Gone to the Dogs (1939 film)

Last updated

Gone to the Dogs
GONETOTHEDOGS.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ken G. Hall
Written by George Wallace
Frank Harvey
Frank Coffey
Produced by Ken G. Hall
Starring George Wallace
Lois Green
Cinematography George Heath
Edited byWilliam Shepherd
Production
company
Distributed by British Empire Films (Aust)
Renown Pictures (UK)
Release date
  • 18 August 1939 (1939-08-18)
Running time
83 mins (Aust)
63 mins (UK)
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget£20,000 [1] [2]

Gone to the Dogs is a 1939 musical comedy vehicle starring George Wallace. It was the second of two films he made for director Ken G. Hall, the first being Let George Do It (1938). [3]

Contents

Synopsis

George is a disaster-prone zoo attendant who accidentally discovers a substance that accelerates motion, enabling his greyhound to run faster. This attracts the interest of a gang of criminals, led by Doctor Sundermann (a foreigner), who have their base in a "haunted house" net to the zoo. The criminals kidnap George's dog and plan to substitute their own in an important dog race. George and his friends defeat the crooks and their dog wins the race.

George's housekeeper, Mrs McAllister, has a daughter, Jean, who romances vet Jimmy Alderson - but who us also loved by Ted Inchape. Ted kisses Jean after the song 'Gone to the Dogs', causing Jimmy to punch out Ted and Jean to call Jimmy a "beast".

Cast

Production

George Wallace signed with Cinesound in February 1937. Stuart F. Doyle announced that Gone to the Dogs would be his first movie for the company [4] but he ended up making Let George Do It first.

As with all Cinesound comedies in the late 30s, uncredited work on the script was performed by Hall, Jim Bancks and Bill Maloney. Frank Coffey was Cinesound's in house story editor. [5] The story followed a formula developed in Wallace's Ticket in Tatts: "George is given a simple labourer's job... Quite innocently is fired... He then becomes involved in a simple wish-fulfilment device... the device is complicated by an equally simple set of stereotyped gangsters who have no motivation beyond innate greed for greater wealth, and in each situation they are foiled, usually accidentally, by George and his friends." [6]

Filming started in January 1939 and was completed by May.

Wallace's female co-star was Lois Green, an actor with extensive stage experience with J. C. Williamson Ltd, who left Australia after filming to go work in London. [7] [8] The romantic male lead was an unknown amateur actor called John Fleeting, who later appeared for Hall in Come Up Smiling (1939). [9]

The cast also included John Dobbie, Wallace's long-time stooge on stage, and Howard Craven, a former publicity writer for MGM in Sydney who had gone into acting. [10] Hughie the dog, who played George's greyhound, was selected over 100 other applicants. [11] Extras were drawn from Cinesound's Talent School. [12]

A set built for the film was promoted at the time as being the largest ever built for an Australian movie at over 12,000 square feet. [13] Some location shooting took place at Taronga Zoo. [14]

While on location in Campbelltown, a scene was filmed where George Wallace was run over. A farmer saw this and called the police. [15]

A highlight of the film involved a "greyhound ballet". This involved training greyhounds for two weeks so they would be used to the lights and working with ballet dancers. [16] The opening sequence involves Wallace having an encounter with gorillas. Cinesound's special effects man J Kenyon recalled an incident with creating the costumes:

The costumes were made first of all by the furrier, but they fitted so perfectly the actors could hardly move in them, so I got to work. I had to unpick all the stitches and then redesign the costumes, allowing for more accommodation. Even then, none could cope with being enclosed in such a 'hot house,' and in the end we had to get a professional wrestler to play the part of both animals. He lost three stone while the scenes were being taken. [17]

The wrestler was Fred Atkins. [18] Grant Taylor auditioned for the part of the gorilla. He was unsuccessful but this led to him being cast in Dad Rudd, MP (1940). [19]

The theme song was composed by a Viennese composer living in Sydney, Henry Krips. [20]

Songs

Release

Gone to the Dogs had its world premiere at the Majestic Theatre, Launceston in 1939. [21] Hall later wrote that the two films he made with Wallace "were very substantial hits". [22] Reviews were generally positive. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinesound Productions</span> Australian film production company

Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film process, from production to distribution and exhibition. Cinesound Productions established a film studio as a subsidiary of Greater Union Theatres Pty Ltd based on the Hollywood model. The first production was On Our Selection (1932), which was an enormous financial success.

George Stephenson "Onkus" Wallace, was an Australian comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio personality. During the early to mid-20th century, he was one of the most famous and successful Australian comedians on both stage and screen, with screen, song and revue sketch writing amongst his repertoire. Wallace was a small tubby man with goggle eyes, a mobile face and croaky voice who appeared in trademark baggy trousers, checkered shirt and felt hat. His career as one of Australia's most popular comedians spanned four decades from the 1920s to 1960 and encompassed stage, radio and film entertainment. Ken G. Hall, who directed him in two films, wrote in his autobiography that George Wallace was the finest Australian comedian he had known.

<i>Forty Thousand Horsemen</i> 1940 Australian film

Forty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and romance. The film culminates at the Battle of Beersheba which is reputedly "the last successful cavalry charge in history". The film was clearly a propaganda weapon, to aid in recruitment and lift the pride of Australians at home during World War II. It was one of the most successful Australian movies of its day. It was later remade in 1987 as The Lighthorsemen.

<i>Mr. Chedworth Steps Out</i> 1939 Australian film

Mr. Chedworth Steps Out is a 1939 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall starring Cecil Kellaway. Kellaway returned to Australia from Hollywood to make the film, which features an early screen appearance by Peter Finch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Harvey (Australian screenwriter)</span> Australian screenwriter

Frank Harvey was a British-born actor, producer, and writer, best known for his work in Australia.

The Squatter's Daughter is a 1933 Australian melodrama directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Jocelyn Howarth. One of the most popular Australian films of the 1930s, it is based on a 1907 play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan which had been previously adapted to the screen in 1910.

The Silence of Dean Maitland is a 1934 Australian film directed by Ken G. Hall, and based on Maxwell Gray's 1886 novel of the same name. It was one of the most popular Australian films of the 1930s.

<i>Strike Me Lucky</i> 1934 Australian film

Strike Me Lucky is a 1934 Australian comedy musical film starring popular stage comic vaudevillian Roy Rene in his first and only film. It was the fourth feature film from Cinesound Productions but proved a box office disappointment. Director Ken G. Hall claimed it was the only one of his features not to go into profit within a few years of release, although the film eventually covered costs.

<i>Orphan of the Wilderness</i> 1936 Australian film

Orphan of the Wilderness is a 1936 Australian feature film from director Ken G. Hall about the adventures of a boxing kangaroo. It starred Brian Abbot who disappeared at sea not long after filming completed.

It Isn't Done is a 1937 Australian comedy film about a grazier who inherits a barony in England.

<i>Lovers and Luggers</i> 1937 Australian film

Lovers and Luggers is a 1937 Australian film directed by Ken G. Hall. It is an adventure melodrama about a pianist who goes to Thursday Island to retrieve a valuable pearl.

<i>Let George Do It</i> (1938 film) 1938 Australian film

Let George Do It is a 1938 comedy starring popular stage comedian George Wallace. It was the first of two films Wallace made for Ken G. Hall at Cinesound Productions, the other one being Gone to the Dogs (1939). Hall later called Wallace "in my opinion, easily the best comedian that this country has produced."

<i>Dad Rudd, M.P.</i> 1940 Australian film

Dad Rudd, M.P. is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and Frank Harvey.

Come Up Smiling is a 1939 Australian comedy film starring popular American stage comedian Will Mahoney and his wife Evie Hayes. It was the only feature from Cinesound Productions not directed by Ken G. Hall.

White Death is a 1936 Australian film directed by Edwin G. Bowen and starring Zane Grey as himself. He filmed it during a fishing expedition to Australia and it marked the first time he had played a leading role in a film.

The Man They Could Not Hang is a 1934 Australian film directed by Raymond Longford about the life of John Babbacombe Lee, whose story had been filmed previously in 1912 and 1921.

Jean Hatton was an Australian singer and actor who was under contract to Cinesound Productions in the 1930s. She was discovered in a Deanna Durbin talent quest and cast as Cecil Kellaway's daughter in Mr. Chedworth Steps Out (1939), singing several songs. She was subsequently cast in Come Up Smiling (1939). During filming she fell down two flights of stairs and was injured, causing filming to be delayed, but she recovered. She later performed in concerts and radio and was generally advertised as "Australia's Deanna Durbin".

Thar She Blows! is a 1931 short Australian film, the first production from Cinesound Productions. It is a documentary on the West Australian whaling industry.

John Fleeting, real name Claude Stuart Fleeting, was an Australian actor best known for his film appearances for Ken G. Hall.

Frank Coffey was an Australian author, cameraman, director, and screenwriter who worked mostly on the production of documentaries. For a number of years, he was in-house writer for Cinesound Productions.

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 185.
  2. ↑ Pike, Andrew Franklin. "The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70" (PDF). Australian National University. p. 245.
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (23 December 2019). "Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn't Realise Existed". Filmink.
  4. ↑ "GEORGE WALLACE". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 27 February 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "ENTERTAINMENTS". The Horsham Times . Vic.: National Library of Australia. 5 April 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Pike, Andrew Franklin. "The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70" (PDF). Australian National University. pp. 93–94.
  7. ↑ 'LOIS GREEN IN FILM, THEN TO LONDON', Gippsland Times, Monday 16 January 1939, p6
  8. ↑ Louis Green Australian theatre credits
  9. ↑ ""GONE TO THE DOGS."". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 27 February 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  10. ↑ 'CINESOUND'S NEW PLAYER. A Recruit from Amateur Stage', The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday 2 March 1939 p 26
  11. ↑ "FILM FAME FOR "HUGHIE."". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 24 January 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "WHERE IT IS KINDER TO BE CANDID". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 22 May 1939. p. 8 Supplement: Women's Supplement. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  13. ↑ 'Record Set For New George Wallace Film', The Courier-Mail, Thursday 9 March 1939, p6
  14. ↑ 'George Wallace Has "Gone to the Dogs"', The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), Thursday 17 August 1939 Section: Second Section. p 8
  15. ↑ "The Farmer Meant Well". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 4 May 1939. p. 6 Section: Second Section. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  16. ↑ "Now Greyhound Ballet". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  17. ↑ "Electrically-Controlled Blowfly to Worry Comedian!". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 24 September 1940. p. 12 Supplement: Women's Supplement. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  18. ↑ "Gorilla Loses Some Teeth". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 27 April 1939. p. 6 Section: Second Section. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  19. ↑ "Film News of the Week. TO BE SCREENED IN SYDNEY". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 15 February 1940. p. 23. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  20. ↑ "VERSATILITY OF COMEDIAN". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 23 March 1939. p. 26. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  21. ↑ "STAGE AND SCREEN SHOWS". The Examiner (Tasmania) . Vol. XCVIII, no. 49. Tasmania, Australia. 9 May 1939. p. 4 (LATEST NEWS EDITION and DAILY). Retrieved 30 July 2022– via National Library of Australia.
  22. ↑ Ken G. Hall, Directed by Ken G. Hall, Lansdowne Press, 1988 p147
  23. ↑ "FILM REVIEWS". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 25 September 1939. p. 3. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.