| Gone to the Dogs | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ken G. Hall |
| Produced by | Ken G. Hall |
| Written by | George Wallace Frank Harvey Frank Coffey |
| Starring | George Wallace Lois Green |
| Cinematography | George Heath |
| Editing by | William Shepherd |
| Studio | Cinesound Productions |
| Release date(s) | August 1939 |
| Running time | 83 mins (Aust) 63 mins (UK) |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤20,000[1] |
Gone to the Dogs is a 1939 comedy vehicle starring George Wallace. It was the second of two films he made for director Ken G. Hall, following Let George Do It (1938).
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Wallace plays a disaster-prone zoo attendant who accidentally discovers a substance that accelerates motion, enabling his greyhound to run faster. This attracts the interest of a gang of criminals, who kidnap George's dog and plan to substitute their own in an important dog race.
Production of the film was announced in April 1937 when Wallace signed with Cinesound Productions but he made another film for the company first.[2]
Wallace's female co-star was Lois Green, an actor with extensive stage experience with J.C. Williamson Ltd, who left Australia after filming to go work in London.[3][4] The romantic male lead was an unknown amateur actor called John Fleeting, who later appeared for Hall in Come Up Smiling (1939).[5]
The cast also included John Dobbie, Wallace's long-time stooge on stage, and Howard Craven, a former publicity writer for MGM in Sydney who had gone into acting.[6]
A set built for the film was promoted at the time as being the largest ever built for an Australian movie at over 12,000 square feet.[7] Some location shooting took place at Taronga Zoo.[8]
Hall later wrote that the two films he made with Wallace "were very substantial hits".[9]