This is definitely a movie for those who like dogs, regardless of their breed or their pedigree. The handsome James Ellison owns a big house in the country and has been away for quite a while, and returning, discovers that there is a woman (Helen Wood) residing there. She has been renting the home through the caretaker and does not know who Ellison is. He ends up in jail overnight, and upon being recognized is cleared and released. He discovers that there are a bunch of dogs about to be killed and decides to take custody of one of them, Ace, once owned by his arch enemy, Robert Kent, the brother of the woman that Ellison was once engaged to marry. Ellison and Wood hit it off and everything is going fine until Ace is accused of killing a man who had constantly harassed him, with Ellison responsible because he had taken in a dog rumored to be mad.
Now Ellison must prove that Ace did not attack the man and is not administer the community, and in a great trial sequence (which includes an adorable scene between Ace and the judge), Ellison sets out to prove that mongrels can be just as loyal and lovable (and more so in this viewer's opinion) than pedigrees. Certainly it looks at first that Ace was guilty, but it's only set up to show that Ace is in the area.
Ace the Wonderdog certainly is beautifully trained, friendly and protective. It's obvious that they used some standing sets from the big A pictures (I seem to recognize a set from the Astaire/Rogers musical "Carefree", so it doesn't look like your average B picture. Ellison is handsome and charming, yet imperfect as he gets to display in a Christmas sequence where his character gets drunk. Wood gets a chance as a young ingenue to display her talents, and she's quite enjoyable in this film. But, as W. C. Fields said, never work with children or dogs because they'll steal the scene every time, and Ace indeed does that.
Now Ellison must prove that Ace did not attack the man and is not administer the community, and in a great trial sequence (which includes an adorable scene between Ace and the judge), Ellison sets out to prove that mongrels can be just as loyal and lovable (and more so in this viewer's opinion) than pedigrees. Certainly it looks at first that Ace was guilty, but it's only set up to show that Ace is in the area.
Ace the Wonderdog certainly is beautifully trained, friendly and protective. It's obvious that they used some standing sets from the big A pictures (I seem to recognize a set from the Astaire/Rogers musical "Carefree", so it doesn't look like your average B picture. Ellison is handsome and charming, yet imperfect as he gets to display in a Christmas sequence where his character gets drunk. Wood gets a chance as a young ingenue to display her talents, and she's quite enjoyable in this film. But, as W. C. Fields said, never work with children or dogs because they'll steal the scene every time, and Ace indeed does that.