie about a community of dogs turning on their humans, nearly got in, but Doberman Pinschers and an Irish Setter feature prominently against GSDs, making their screen time brief. Another Doberman/GSD thriller almost appearing in Wonder Dogs was TV movie Trapped a.k.a. Doberman Patrol (1973), in which a man is accidentally locked in a department store overnight with a team of savage guard dogs.

Instead, the three horror films for the 1970s were The Hills Have Eyes (1977), The Pack (1977), and Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978).

The Cry of the Black Wolves a.k.a. Der Schrei der schwarzen Wölfe (1972) and The Hellhounds of Alaska a.k.a. Die blutigen Geier von Alaska (1973), both Eurowesterns from West Germany, were removed due to low content and excessive international films, not to mention too many from the 1970s.

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Other cuts in the foreign films category were His Best Friend (Sein bester Freund, Germany, 1929, remade; 1937), the low GSD content Boy from Two Worlds (Paw, Denmark, 1959), and A Dog Called… Vengeance (El perro, Spain, 1979).

Hollywood’s studios produced such a vast number of GSD films in the 1920s, and into the 1930s, that a whole book could be written on those alone. Of course, the majority did not receive individual profiles in Wonder Dogs.

White German Shepherd Dogs also factored in films being included. While the bulk of GSD movies employ black and tans or sables, a sizable chunk of the GSD stage—big screen and television—has been filled by whites. Notably Harvey (“Chinook”) and Dorothy Crider’s White Shadow line. One of the greatest GSD films ever made, Kelly and Me (1957, profiled in Wonder Dogs), stars a white GSD playing the role of a movie star—written by Everett Freeman after he met Lee Duncan and was inspired by the true story of Duncan and the original Rin-Tin-Tin. Some whites’ films cut for low content were Dogpound Shuffle (1975), The Beastmaster (1982), Hambone & Hillie (1983), and Getting Away With Murder (1996). The last might have just squeaked in if not for overcrowding in the 1990s, like the 1970s.

Reaching the end of any book, authors find themselves with notes, ideas, scenes—even whole pages or chapters—forming the minutia left behind after a manuscript is revised. With a work like Wonder Dogs, there is also the thrill of continued learning, coincidental or deliberate research after a book is out, and the excitement of disc-

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overing fresh information that did not appear in the published book.

Just weeks ago, I learned that Ace, one of Hollywood’s top GSD stars of the 1940s, plays the Nazi guard dog antagonist to Laddie (Pal) in Son of Lassie (1945): lending his talents to support one of the greatest canine icons the world has ever known.

There is always more to discover, more notes to be taken, more movies to see.

Three types of films appear in this booklet:Dracula’s Dog, Three on the Run, and Home Safe were

cut during the writing of the first draft of Wonder Dogs for various reasons and appear here as deleted scenes.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Cool Dog were released after Wonder Dogs was published and comprise the “new” titles.

Castle Rock is a film I discovered after Wonder Dogs was out, though writer/director team Craig Clyde and Bryce Fillmore appear in the book with A Dog’s Tale (1999).

You will find links for more information on Wonder Dogs: 101 German Shepherd Dog Films and the author, along with a list of the titles profiled therein, at the end of this booklet.

And now for our feature presentation—Wonder Dogs Special Features. Happy viewing.

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DELETED SCENES

Dracula’s Dog (1978)

Also known as Zoltan, Hound of Dracula

GSD: Heinrich as Sampson

Trainer: Karl Lewis Miller

Director: Albert Band

Costars: Michael Pataki, Jan Shutan

Country: USA/Italy

Status: Available on DVD

Released with the tagline “There’s more to the legend than meets … the throat!”, this entertaining and impossible to take seriously vampire horror flick can be found under the DVD title Zoltan, Hound of Dracula.

The tomb of Dracula is opened to reveal a dark secret: Zoltan, a Doberman Pinscher, is reanimated, along with a

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human servant of Dracula. The pair set out to infect a new master, Micheal Drake (Michael Pataki): the last descendant of the Dracula line. Drake lives on the other side of the globe, in California with his family, including two German Shepherd Dogs and their litter of puppies. (Inexplicably, in most scenes, the pups appear to be mixed breeds.) When Zoltan finds the campsite where Drake is vacationing with his family, the GSDs, Sampson and Annie, do their best to protect the humans. But, like any vampire, Zoltan’s bite transforms others. Now the family guardians may be next to turn into their worst enemies.

In 1978 the production of Dracula’s Dog put film makeup and effects on canines to the test. Without CGI elongating teeth, or giving vampire dogs devilish leers, trainer Karl Lewis Miller—White Dog* (1982), K-9* (1989)—worked with dye and makeup, as well as snarl devices, held in the dogs’ mouths to press their lips upward, and even fake teeth. What wasn’t needed for Dracula’s Dog were savage barks and growls from the Dobermans, GSDs, and Pointer mix: the director apparently wanted all the canines to bay like foxhounds. The sound team dubbed in the same few baying barks—which could not have been produced by any of these breeds—over and over again throughout the film.

Heinrich starred in the TV show Run, Joe, Run (1974), as well as The Pack* (1977) and Kavik the Wolf Dog* (1980). He appears to play Sampson in Dracula’s Dog, though Miller was working with multiple GSDs around the time of filming—notably Gus, star of Won Ton Ton: The Dog

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Who Saved Hollywood* (1976)—and Sampson’s real identity is unconfirmed.

*All profiled in Wonder Dogs.

Three on the Run (1978)

GSD: Buck as Duke

Trainer: Robert Weatherwax

Director: William Beaudine Jr.

Costars: Brett McQuire, Donald Williams

Country: USA

Status: Limited availability

The Wonderful World of Disney TV series has gone through many names and forms over its long and diverse lifetime: beginning in 1954 with Disneyland, still running today (not entirely consecutively) as The Magical World of Disney Junior. Three on the Run was one of many animal-centered TV movies released under the Wonderful World of Disney title as the eighth episode of the twenty-fourth season.

Besides dozens of Alaskan and Siberian Huskies app-earing in sled dog teams in the film, there are four important canines in Three on the Run: a troublesome mutt, a doughnut loving Bloodhound, a skittish Old English Sheepdog, and

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a noble, white German Shepherd Dog, Buck. Buck belonged to Robert Weatherwax, who, for Three on the Run, worked alongside his father, Rudd Weatherwax, and Rudd’s longtime assistant from the Lassie TV series, Sam Williamson.

Brothers Scott (Brett McQuire) and Steve (Donald Williams) resolve to enter, and win, a junior sled dog race in their home town to honor the memory of their racing champion father. The only problem: they don’t have a team of dogs to pull their battered old sled, just little terrier Corky and willing but singular Duke (Buck). With the loan of two larger dogs, the brothers cut Corky from the team and discover Duke makes a perfect lead dog, almost compensating for his not-so-reliable teammates. When the big day comes, the boys’ team is laughed all the way to the starting line, but they’re determined they won’t come away empty handed.

This same concept was repeated with the 1999 movie Kayla, starring an Alaskan Malamute rather than a white GSD. Based on the novel Three Dog Winter by Elizabeth van Steenwyk, Kayla later came out on DVD as Kayla: a Cry in the Wilderness. Three on the Run has yet to be released on DVD, available only on a VHS double feature with another Wonderful World of Disney show, Race for Survival (1978), about a Greyhound and a lion traveling together in the wilds of Africa.

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Home Safe (1981)

GSD: Shotgun as K9

Trainer: Dennis Grisco

Director: Donald W. Thompson

Costars: Newell Alexander, Anita Jesse

Country: USA

Status: Limited availability

Unusual for any independent film, Home Safe features a tiger in a costarring role. The big cat came from Monty Cox’s The Lion: Wild Animal Rentals, of Saugus, CA. At the time, though his company was small, with one tiger, a lion, a cougar, a black panther, and a bear in residence, Cox had established a name for himself with such films as Grizzly (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), Apocalypse Now (1979), and TV series Daktari (1966–1969).

Shotgun, the black and tan GSD also costarring in Home Safe, belonged to Dennis Grisco. Grisco had previously trained GSDs for films such as Day of the Animals and The Pack. Though he worked on dozens of dog movies and shows throughout his career—from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998) to Snow Dogs (2002)—Grisco’s Animals, of Mira Loma, CA, founded in 1977, is known for bird work, including hawks, falcons, owls, and ravens. Grisco, now retired, remembers Shotgun as being the best GSD he ever had. Shotgun was about three years old during the filming of Home Safe and, along

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with Thor, his double, worked extensively in TV and movies, including Death Hunt (1981), starring Charles Bronson.

Home Safe was produced by evangelical Christian company Mark IV Pictures with writer/director Donald W. Thompson, best known for end of days, prophecy films like A Thief In the Night (1972). With Home Safe, it’s the story of a family crumbling due to lack of proper discipline from a father (Newell Alexander) who was raised with little guidance or intervention from his own father. Youngest son Jeff (Michael Hornaday) is accustomed to getting into all kinds of mischief without consequences, including bringing home a failed military GSD he names K9 (Shotgun). Jeff’s brand of naughtiness grows more and more serious (freeing a tiger from the local zoo, ignoring instructions from his baseball coach, and behaving irresponsibly with the training of his new dog, who twice saves his life from the rogue tiger) until tragedy strikes and pushes Jeff’s father back on the path to God.

The introduction of VHS brought Thompson’s audience beyond church viewings, yet Home Safe, and other animal-themed Mark IV films like Survival (1975), with a starring cougar, and A Stranger in My Forest (1988), with a bear, have never been released on DVD.

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NEW DISCOVERIES AND RELEASES

Castle Rock (2000)

GSD: Meko as Farley

Trainer: Shawn Hayes

Director: Craig Clyde

Costars: Alana Austin, Roger Velasco

Country: USA

Status: Available on DVD

Shawn Hayes returns with another GSD to work with writer/director/producer team Craig Clyde and Bryce Fillmore. This time with big, chill, light black and tan male, Meko. Meko’s role isn’t as demanding as Casey’s from A Dog’s Tale (1999), later re-released on DVD as A Christmas Tail. He is not playing a human trapped in a dog’s body,

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but a family pet out for a visit to wild canyon country with his people.

When Andy (Alana Austin) accompanies her grand-father, Nate (Ernest Borgnine) and his dog, Farley (Meko), for his monthly security check at Castle Rock, the surly teen is all set for a miserable time. She has no idea illegal alien Antonio (Roger Velasco) has stowed away in the back of their truck, but Farley knows all about it. He chases Antonio into the desert, then Andy goes looking for the dog while Nate does his security check. While they’re gone, Nate suffers a stroke, is found by friends they met on the drive up, then rushed away to the hospital, leaving Andy, Antonio, and Farley alone in a red rock wilderness. Now a struggle to survive and find civilization begins for all three: complicated by a wounded leg for Antonio, low provisions, snakes, and an outbreak of rabies among local coyotes that threatens Farley. (Although why Farley has not been vaccinated against rabies is never explained.)

Clyde and Fillmore are no strangers to working with animals on the set—from Little Heroes (1992) to Wind Dancer (1993) to A Dog’s Tale—but this one is a departure from most of their previous films, with more mature content aimed at preteens and up. The dog’s role is also atypical for family movies, from companion to threat, and Castle Rock is not a good choice for viewers who request happy endings in their dog films.

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Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)

GSD: Rocket as Diggs

Trainer: Mark Harden

Director: Brad Peyton

Costars: James Marsden, Nick Nolte (voices)

Country: USA

Status: Available on DVD

This James Bond spoof and sequel to Cats & Dogs (2001) features GSD Diggs at its heart, taking over the lead from the first film’s Beagle star, Lou. Diggs is played by four German Shepherd Dogs from Boone’s Animals for Hollywood: Rocket, Rowdie, Ryder, and Rusty—mostly dogs also seen in Underdog (2007, profiled in Wonder Dogs). Boone Narr’s team on Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore included more than twenty trainers headed by Mark Harden, six months of prep before filming began, and nearly 100 animal performers.

The plot follows the same path as the previous Cats & Dogs. Wicked and wronged Kitty Galore (a Sphynx played by Phoenix and Mesa, though mostly CGI) has gone rogue from secret feline organization MEOWS. To revenge herself on cruel humans, she plots to turn all the dogs of the world into savage beasts, then, with no dogs in her way, enslave all mankind. Secret canine agents from DOG rush to stop her, enlisting a rookie recruit they don’t bother to train or prep for the mission: failed police dog Diggs (Rocket, etc.). Diggs has an attitude problem and

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contempt for authority which landed him in trouble with the San Francisco Police Department’s K-9 Unit to begin with. Now this renegade GSD hopes he has what it takes to team up with MEOWS agent Catherine and stop Kitty Galore before it’s too late.

A huge amount of CGI and puppetry is employed in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, though it was still a demanding film for the real animal performers. In his first scene, Rocket holds a toothpick in his mouth beside toothpick chewing cop sidekick (Chris O'Donnell). A custom wooden block had to be made for him, the block fitting in his mouth and a narrow toothpick projection on the end poking from his lips. Footage of DOG’s secret headquarters was shot repeatedly with only one or two dogs in each take. All of these are merged together for a finished product that looks as if the interior is bustling with dozens of canine agents simultaneously.

Cool Dog (2010)

GSD: Zeus as Rainy

Trainer: Otis Knighten

Director: Danny Lerner

Costars: Jackson Pace, Michael Paré

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Country: USA

Status: Available on DVD

Filmed mostly in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cool Dog was not meant to be Cool Dog. The original title was Rin Tin Tin in New York and “Rainy” was supposed to be “Rinty.” Nu Image Films and Millennium Films first planned Rin Tin Tin in New York as a followup to Finding Rin Tin Tin, with the same director—despite the lawsuit for Rin Tin Tin copyright infringement they faced on the last one. Fortunately for Rin Tin Tin, the studios bailed on the title and made the film without debasing the famous dog’s name a second time.

When ten-year-old Jimmy’s (Jackson Pace) pushover father (Michael Paré) and wicked, unfeeling stepmother (Christa Campbell) announce they’re moving from small town Louisiana to New York City, Jimmy is told to leave his best friend, Rainy (Zeus), behind. Depending on which scene you believe, either his father or stepmother call to make arrangements to pay a petting zoo to keep the GSD until the family can find a pet-friendly apartment in the city. (It seems there are no pet-sitters or kennels in Louisiana.) With his people gone, Rainy escapes and crosses the country by train. His challenges really begin when he finds himself alone in the Big Apple.

Cool Dog has more major script and continuity problems than can usually be found divided among twenty films. Not to mention more bizarre and unnecessary breaches with reality and common sense than a spotted zebra in Antarctica. Issues extend even through typos in the credits: the company

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Worldwide Movie Animals, home of the Target Bull Terrier, Nikki, as “Worldwide Movies Animals”. Yet its one saving grace is the handsome Zeus, belonging to Otis “OJ” Knighten of K9 Coach, trained by him and Tom Roach for the film. Although another (very different looking) dog trained by Jeff Goldenbaum doubles in scenes actually filmed in New York City, Zeus gets the lion’s share of canine screen time. Best way to see Cool Dog? Mute it. Just watch the dog.

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SPECIAL THANKS

Thanks for invaluable assistance to Dennis Grisco, Robert Weatherwax, Salene Weatherwax, and Otis Knighten. This booklet could not have been completed without your help.

Also to mistty002 of deviantART and her gorgeous German Shepherd Dog, Brenda, appearing on the cover.

Thank you all!

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The original Wonder Dogs: 101 German Shepherd Dog Films is available in paperback on Amazon.com. Also in Canada Amazon.ca and the UK Amazon.co.uk.

For more dog movies and information you can find Jordan Taylor on the Reel Dogs blog; reeldogs.blogspot.com, at www.jordantaylorbooks.com, on Twitter; @ReelDogs and @JordanTaylorLit, and on Facebook Jordan Taylor Books.

Below is a complete list of the 101 films profiled in Wonder Dogs:

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The Silent Call (1921) Where the North Begins (1923)His Master’s Voice (1925) Wolfheart’s Revenge (1925)Call of the Wilderness (1926)The Return of Grey Wolf (1926)The Sign of the Claw (1926) The Return of Boston Blackie (1927)Tracked by the Police (1927)The Law’s Lash (1928)Tracked (1928) Under the Black Eagle (1928) Trailing the Killer (1932) The Flaming Signal (1933) Jaws of Justice (1933)Inside Information (1934) When Lightning Strikes (1934) Courage of the North (1935)The Test (1935)White Fang (1936) Children of the Wild (1937)Call of the Yukon (1938) Orphans of the Street (1938) Torchy Gets Her Man (1938) Law of the Wolf (1939)Sign of the Wolf (1941)Eyes in the Night (1942)War Dogs (1942) My Pal, Wolf (1944) The Adventures of Rusty (1945) Danny Boy (1946)My Dog Shep (1946) The Return of Rin Tin Tin (1947)

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Rusty Leads the Way (1948) The Big Cat (1949)Kazan (1949)Shep Comes Home (1949)Spoilers of the Plains (1951)Northwest Territory (1951)Fangs of the Arctic (1953) Police Dog (1955)How Wong Fei-hung Vanquished the Ferocious Dog in Shamian (1956) The Brain From the Planet Arous (1957)The Courage of Rin Tin Tin (1957)Kelly and Me (1957) The Littlest Hobo (1958) Wolf Dog (1958)Moonwolf (1959)A Dog’s Best Friend (1960)My Dog Buddy (1960)The Police Dog Story (1961)The Young and the Brave (1963)Legend of the Northwest (1964)Atta Girl, Kelly! (1967)Five and the Spies (1969)Smoke (1970)Azit, the Paratrooper Dog (1972)The Call of the Wild (1972)Lone Wolf (1972)White Fang (1972)The Billion Dollar Hobo (1974)Lions for Breakfast (1974)The Great Adventure (1975) Won Ton Ton: Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)The Hills Have Eyes (1977)The Pack (1977)Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978)

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Kavik the Wolf Dog (1980)Klondike Fever (1980)White Dog (1982)Red Riding Hood (1983)Love Leads the Way (1984)We Think the World of You (1988)K-9 (1989)K-9000 (1989)The Paris Conspiracy (1991)Radio Flyer (1992)Call of the Wild (1993) Chips the War Dog (1993)Kazan (1995)Bad Moon (1996) Buck and the Magic Bracelet (1997)Baby Rex (1997)Dogboys (1998)Atomic Dog (1998) A Dog’s Tale (1999)K-911 (1999)Bring Him Home (2000)Rain (2001)K-9: P.I. (2002) Scent of Danger (2002)The Breed (2006) Wilderness (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (2006)Devil Dog (2007)Finding Rin Tin Tin (2007)I Am Legend (2007)Underdog (2007)Ace of Hearts (2008)Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2010)

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