The Shaggy Dog (1959)

A teenage boy is cursed with periodically turning into an sheepdog.

Director:

Charles Barton

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay), Lillie Hayward (screenplay)

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune times and the spell can only be broken by an act of bravery....

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | blockbuster | dog movie | human becoming an animal | magical sword | 

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Taglines:

"I was a Teen-age boy!"

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Genres:

Family | Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Shaggy Dog

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$17,658,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

In the scene where the boys launch the missile interceptor, the dining room's furnishings (the vase and cabinet behind Fred MacMurray) start to shake before the rocket can be heard to be ignited.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: This is a shaggy dog story. It could've happened anywhere or to anyone. It so happened that it happened to Wilson Daniels. A man who loved people, but hated dogs.

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Alternate Versions

This film is also available in a computer colorized version, but because it was made for syndicated TV in the 1980s, it is 10 minutes shorter than the original theatrical cut.

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Connections

Remade as The Shaggy Dog (2006)

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Soundtracks

The Shaggy Dog
Written by Hazel George (as Gil George) and Paul J. Smith (as Paul Smith)

User Reviews

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.