Dondi (1961)

Six American GIs stationed in Italy befriend an orphaned boy, but the soldiers remain unaware that the lad has stowed away with them when they return to the U.S. The six go their separate ... See full summary »

Director:

Albert Zugsmith

Writers:

Gus Edson, Irwin Hasen (comic strip)

Stars:

David Janssen, Patti Page, Walter Winchell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Janssen	...	Dealey
Patti Page	...	Liz
Walter Winchell	...	Walter Winchell
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Sergeant
Robert Strauss	...	Sammy Boy
Arnold Stang	...	Peewee
Louis Quinn	...	Dimmy
Gale Gordon	...	Colonel
Dick Patterson	...	Perky
Susan Kelly	...	Lt. Calhoun
John Melfi	...	Jo-Jo
Bonnie Scott	...	Gladdy
William Wellman Jr.	...	Ted
Nola Thorp	...	Candy
Joan Staley	...	Sally

Storyline

Six American GIs stationed in Italy befriend an orphaned boy, but the soldiers remain unaware that the lad has stowed away with them when they return to the U.S. The six go their separate ways, leaving the tyke aloin in the big city. Now, New York becomes one big adventure for a little Italian boy named Dondi.

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Plot Keywords:

manhattan new york city | write in campaign | watching through a window | watching tv | waldorf astoria hotel manhattan new york city | 

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Taglines:

The Kid Who Captured an Army!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Music | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seis Guerreiros

Company Credits

Production Co:

Albert Zugsmith Productions,Photoplay Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The entire background music score was composed for and played by a single, solo harmonica.

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Quotes

Dondi: [looking for his GI friends on the streets of New York] Buddies! Where you are? Is me, Dondi!

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Horror of Party Beach (1997)

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Soundtracks

Dondi
Music by Mort Garson
Lyrics by Earl Shuman
Sung by Patti Page

User Reviews

Is making really awful movie, maybe yes, Mr. Big-Producer-Buddy, please?

The summary line is, of course, intended to parody David Kory's very strange use of language in this film, but I can't shake myself of the idea that the pinhead who first proposed this as a project spoke of it in like glowing words.

The comic strip was okay for what it was. But trying to make a movie out of it? Watching this is a stomach-turner to be sure. The whole syrupy lovableness bit is nauseating, and I've heard stories of kids who watched this when it first came out having squirmed with embarrassment at it, which is pretty painful when you consider how undemanding kids usually are when it comes to kid-friendly movies. Even worse are the stale, unfunny jokes.

A sequel was planned, but thankfully it went nowhere. David Kory couldn't act, but even worse is the fact that his director couldn't, evidently, do his own job either.