Danny Boy

Our dog Danny Boy returns as a WWII war veteran having been highly honored and decorated as a hero. His young owner has doubts that this really is his dog and a certain neighbor has reservations about the safety of such a dog - since he was an attack dog is he yet a menace or danger to the town? This is no BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES though in a canine way it follows the rehabilitation theme. A bit predictable but if you don't expect too much it has its rewards. It is well acted both by the leads and the supporting cast. Ace the German Shepherd does an adequate job. Of course no "dog picture" is complete without a bit a sentiment. Unlike Lassie who always seemed to have super than human abilities, Danny Boy doesn't pretend to be more than what he is. It's worth a watch.

Ace the Wonder Dog returns from serving in the Marines as a Devil Dog -- the Marines' K-9 unit. 'Buzz' Henry is glad to see his pet again, but it takes a few days before the dog snaps to -- between being trained and then being untrained, he is, as fellow ex-Marine Ralph Lewis notes, pretty confused. However, Lewis got over it and the dog will too.

So he does. But neighbor Walter Soderling keeps talking about him as a trained killer, and terrifying the neighbors wih small children. When a man says he'd like to have a dog like that at his ranch, Soderling obliges. However, Ace wants to get back to Buzz and won't stop yapping, so he gets locked into a barn and denied food and water. Can this thwart Ace the Wonder Dog?

Seems unlikely, since he is a wonder dog. While this movie may have something useful to say about combat fatigue, which nowadays we give the vague and foreboding title of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it's more about a boy's love for his dog and a dog's love for his boy. Ace had been in the movies for seven years now, and he shows off his usual wide range of tricks. Other cast members do not seem to be as challenged.