The Underdog (1943) User Reviews

Something Different

[boblipton · 6/10 · 23 August 2019]

Barton MacLane, wife Jan Wiley, their son Bobby Larson and their mongrel dog move into a new house. MacLane is an ex-farmer who lost his farm, and now works when he can, not anxious to go home. Larson tries to make friends with the boys in the neighborhood, but local bully Conrad Binyon mocks him, his dog and the local officer on the beat. He idolizes his absent brother, a hooligan who is now in the army. There are subplots about the dog being trained unsuccessfully as a wardog and local saboteurs.

At first glance, it's a cheap and unmemorable PRC offering, directed by William Nigh. Yet it is also an unusual take on patriotism and war effort. The family is definitely White Trash, and they live in a neighborhood befitting their status. None of their plans come off, and they are broke. Yet there's an edge to this movie that cannot be denied. With all the movies about comfortable, middle-class families and the effects of the war on them, this low-class effort is another class heard from. It doesn't improve the hokey plot and poor production, but it offers a different viewpoint.

Good intentions don't always make for a believable story.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 22 August 2016]

Dogs and children are always scene stealers or sympathy getters, but here, I'm afraid it's not enough to have won me over. This war era family drama stars Warner Brothers heavy Barton MacLane as a rather dour husband and father who has regretfully turned the pants of his family over to his seemingly loving but domineering wife (Jan Wiley) while their son (Bobby Larson) does his best to play Mr. Fix-It, trying to get his beloved dog to be used for military service and to fix his parent's marriage, especially his pop's very low self esteem. Bratty kids in the neighborhood try to bully him which brings out his anger while his father faces another crisis concerning Nazi sympathizers who set him up.

This is a very odd film with strange themes and characters that never fully ring true. MacLane is about as close to this character as Jackie Gleason would have been playing Norton rather than Ralph. Larson isn't really believable as the kid who seemingly brings order to the neighborhood. The main bully has a mother old enough to be his grandmother, and are we supposed to believe that one letter from an older brother whom we never see will bring him around? There's more stuff that makes this lack in credibility, and while it is supposed to add patriotism into its theme, it just ends up being too depressing to make much of a difference during the height of World War II.