Pound (1970)

In a pound, 18 dogs wait to be adopted.

Director:

Robert Downey Sr.

Writer:

Robert Downey Sr.

Stars:

Joe Madden, James Green, Mariclare Costello

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Madden	...	Colonel
James Green	...	Honky Killer
Mariclare Costello	...	Honky Killer's Wife
L. Errol Jaye	...	Police Chief
Carolyn Cardwell	...	Keeper
Charles Dierkop	...	Airdale
Lawrence Wolf	...	Mexican Hairless
Ching Yeh	...	Siamese Cat
Marshall Efron	...	Dachshund
Eric Krupnik	...	Montana Sheepdog
Elsie Downey	...	Mutt Bitch
Chuck Green	...	Mutt
Don Calfa	...	Italian Terrier
Stan Gottlieb	...	Boxer
Carolyn Groves	...	Pedigreed Bitch

Storyline

In a pound, 18 dogs wait to be adopted.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | animal as human | surrealism | absurdism | satire | 

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Taglines:

Some of your best friends...

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Genres:

Fantasy

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1970 (USA)

Filming Locations:

637 Greenwich Street, West Village, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Floyd L. Peterson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2005, Robert Downey Sr. discovered a print of this film in his "cameramans ex-wife's closet". The print was in such bad shape that it was impossible to run it through a projector. It has since been digitally scanned and restored.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.135 (2012)

User Reviews

A unique and innovative film which deserves a second chance.

See the amazing Robert Downey Sr.'s chimerical POUND, and experience the happy-sadness of a single night in a city dog-pound from a canine point-of-view.

One of the director's stronger works, POUND is a brilliantly conceptualized semi-experimental film which is well-played by the entire cast. Each performer is in the role of a dog(sans costume), written in respect to specific characteristics of their breed/type(staunch, high-flown pedigree, agreeable dim-witted domestic mutt, world-wise elder, ruffian homeless mongrel, etc.). The bizarre, obstreperous script crackles with zippy dialog and trenchant witticisms, but the thrust of the matter is the disconcerting collective trepidation of impending doom(and the dogs know that some among them are at an advantage, as puppies, pure-breeds, and lost domestics are less likely to be "put down" than the age-advanced, sickly, or mongrel types). We sympathize with these characters, and share their apprehension as the clock ticks away to their potential fate.

An ingenious experiment commendably executed(if a bit stagy at points), POUND has sadly slipped through the cracks into oblivion...let's hope it soon finds it's way back home.