Introduction to Classic Dog Movies
Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, Benji, Beethoven and classic film canines
Spark your memory with this list of popular dog movies. Can you think of any others?
Hollywood has long capitalized on our love of dogs and popular pastime, watching movies. Producers continue to crank out hilarious, heartwarming and, at times, heartrending canine adventures for our entertainment.
Back in the 1920’s, when they were still called ‘moving pictures’, the very first American dog movie starred Rin Tin Tin. The German Shepherd who had been rescued from a bombed French kennel and taken to California by an American soldier near the end of WWI, had the feature role in Where the North Begins. Acting in a total of 26 pictures, Rin Tin Tin signed his own contracts with a pawprint for 22 of them.
From those humble beginnings, a host of wonderful dog movies have captured our hearts through the years.
In the 1940’s, a series of Lassie movies, starring a beautiful Collie, were released, beginning with Lassie Come Home. In 1994 and 2005, two more Lassie movies found their way to the screen.
Younger generations still enjoy the Benji movies featuring a loveable mixed breed that melted our hearts in the 70’s and 80’s. The adventures and mishaps of the clumsy St. Bernards in the Beethoven movies continue to entertain families today. None of us will forget the inevitable tears at the end of Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows, or the joy of the happy ending in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. Then there’s the Young Artists Award nominee, Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog. And remember the sweet Beagle in Shiloh and the determination portrayed in Iron Will. There’s My Dog Skip, Snow Dogs, Balto, Wishbone, White Fang, Chips the War Dog, Love Leads the Way and the cute humor of Hambone and Hillie, Eight Below, The Ugly Dachshund, and the Shaggy Dog movies.
Of course the light entertainment of the athletically-inclined Airbud and the adventures of Bingo still make good family entertainment choices. More recently, Because of Winn-Dixie appeals to young dog lovers. But the animated classics, Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmations, with their underlying morals, surely top the list of America’s favorite dog movies.
If you’re a dog lover, many of these are the type of movie you will want to watch over and over again.. There are many other dog movies as well as another family comedy coming in April 2007 called Firehouse Dog.
