Story of a Dog

Given what they were being fed, I was quite surprised these dogs didn't turn on their handlers and eat them instead! Rather than that, though, the narration adopts the persona of these mutts as they undertake some brutal and onerous training so that they are as immune to the effects of war as it's possible to be. That's handy because the plan is to ship them off to the Far East theatre of the Second World War where they can be used to sniff out snipers hiding in the dense undergrowth - hopefully saving many a soldier's life. It's all fairly standard wartime fayre that I think could have worked better had someone like Pete Smith provided a more humorous and engaging commentary rather than this really quite dry and earnest output. It's interesting just how much effort and import was placed on the training of hundreds of these animals and at just how much reliance the military placed on these creatures with enhanced senses and skills.

This RKO short subject is about the training of coast guard dogs, told from the viewpoint of one of the dogs involved -- at least the voice-over narration is supposed to be the reminiscences of one of the dogs, a Doberman Pinscher, leading up to the World War Two service of the dog on a Pacific Island, fighting against the Japanese.

Although not a particularly informative picture, it does have a certain amount of propaganda value, as we watch the action. It is primarily a flag-waving exercise, with the message that dogs are valiant for the sake of the United States, and we, as loyal American humans, watching this movie in the theater, should also be.

This short starts off as a real laugh a minute. It's about the Coast Guard training dogs to be used in World War II. The whole thing is narrated by one of the dogs being trained!!! I literally broke out laughing when I figured that out. I almost turned it off whenever the "dog" started telling some really bad jokes. But it sort of grew on me. It's actually pretty interesting in its own way and I was impressed by some of the tricks the dogs were taught. I really liked the part when the dogs hit the ground with their trainers when a bomb hit. It ends up with an reenactment of a dog helping his trainer capture a Japanese soldier. This was obviously just made as propaganda but it's interesting to watch today in a historical context. Also it was nominated for an Oscar. I give it a 7.

As short documentaries go, this one is a pretty interesting enactment of how the Coast Guard's War Dog Unit trained dogs for overseas combat during WWII.

The narration is supposedly from the viewpoint of a Doberman being trained by his newly appointed handler and undergoing the vigorous training program all the dogs were subjected to.

It starts with them being processed just as any soldier would be with a medical checkup, weight and height requirement, heartbeat, etc. They are given special rations so they can undergo all the physical training ahead. Most interesting scenes are the interaction between the dogs and their handlers who are responsible for teaching them basic training skills so they would be prepared for combat conditions.

Well presented, it's one of the better short subjects produced by the Warner Bros. Vitaphone unit during the mid-'40s.