So You Love Your Dog (1953) User Reviews

Featuring Duffy, the anti- "Lassie"

[jlewis77-1 · 8/10 · 21 October 2009]

Prepare for some spoilers... but they won't spoil the fun of watching this.

You know a man's devotion to his pooch is a bit extreme when his wife sleeps in a separate bed and the collie snuggles with him. (They are also quite affectionate with each other in the bar while Dusty tries "sobering up".) Joe loves Dusty so much, he has no trouble providing an alibi for the cop that claims a strange dog was de-railing a train with a rock on the tracks.

Like Nellie in "Little House On The Prairie", Dusty is never scolded by his parent/master; despite providing secret information to Nazi and Japanese generals during World War II for the tastier doggie treats than soldier Joe can provide or flashing "here we are!" signals to North Korean subs. (This was produced in late 1952.)

Ah, Dusty... so cute and adorable! He can do no wrong. Why doesn't wife Alice understand that Dusty's 100% dedicated? (Never mind the fact that he holds the flashlight for the burglar breaking into their safe...)

The Joe McDoakes series maintained a very high standard of quality right up until the end. By comparison, the Three Stooges didn't fare quite as well in the fifties, even though they were more prolific and survived as a series two years longer. One reason for this was that McDoakes was Warner's only "entertainment" series of this period; the color travelogue 2-reelers, sports parades and Robert Youngson compilations were "educational" and cheaper to make. Then again, Warner Bros. boasted the very BEST shorts of any studio regardless of the type (Looney Tunes anyone?) that it was quite sad that Jack Warner pulled the plug on "live action" short subjects in 1956-57 just when they were at their peak of perfection.

So You Want To Mess With Fido's Reputation!

[redryan64 · 7/10 · 10 December 2011]

WELL, FOR ALL of the entries into the JOE McDOAKES Comedy Shorts series, this one has the most significance and is probably the one that we (that's the old "Editorial We" that we're referring to) would have to say that it's our favourite.

UNDOUBTEDLY, THERE ARE funnier episodes; such as SO YOU WANT TO BE A DETECTIVE, SO YOU WANT TO BE A MUSCLE MAN, SO YOU WANT AN APARTMENT and YOU'RE HAVING IN-LAW TROUBLE would seem to strike a most universally recognized cord with all.

SO WHY WOULD we nominate a story about man's best friend and one which we would certainly agree deserts all conventional treatment of domesticated canines, yet?

WELL, SCHULTZ, THE answer is quite basic and indeed simple. It's because it is the one and only McDOAKES comedy that I, little Johnny Ryan, then 6 or 7 years old, actually saw at the show! That would be the old, neighborhood's Ogden Theatre, 63rd and Marshfield Streets, Chicago, Illinois.*

THE PREMISE OF the short is Joe McDoakes' long standing relationship with his former Army K9 Corps partner. The story essays gags that are representative of both European and Pacific Theatres of Operations. In using both Nazi German and Imperial Japanese as foils for the gags of McDoakes and his G.I. associates.

BEING REMOVED BY ONLY 8 short years from the actual hostilities of WW II and produced in the midst of the Korean War, the plot line takes its turn in providing equal time for the then current conflict. Even the world of the comedy short is not without its need to recognize those who are engaged in this "Police Action"; as well as in remembering the hardships born by the families of our troops.

TO US, THE oddest aspect of the entire movie is the treatment of the dog. Whereas our canine friend is always an instant source of affection, admiration and adulation, we find that the production team had chosen to stand all of this usual attitude on its ear; transforming Loe's dog into, not a tool of the 5th Column, but rather a sort of an incompetent and klutzy comrade in arms.

THIS ASPECT OF this one-reeler is perhaps one area which would have been left alone by the team of George O'Hanlon (Star, Co-writer) and Richard Bare (Director and Co-Writer). They surely must have had the feeling that they were on thin ice; but, perhaps we are fretting just a tad too much. Afterall, in a comedy short such as this, the explosives are no more serious than those in a Road Runner & Coyote Cartoon.

ODDLY, IT IS the final fade out gag that this writer had remembered the most. It was one which had McDoakes' being pushed down into the sea by spot; following the torpedoing of their troop transport in the Korean War!

NOTE: * What we remember about this comedy was the beginning and the end gag. The opening with Joe McDoakes' coming out from behind the eight ball, was a most powerful and enduring of an image on the screen. For years, we erroneously thought that the title of the McDoakes Series was "BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL!"

Joe...Get Rid of the Dog

[Michael_Elliott · 29 December 2010]

So You Love Your Dog (1953)

*** (out of 4)

Funny Joe McDoakes short has him in WWII with his "trusting" dog Dusty who is actually a worthless beast. Each time Joe gives him a paper message to give to his base the dog instead gives it to the enemy. After the war and back at home Joe brings Dusty to live with him and sure enough poor McDoakes is too stupid to see all the bad things the dog is doing. If you're familiar with George O'Hanlon series then you know what to expect. This here isn't one of the best shorts in the series but there are enough big laughs to make it worth sitting through. This one here is actually fairly different from others in the series as it goes for a different type of gag as the dog itself is almost human and doing things that a dog typically wouldn't do. One of the best scenes has Dusty bringing back homeless men to sleep on the couch and another terrific scene has the dog selling Joe's location to the German army. As you'd expect O'Hanlon fits the role of McDoakes to perfection and the dog too actually gives a pretty funny performance. If you're unfamiliar with this series then this here is a good place to start.

Proof Rose is a dog

[charmedx321 · 10/10 · 23 June 2019]

The similarities between Roses treatment of Jack and this dogs treatment of his owner is earily similar. Wenn else have we seen selfish individual push someone they care for be pushed off the only bit of foating debris after a sinking. I now know another source JC used as "inspiration" for his titanic. XD

A nice antidote to the heroism of Lassie!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 30 October 2017]

This installment of Joe McDoakes shows Joe back fighting in WWII. His trusted dog, Dusty (a dead ringer for Lassie) is at his side. What Joe doesn't know is that the dog is a traitor and again and again he betrays Joe to the enemy. Later, after the war, Joe finds Dusty alone in the alley and takes his best friend home. From then on, Dusty is an awful pest--bringing home his drinking buddies as well as assisting burglars in stealing from the McDoakes family! The dog is dog-gone awful!

Considering how popular Lassie was in the 1940s and 50s, this show makes fun of this by making this Collie very smart...but incredibly evil. A nice bit of parody makes this a novel and enjoyable installment into the McDoakes films. One of the better ones in fact.