The Shaggy Dog (1959)

Director:

Charles Barton

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay) and
Lillie Hayward (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 March 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

It's dog-gone FUNNY!

Plot:

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune...

Plot Keywords:

Mailman | Girl Next Door | Role Reversal | Slapstick Comedy | Little Brother

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Fred MacMurray	...	Wilson Daniels
Jean Hagen	...	Freeda Daniels
Tommy Kirk	...	Wilby Daniels
Annette Funicello	...	Allison D'Allessio
Tim Considine	...	Buzz Miller
Kevin Corcoran	...	Moochie (Montgomery) Daniels
Cecil Kellaway	...	Professor Plumcutt
Alexander Scourby	...	Dr. Mikhail Andrassy
Roberta Shore	...	Franceska Andrassy
James Westerfield	...	Officer Hanson
Strother Martin	...	Thurm
Forrest Lewis	...	Officer Kelly
Ned Wever	...	FBI Chief E.P. Hackett
Gordon Jones	...	Captain Scanlon, Police Chief
Jacques Aubuchon	...	Stefano
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Albertson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Jim Bannon	...	Betz, FBI Stenographer (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake	...	Police Officer Ed Mercer (uncredited)
Charles Cane	...	Mercer's Patrol Carl Partner (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Narrator / J.W. Galvin, Psychiatrist (uncredited) (voice: English version)
John Hart	...	Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Gregg Palmer	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Mark Rodney	...	Kid at Dance (uncredited)
Shaggy	...	Chiffon (uncredited)
Mack Williams	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Barton

Writing credits
Bill Walsh		(screenplay) and
Lillie Hayward		(screenplay)
Felix Salten		(novel "The Hound of Florence")

Produced by
Bill Walsh	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Paul J. Smith		(as Paul Smith)

Cinematography by
Edward Colman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
James Ballas		(as James D. Ballas)

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark

Set Decoration by
Emile Kuri
Fred M. MacLean		(as Fred MacLean)

Makeup Department
Pat McNalley	....	makeup artist
Ruth Sandifer	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur J. Vitarelli	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Robert O. Cook	....	sound supervisor
Harry Lindgren	....	sound mixer (as Harry M. Lindgren)

Visual Effects by
Eustace Lycett	....	special processes

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob McGowan	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jim Whitman	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gertrude Casey	....	costumer
Chuck Keehne	....	costumer
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Evelyn Kennedy	....	music editor
Joseph Mullendore	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Xavier Atencio	....	title designer
Walt Disney	....	presenter
T. Hee	....	title designer
Bill Justice	....	title designer
William R. Koehler	....	animal supervisor
Ted Bonnet	....	publicist (uncredited)
Tom Mahoney	....	dance director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• Buena Vista Film Distribution Company (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Discibel (1959) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• RKO (1959) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Rank Film Distributors of America (1959) (Non-USA) (theatrical)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (1989) (Greece) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1978) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Walt Disney Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | USA:G (re-rating) (1974) | Sweden:Btl | Australia:G | USA:Approved (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The first live-action feature comedy produced by Walt Disney.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Francesca says that Lucretia Borgia lived during the "Dark Ages"; she actually died in the early 16th century, during the Renaissance.

Quotes:

Freeda Daniels:Frankly, I think that dogs don't like mailmen because... well, because sometimes they bring bad news. Animals sense those things, you know.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Shaggy Dog

This was NOT Disney's first live-action feature

The "Wild & Woolly" DVD edition of 1959's THE SHAGGY DOG (and some product reviews and posts found here) claim this film is the "first live action movie ever produced by Walt Disney!" I guess all those other live action features Walt produced PRIOR to THE SHAGGY DOG (such as 1957's OLD YELLER or 1954's Academy Award-winning 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, among others) didn't count? (One comment posted here stated that 20,000 LEAGUES, like TREASURE ISLAND, was one of the films done for Disney in England because of studio funds tied up there. Not true; when not filming on location, 20,000 LEAGUES was shot on the sound stages at the Disney Studio in California...information supplied to me by the studio while I was researching & writing a magazine article on the making of the film.) I can see how some reviewers might make such a mistake, but for the claim to appear on the packaging that was approved by the Disney staff takes some serious explaining. (As does the differences in running time for the two versions of the film, with the B&W version being the full cut of the movie, while the colorized version is missing about 10 minutes of material.) Don't get me wrong,this is a great comedy and well worth having...it just deserved a bit better treatment for its fans.