A Dog's Love
| A Dog's Love | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jack Harvey |
| Written by | Nolan Gane |
| Starring | Shep the Dog, Helen Badgley, and Arthur Bauer |
| Music by | Andrew Crow |
Production company | |
Release dates | October 4, 1914 |
Running time | 11 minutes, 12 seconds |
| Country | USA |
| Language | Silent |
A Dog's Love is a 1914 American short silent fantasy film with subtitles,[1] directed by Jack Harvey on his directorial debut. It stars Shep the Dog, Helen Badgley, and Arthur Bauer.[2] Well-received because of its "universally appealing" theme, the dog's emotions were reported as surpassing the child's histrionics. Copies of the film are in the Museum of Modern Art of New York City and the National Film, Television and Sound Archive of Ottawa film archive.
Plot
The film is about a dog who dearly loves a little girl and cannot forget about her when she dies after being hit by a car. Clearly upset and in mourning for her, he refuses to eat. The dog visits her grave every day. He delivers some flowers and provokes a nearby gardener to water them for him. The dog follows the girl's ghost around the cemetery to the grave. At the end, it is revealed that the tale is "only imaginary", showing the girl and dog happily together again.
Cast
- Shep the Dog as himself
- Helen Badgley as Baby Helen
- Arthur Bauer as Helen's father
- Ethyle Cooke as Helen's mother (as Ethyle Cooke Benham)
- Fannie Bourke as a visitor
Production
The Lincoln Star referred to the film as a "big Thanhouser production".[3] Child actress Helen Badgley, also known as The Thanhouser Kidlet, is described by the Thanhouser Company who made the film as a "precocious child actress who was very comfortable and expressive in front of the camera".[2] Shep the Dog, also known as The Thanhouser Collie, was a well-trained animal performer who appeared in a number of the company's films during this period.[2] The dog's acting, in portraying a range of emotions including "depression", "groveling pathos" and "joy", was noted to be superior to the child's performance.[4]
The film was shot on one reel by the Thanhouser Company, 1,007 feet (307 m) in total.[5] It was shot in standard 35mm and a spherical 1.37:1 format. Andrew Crow composed and performed the music.[6] It was distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation upon release.[5]
Reception
Jack Harvey's debut film as a director was well received by the public due to its "universally appealing" theme. Thanhouser writes that the "loyal dog's attachment to his little girl playmate is treated with pictorial beauty and simple, honest sentiment", and notes that when it was released on October 4, 1914, reviewers praised the "double-exposure passages for their dramatic effectiveness".[2] Today, copies of the film are in the Museum of Modern Art of New York City and the National Film, Television and Sound Archive of Ottawa film archives.[5]
References
- ↑ "Thanhouser classics. Vol. 2, A mutual film corporation, 1912 to 1914 [videorecording] / Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc.". Wayne State University. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "A Dog's Love". Thanhouser.org. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ "At the Lily". The Lincoln Star. 23 October 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 23 August 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Morris, Gary (December 1998). "Thanhouser Classics". Bright Lights Film Journal (23). Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "A Dog's Love". Silentera.com. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ "Early Film (Film to 1930)". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
External links
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