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IMDbPro

It's a Dog's Life

  • 1955
  • U
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
549
YOUR RATING
Jarma Lewis, Jeff Richards, and Wildfire in It's a Dog's Life (1955)
ComedyDrama

A bull terrier tells his life story, from the streets of the Bowery to a life of luxury.A bull terrier tells his life story, from the streets of the Bowery to a life of luxury.A bull terrier tells his life story, from the streets of the Bowery to a life of luxury.

  • Director
    • Herman Hoffman
  • Writers
    • John Michael Hayes
    • Richard Harding Davis
  • Stars
    • Jeff Richards
    • Jarma Lewis
    • Edmund Gwenn
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    549
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Herman Hoffman
    • Writers
      • John Michael Hayes
      • Richard Harding Davis
    • Stars
      • Jeff Richards
      • Jarma Lewis
      • Edmund Gwenn
    • 21User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos32

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    Top cast53

    Edit
    Jeff Richards
    Jeff Richards
    • Patch McGill
    Jarma Lewis
    Jarma Lewis
    • Mabel Maycroft
    Edmund Gwenn
    Edmund Gwenn
    • Jeremiah Nolan
    Dean Jagger
    Dean Jagger
    • Mr. Wyndham
    Willard Sage
    Willard Sage
    • Tom Tattle
    Sally Fraser
    Sally Fraser
    • Dorothy Wyndham
    Richard Anderson
    Richard Anderson
    • George Oakley
    J.M. Kerrigan
    J.M. Kerrigan
    • Paddy Corbin
    • (as J. M. Kerrigan)
    Wildfire
    Wildfire
    • Wildfire
    Walter Bacon
    • Bar Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Berkeley
    • Bar Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Besser
    Joe Besser
    • Dog Catcher
    • (uncredited)
    George Blagoi
    George Blagoi
    • Bar Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Oliver Blake
    Oliver Blake
    • Dogcatcher with Net
    • (uncredited)
    Phil Bloom
    Phil Bloom
    • Citizen
    • (uncredited)
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Dog Owner
    • (uncredited)
    Phil Chambers
    Phil Chambers
    • Carney
    • (uncredited)
    Russell Custer
    • Bettor at Contest
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Herman Hoffman
    • Writers
      • John Michael Hayes
      • Richard Harding Davis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews21

    6.5549
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    Featured reviews

    7HellKelpie

    Fascinating

    I first saw this movie many years ago, one weekend on television back when I was a child. It caused me to be eternally fascinated by bull terriers.

    The movie itself, on finally seeing it again as an adult, is not nearly as bad as some reviewers would have you think. From my point of view, it doesn't condone dog-fighting, nor even abuse of women. Sure, it shows some fairly unacceptable behaviour, but I didn't get the impression that this was being shown as an example of the behaviour on which our own should be modelled. When I think how many times in my viewing history I've seen people (not necessarily women) punched, kicked, shot, tortured, and murdered in cold blood, then this movie is pretty darn tame.

    Since buying the DVD, and then buying the book on which this movie was based (yes, this movie made a huge impression on the child who saw it years ago), I still think it's a good movie. Clunky, sure. A little strange sometimes - absolutely. Displays outmoded behaviours - no argument. But still, for Wildfire alone, worth a view or two.
    7dhoffman

    A nice way to spend an hour and a half.

    This is a period piece, set in what appears to be the late 1800s. Much of the film is narrated by the main character, Wildfire, a bull terrier, who moves upward from the Bowery in this "rags-to-riches" fantasy. At times Wildfire's narration may be `too cute', but remarkably it doesn't stray too far. This device of personifying the dog truly works, particularly due to the script. Wildfire gets high praise for his performance. Dean Jagger is excellent as is Edmund Gwynne.

    The film is well-paced and I found it much more entertaining that I anticipated. This is good escapist fare-the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad, but not too terribly so.
    9cheiranthus

    A classic!

    I fell in love with this movie when I first saw it on late night TV back in the 70s. It's a charmer, with a wry sense of humor and a little tough around the edges. There's plenty of sentiment but it's definitely Runyonesque, as some here have so accurately described it, and NOT the cheap, mawkishly manipulative sentimentality of Disney. Anyone who thinks this movie condones violence - toward animals OR women - wasn't paying attention. The dogs are NOT violent but like the horses in Black Beauty, they're victims of cruel, greedy, selfish human beings.

    My children grew up on this film, via a grainy, over-the-air VHS cassette. We all love it and someday, when it finally comes out on DVD, we'll throw a family party and watch it all together again.
    5bkoganbing

    Stray Dog To Show Dog

    It's A Dog's Life graced the bottom of many double bills during the Fifties for MGM stars. A film like this one even five years later would have been a made for television product.

    The original story was based on something that famed nineteenth century newspaper correspondent Richard Harding Davis wrote. When he was not covering things like the Spanish American War, Davis took his hand at fiction. He wrote the Gallegher stories that Walt Disney filmed during the Sixties with Roger Mobley.

    This is the rags to riches story of a stray dog who managed to get from fighting dog of the Bowery to pampered show dog on Long Island. As Vic Morrow who supplies the dog's voice and does the narration, Horatio Alger would have loved this story. He certainly would have because Horatio was writing his stuff during this same time.

    Of the human actors we have to single out Edmund Gwenn and Dean Jagger, two of the most accomplished character actors around. Gwenn as the groom and stableman on Jagger's estate and Jagger as the wealthy dog breeder who has a lot of issues in a lot of areas both are just fine in the roles. And they don't let the appealing little canine steal the scenes either.

    I wish I could rate this film better, but sad to say I know all too well that dogs who are bred as killers are not likely to change their ways and become show dogs. Maybe Davis could sell that as fiction in his time and maybe MGM could see it in 1955, but it doesn't go over today.

    Still some may find this a cute film.
    KS-8

    Oddball little delight

    I TiVo'd this movie because I have an absurd sentimentality for animals. A friend actually snickered when she saw this on my TiVo "to do" list. No matter. I watched it on a night when I needed to just veg out - no challenging foreign films that night, thank you.

    Boy, was I glad I did! As other posters have stated, this is a weird movie. No children star in this movie, but it has a talking dog narrator! And he's actually trained as a fighting dog -- something you probably wouldn't see in a "talking dog" movie made today.

    Vic Morrow's voiceover was a bit distant -- joking a bit too much when you knew the dog was in sheer terror, for instance. But I liked the New York accent. It worked for the little street tough that the dog (his name was Wildfire) was supposed to be.

    Human cast was terrific, especially Edmund Gwenn. Dean Jagger also good.

    If you have a tolerance for G-rated talking animal movies, this one is different and worth checking out. It's not exactly a kids' movie -- children may be bored, in fact, since the action, though fast, isn't exactly at the breakneck cartoony pace that kids today are accustomed to. And there is some implied violence and "adult situations." But it's a brisk story that moves along nicely, and with some genuinely funny moments. And a sweet ending.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There were actually two dogs used to play the lead. Wildfire was used for closeups and non-action shots, and a double was used to perform the tricks.
    • Goofs
      When Patch first encounters Wildfire at the bar, he takes him over and places him on a table. The dog is then shown sitting and standing in subsequent successive shots.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Wildfire: [about him and his mother as they wander the streets and back alleys of the Bowery] We ate at only the best restaurants in the waterfront o' little old New York. Well, behind the best restaurants anyway. Hoffmeier's garbage can belonged to me and my mother. Everybody knew that. That's Ma, working on a steak bone. As for those mongrels, thinking they were going to push us out of the way, that was a large mistake. Although I do not admire the expression, it was strictly dog eat dog on the waterfront.

    • Crazy credits
      [prologue] "I agree with Agassiz that dogs possess something very like a conscience." Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man.
    • Connections
      Referenced in My Three Sons: It's a Dog's Life (1965)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 23, 1955 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Bar Sinister
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $891,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.55 : 1

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    Jarma Lewis, Jeff Richards, and Wildfire in It's a Dog's Life (1955)
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