Police Dog

It might be bad but it's still a watchable enough British B-movie of the period - and at least less unintentionally funny than 'K-9' (which was MEANT to be funny).

Proficient enough as an unvarnished crime thriller filler, with the dog being trained in an effort to assist a fresh-faced copper hunt down a cop-killing burglar fiend, the film strays too far into anthropomorphic territory when the PC's girlfriend becomes jealous of the pooch. Otherwise it's heavy handed business as usual, right down to the patronising depiction of the struggling-but-otherwise-rosy working-class household.

Director Twist had a steady career as a competent editor of many distinguished British films throughout the 30s, which seemed to come to an abrupt end at the end of the decade. Quite why he abandoned it for a sporadic and ineffectual career in direction is a mystery - it can't have been the war as he had a significant hand in a number of films during the early 40s.

Director Derek Twist, about whom I must ashamedly confess I know not a thing, pulls off a spendid job of keeping the action interesting, even if the script rates far from a cliffhanger, or even just riveting.

The centrepiece is the relationship between Turner as the copper who loves dogs and becomes a dog handler and trainer for the British police, and Joan Rice as his wife, who takes a while to accept all that a copper's life actually entails, and the implications of bringing a cop canine into the household.

Rex III is quite splendid as the hero dog who manages to thwart and bring to justice the thief who opened the film with the cold-blooded murder of a fellow policeman.

Competent photography, lovely cars of the 1950s, and a good-natured atmosphere make POLICE DOG very pleasant viewing. 7/10.

I'm an animal lover at heart so watching and enjoying this film was a given. It's certainly miles better than those incessantly awful Disney movies that have to make animals talk in order to appeal to the kids - I saw a clip of the superhero dog comedy UNDERDOG the other day and, by the gods, it's awful.

POLICE DOG is much more sedate and realistic, although the plotting isn't up to much. Your average copper loses his partner to a violent criminal and is paired up with an Alsatian, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend who feels that he loves the dog more than her.

This is much like the 1950s version of the James Belushi comedy K-9, albeit without the laughs. If you're a dog lover then you'll be in for a treat as Alsatians play a large role in the proceedings and have plenty of screen time. They're exceedingly well trained and get up to all kinds of escapades. The human cast don't really get much of a look in - after all, they're there merely to act as support for the dogs - although there are minor parts for John Le Mesurier and Christopher Lee, the latter with an amusing working class accent.

I've just enjoyed this film courtesy of Talking Pictures o n Freeview, I much enjoyed the almost drama-documentary style I was also most interested in the filming locations...not much detail is given o n the website except for information on the Boreham Wood Studios. During the film I suddenly realised that the police dog training school was filmed within a BBC transmitter station. You can clearly see the transmitter building (white building in the background...looking almost like an airfield control tower) and the lines of short telegraph poles that normally carry the feeder wires from the transmitter to the radiating antennas. These wires aren't visible, which makes me think that they had not been installed as the station hadn't been commissioned. As I'm a former broadcasting Engineer (yes, a real retired 'anorak' perhaps) I would be most interested to know where the site was....I'd be grateful for any help. RB Mannion

Two British foot patrolmen pursue a burglary suspect and one ends up shot to death by the suspect. Patrolman Frank vows to catch the killer. His superior suggests that foot patrolman be accompanied by dogs to provide them with protection and aid them in the pursuit of suspects. So constable Frank takes in a stray dog and trains him to be a police dog. The new dog proves to be an great asset and aids Frank in the capture of the cop killer and save Franks life. I suppose if I wanted to sound clever, I would call this a "dog of a movie." In fairness, POLICE DOG is a harmless "B" family film. The film has some plot contrivances such as having officer Frank's girlfriend jealous because Frank is spending to much time with his new dog instead of her. Also the killer is pretty stupid. He returns to the same neighborhood where he committed the murder to rob again only to recognized by officer Frank. You would think he would pick another part of town to rob.

Christopher Lee has a small part as a police officer who does not like dogs. The dog of the title is billed as "Rex III." I suppose that means the "Rex" in this film is grandson of "Rex-The Wonder Dog" who starred in western movies and serials in the 1930's.