A Dog's Best Friend

Last updated
A Dog's Best Friend
A Dog's Best Friend poster.JPG
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Screenplay by Orville H. Hampton
Produced by Robert E. Kent
Starring Bill Williams
Marcia Henderson
Roger Mobley
Roy Engel
Charles Cooper
Harry Dean Stanton
Cinematography Kenneth Peach
Edited byMichael Minth
Grant Whytock
Music by Paul Sawtell
Bert Shefter
Production
company
Premium Pictures Inc.
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • December 20, 1959 (1959-12-20)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Dog's Best Friend is a 1959 American Drama Western film directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Orville H. Hampton. The film stars Bill Williams, Marcia Henderson, Roger Mobley, Roy Engel, Charles Cooper and Harry Dean Stanton. The film was released on December 20, 1959, by United Artists. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Orphaned when his widowed father is executed for murder, Pip Wheeler is sent to live with rancher Wes Thurman and his wife Millie. The young boy's traumatic past makes him so withdrawn and difficult that the Thurmans consider returning him to the orphanage. Unknown to his foster parents, Pip finds a stray, hungry German shepherd, Silver King, guarding a .38 revolver one day and nurses the animal back to health and sneaks food from the Thurman house to feed him. Hiding the dog in the hills, Pip gradually gains the animal's trust, resulting in a softening of the boy's demeanor, which surprises the Thurmans, who know nothing of the blossoming friendship. Meanwhile, the shepherd's owner, miser Otto Tillman, who was rumored to keep a large amount of cash in his house, has been found murdered and Silver King is missing. Evidence at the scene of the crime leads officials to believe that Silver King, a war dog trained by the Marines, wounded the assailant during the murder, thus prompting Sheriff Dan Murdock to call for the dog to be found and shot. Meanwhile, the murderer, Roy Janney, lies suffering from gangrene in a motel with his partner in the crime, Deputy Sheriff Bill Beamer. Unable to seek medical attention for fear that Janney might be identified because of the dog bites, Beamer promises that they can leave town with the money once he finds the dog and the revolver that the animal snatched during their scuffle. Meanwhile, Wes, discovering that a dog has killed one of his lambs, tracks down Silver King and finds Pip with the gun drawn, guarding him. After Pip insists he would rather run away than give up the dog, Wes, convinced that Pip must go back to the county authorities, reports the incident at the police station. Beamer, who is also at the station, learns of Silver King's whereabouts and assumes he can finally recover his gun and dispose of the animal, thus destroying all the incriminating evidence. Soon after, following a lead about a man found dying in a nearby motel, Murdock and Wes go to the motel and discover Janney and the stolen money. When Janney confesses to killing Otto and names Beamer as his accomplice, Murdock and Wes deduce that Beamer will be hunting down Pip to destroy the gun and kill him and Silver King. Meanwhile, Beamer finds Pip in the hills, gets the gun and attempts to shoot the boy, but the dog leaps into the battle and saves Pip. When Wes and Murdock arrive at the scene, Beamer shoots and wounds Murdock but is knocked unconscious by Wes in the ensuing fight. Witnessing Wes's love for him, Pip happily returns to the Thurman house, where both he and Silver King accept their new, permanent home.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmett Till</span> African American lynching victim (1941–1955)

Emmett Louis Till was an African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 at the age of 14, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery store. The brutality of his murder and the acquittal of his killers drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of African Americans in the United States. Till posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer</span> American actor and singer (1927–1959)

Carl Dean Switzer was an American singer, child actor, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the short subjects series Our Gang.

<i>The Devils Rejects</i> 2005 film by Rob Zombie

The Devil's Rejects is a 2005 American black comedy horror film written, produced and directed by Rob Zombie, and is the second film in the Firefly film series, serving as a sequel to his 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses. The film is centered on the run of three members of the psychopathic antagonist family from the previous film, now seen as villainous protagonists, with Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Zombie's wife Sheri Moon Zombie reprising their roles, and Leslie Easterbrook replacing Karen Black as the matriarch.

<i>Two Moon Junction</i> 1988 film by Zalman King

Two Moon Junction is a 1988 American erotic romantic drama film written and directed by Zalman King and starring Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson. The original music score is composed by Jonathan Elias.

<i>The Secret of Convict Lake</i> 1951 film by Michael Gordon

The Secret of Convict Lake is a 1951 American Western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore and Zachary Scott. The film was a critical and commercial success. The story is fiction, based on legends of Convict Lake, located in the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges of northern California. and a short story by Anna Hunger and Jack Pollexfen. The film is the final role for Ann Dvorak before her retirement from the screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Cook (criminal)</span> American mass murderer (1928–1952)

William Edward Cook Jr. was an American spree killer and mass murderer who murdered six people, including a family of five, on a 22-day rampage between Missouri and California in 1950–51.

<i>Watchers</i> (film) 1988 film by Jon Hess

Watchers is a 1988 science fiction horror film directed by Jon Hess and starring Corey Haim, Michael Ironside, Barbara Williams and Lala Sloatman. It is loosely based on the 1987 novel Watchers by Dean R. Koontz.

<i>The Grand Duel</i> 1972 film by Giancarlo Santi

The Grand Duel, also known as Storm Rider and The Big Showdown, is a 1972 Italian-language spaghetti Western film directed by Giancarlo Santi, who had previously worked as Sergio Leone's assistant director on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. The film stars Lee Van Cleef as a sheriff who seeks justice for a man accused of murder.

<i>Dark Rivers of the Heart</i> 1994 novel by Dean Koontz

Dark Rivers of the Heart is a novel by Dean Koontz, published in 1994.

<i>Switchback</i> (film) 1997 American film

Switchback is a 1997 American crime thriller film written and directed by Jeb Stuart in his directorial debut. It stars Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, Ted Levine, William Fichtner and R. Lee Ermey. An FBI agent tracks his son's kidnapper to Amarillo, Texas, where two lawmen are seeking to use the case in their election bid.

<i>On Borrowed Time</i> 1939 film by Harold S. Bucquet

On Borrowed Time is a 1939 film about the role death plays in life, and how humanity cannot live without it. It is adapted from Paul Osborn's 1938 Broadway hit play. The play, based on a novel by Lawrence Edward Watkin, has been revived twice on Broadway since its original run.

<i>The Nest</i> (1988 film) 1988 American film

The Nest is an 1988 American science-fiction horror film directed by Terence H. Winkless in his directorial debut. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Eli Cantor, the film's screenplay was written by Robert King. The film was produced by Julie Corman and stars Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz, and Terri Treas.

<i>Crucible of Terror</i> 1971 British film

Crucible of Terror is a 1971 British horror film and directed by Ted Hooker and starring Mike Raven, Mary Maude and James Bolam. Its plot centres on a reclusive artist in Cornwall. Besides painting young women, he has encased the living body of one in plaster and poured into it, through an eyehole, molten bronze, which killed her, made a cast of her body and turned it into a beautiful sculpture. After the bronze sells at a good price, he finds a 'suitable' second woman and attempts to do the same. But before he can, he meets a grisly demise at the hands of the first woman, a member of a 'weird sect', whose spirit has possessed the body of the second woman.

<i>Sunset Carson Rides Again</i> 1948 film by Oliver Drake

Sunset Carson Rides Again is a 1948 American Western film produced and directed by Oliver Drake and shot on his own ranch. Filmed in 1947 in Kodachrome on 16mm film, the film was the first of Drake's Yucca Pictures Corporation to star Sunset Carson. The film was released by Astor Pictures Corporation in 35mm Cinecolor. The film follows Bob Ward as he is rescued by a man named Sunset Carson, who Bob believes murdered his father.

<i>Calling Dr. Gillespie</i> 1942 film by Harold S. Bucquet

Calling Dr. Gillespie is a 1942 drama film directed by Harold S. Bucquet, starring Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed and Philip Dorn. This was a continuation of the series that had starred Lew Ayres as Dr. Kildare. Ayres, however, had declared conscientious objector status to World War II, and was taken off the film. Kildare's mentor, Dr. Gillespie, portrayed here and in earlier films by Barrymore, became the lead character. In this first Kildare-less entry, Gillespie has a new assistant, refugee Dutch surgeon Dr. John Hunter Gerniede.

<i>Mountaintop Motel Massacre</i> 1983 American film

Mountaintop Motel Massacre is a 1983 American psychological slasher film written and directed by Jim McCullough Sr. and starring Anna Chappell, Bill Thurman, and Amy Hill. The plot concerns a psychotic elderly woman who, after being freed from incarceration, returns to the motel she ran and begins murdering the guests.

"The Rooster Prince" is the second episode of the first season of the FX anthology series Fargo. The episode aired on April 22, 2014 in the United States on FX. It was written by series creator and showrunner Noah Hawley and directed by Adam Bernstein. The title refers to the Jewish parable of the same name.

<i>Doc West</i> (film) 2009 Italian film

Doc West is a 2009 Italian Western comedy film starring Terence Hill and Paul Sorvino. It is a re-edited version of an Italian TV miniseries.

Women of the Movement is an American historical drama miniseries that premiered on ABC on January 6, 2022. Created by Marissa Jo Cerar, the series centers on Mamie Till-Mobley, played by Adrienne Warren, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her murdered son Emmett, played by Cedric Joe. Tonya Pinkins also co-stars as Alma Carthan, Emmett's grandmother.

Lou is a 2022 American crime thriller film directed by Anna Foerster. The film stars Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green, Ridley Asha Bateman, and Matt Craven.

References

  1. "A Dog's Best Friend (1960) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  2. "A Dog's Best Friend". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 February 2022.