A Boy and His Dog

Boy and His Dog, A (1946)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar winning short about a young boy (Billy Sheffield) who rescues an abused dog only to have its evil owner (Harry Davenport) take him to court to try and get it back. If you're a diabetic then you might fall into a coma due to all the sugar sprinkled on this thing but the film succeeds at doing what it tries. The film certainly just wants to be sweet and on that level it works as director Prinz does a very good job at telling the story and doing so in a loving nature. He also manges to make a great villain with Davenport, a well-known character actor, doing a great job at just being plain mean. The story doesn't really offer us anything new or original but it's all handled in a good fashion. The biggest problem with the movie is the performance by Sheffield who comes off very weak especially in any scene where he's suppose to show emotion.

A country boy (Billy Sheffield, brother of Johnny of the Tarzan movies), who has recently lost his father, befriends a mistreated coon hound which is owned by an ornery cuss(a character actor you will recognize if you have seen many westerns from the 30s and 40s). The hound follows the boy home after being extricated from an entanglement. After tracking the dog to the boy's house and being run off by the boy, the owner files a complaint, and a short trial ensues. The judge, played by venerable actor Harry Davenport, actually presides at two short trials involving the dog. According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, this was from the golden age of film shorts, and made by Warner Bros.

A Boy and His dog is a wonderful sweet short film (1946) that I saw on Turner Classic movies late one night that followed the 1943 classic "Lassie Come Home". Oh, I can't wait to get a dog someday! Given the Oscar for Best Short Subject it brings to light the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Luckily TCM plays shorts often and they are always such gems. Harry Davenport, the great character actor, plays the squire. You'll remember him as Dr. Meade from Gone With The Wind.

A Boy and His Dog won an Oscar in 1946 for Best Short Subject and in its less than 30 minute running time spins a nice tale of a dog choosing its own master.

Young Billy Sheffield frees a cruelly mistreated dog from a trap and the hound follows him home. That of course doesn't sit well with owner Russell Simpson. Homespun and wise country judge Harry Davenport shows just why he is a judge in that neck of the woods in his decision.

Basically that's the sum and substance of the film. I couldn't help feeling that it could have been expanded and been a nice feature film.

Though Harry Davenport is true to type, Russell Simpson plays very effectively against his usual roles. I'd never seen him as a bad guy before, but he was quite effective.

A Boy and His Dog is still a nice family film. And I do love seeing Harry Davenport make Russell Simpson an offer he can't refuse.

"Davy" (Billy Sheffield) returns home to his recently widowed mum (Dorothy Adams) with a new best four-legged friend. He claims that he found the hound, and asks to keep it. She agrees and that turns out be a shrewd decision as it's not bad at helping him catch rabbits. Then their curmudgeonly neighbour "Thorneycroft" (Russell Simpson) shows up claiming the dog was stolen. "Davy" refuses to hand him over, so they are summoned to court. It would seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but the kindly judge (Harry Davenport) is quite a wily old gent as he wants the spirit of the law to be adhered to as well as it's letter. This is one of those gentle stories, a parable of sorts, that seems designed to encourage that "the law is right and we must do what is right" - regardless of our own feelings. This decently produced film picks a pet as I reckon many people care more about their animals than they do about other people - but it makes it's point clearly. Sentimentally and in soft-focus, but clearly. You will never remember it, but it is a watchable little feature.