The Doberman Gang

A group of clever criminals train a six Doberman Pinchers to rob a bank for them in this low-budget crime caper film. Director Byron Chudnow doesn't display a great deal of finesse, nor does the cast of unknowns for that matter, but he manages to get the job done. One of the better B-caper films of its time. This is a guilty pleasure I return to time and time again.

Considering that the main cast are primarily television bit actors, they gel together very well. Even director Byron Chudnow's primary work was producing and editing in television, which probably goes a long way to explain why the film is so economically paced. Julie Parrish was most recognized for appearing opposite Elvis Presley in "Paradise, Hawaiian Style", and briefly in Star Trek's "The Menagerie" (part 1).

The film is notable especially for being composer Alan Sylvestri's first motion picture score (alternating between dramatic and humorous), with absolutely no prior composing experience, and a two week deadline. He would eventually be linked regularly to director Robert Zemeckis, enjoying a working relationship similar to Steven Spielberg and John Williams.

Extremely entertaining and generally a well paced film, rated GP on original theatrical prints (re-classified PG) for a couple of bloody sequences.

Crime planner Byron Mabe is tired of having his beautifully worked out robberies loused up when one of the books fails to follow follow the plan or tries to double-cross him. So he hires a dog trainer and buys a bunch of Doberman Pinschers to execute a bank robbery.

It's almost a Disney film, with its love of animals and twangy, country-western score, except for the implied sex out of wedlock, blood from the Dobies savaging people upon command and, oh yeah, the fact that a bunch of crooks are the heroes of the movie. Most of the movie is taken up with the planning and training stages, and by the time the robbery takes place, the audience pretty much knows how it will go. Yet the wackiness of the entire scheme more than makes up for the lack of well-known performers.

Director Byron Chudnow had spent much of his career up to this as a TV editor, and it does have the pacing and look of something from that medium. Certainly, he paces the movie very well, and it was sufficiently successful to result in two sequels; a 'reboot' is currently scheduled for release in 2022.

Training 6 doberman dogs to rob a bank? Actually, this outlandish premise is executed with far more believability than you'd think. The criminals behind the dogs are not portrayed as buffoons or as totally unredeemable; in fact, they are pretty likable guys for the most part. (And - shock of all shocks - it's the Vietnam veteran character who comes across as the most sympathetic!) As well, we are taken through the plan step by step, seeing how they slowly train the dogs and deal with any potential problems that come up during the way. It's a little dry at times (the low budget doesn't exactly make it flashy), but never does it get really boring. The only thing I question about the movie is how it got a "G" rating, given a couple of (mild, admitedly) love scenes and a couple of *seriously* bloody sequences! Those bloody sequences really shatter the agreeably fluffy and light tone, and make it questionable as a family movie. Despite that, the movie was pretty successful, subsequently generating two theatrical sequels and one made-for-TV movie.

When I saw this movie on IMDb I remembered it from my childhood. At that time, It had disturbed me in someway but I couldn't remember why. So I decided to rewatch.

The story is simpler than I remember. I liked it this time. Although the quality is very very low and acting is looking so cheap, anyway, the idea is original. Maybe it should be remade with a better execution.

Finally I solved the reason why I was disturbed. It was about the final flick. I thought that was not fair in that time, but I changed my mind. It is very cool.

I recommend it in your free time for killing time.