Dondi (1961) User Reviews

From a kid's point of view - it was good.

[Allie-Oop · 5/10 · 9 January 2005]

As children, my brother and I watched this film on television and we both enjoyed it. The story really tugged at our hearts because it was funny and sad at the same time. We both talked about this film for days after watching it.

I liked "Dondi" because I liked the handsome lead actor, David Janssen, who was then at the height of his popularity for starring in the television show "The Fugitive". The lead actress was Patti Page, who happened to look like my mother, so I liked watching her.

The film also included character actor, Robert Strauss. I had never liked him because he always played tough characters. However, in "Dondi" he played a tough guy with a soft heart and won me over. He played well against goofy Arnold Stang's character. Strauss and Stang were fun to watch together.

If I were to see this film again today, I'm sure my opinion of it would change. It's not one of the better films I saw as a child but it is one of the films I remember with affection.

We found watching this to be a Highly Religious Experience! Schultz and I are offering up the suffering we endured for All the Souls in Purgatory!

[redryan64 · 3/10 · 31 December 2009]

WE HAVE LONG kidded and made references to this movie in our other reviews; so it stood to reason that eventually, some day, we'd have to give it a first hand viewing and review. Well, we've only recently come into possession of a DVD of it. So, without further eloquence, here's Schultz and my thoughts about DONDI (Alfred Zugsmith Productions/Photoplay Associates/Allied Artists, 1961*).

LOOKING AT THE source for this movie, that being the DONDI COMIC Strip by Gus Edson (writer) & Irwin Hasen (illustrator); one could see how this feature from the Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate would do well being adapted from newsprint to the celluloid medium. After all, hadn't CBS done quite well doing the same with Hank Ketcham's Hall Syndicate feature, DENNIS THE MENACE (Darriell/Screen Gems/CBS, 1959-63)?

NOW THEN, THERE'S a good comparison with another 'Cute Kiddie' Comic Strip. Although there are some basic differences; being that whereas DENNIS is a 'bad boy' and played strictly for laughs and DONDI is a sort of serio-comic tear jerker & Soap Opera.

IN CHECKING OUT the categories that the Dondi movie project edged out the Dennis TV series in scoring higher marks we found the following comparison. David Kory looked much more like the Dondi Character than Jay North did to Dennis. That's the only category won by DONDI. DENNIS THE MENACE took home the Gold in all other categories.

ALSO WE MUST concede that the production team on this started out with a really fine cast for what could be described as a Disney-type Family Comedy. Starting off with the leads, David Jansen (Dealy) and the lovely, popular Singer,Patti Page(Liz-Woo,woo,woo,woo!)proved to be up to filling their roles. The group of supporting players assembled was second to none. Featuring such seasoned veterans as: Mickey Shaughnessy, Arnold Stang, Robert Strauss, Louie Quinn, Gale Gordon, Susan Kelly, Dick Patterson, Bonnie Scott, Nola Thorp, John Melfi, Joan Staley and Jack Carr. Also in the cast are William Wellman, Jr., Walter Winchell (as himself) and cameo appearances by Gus Edson & Irwin Hasen; as Police Captain & Police Artist, respectively.

INCIDENTALLY, WE DID observe that Mr. David Jansen's 'interpretation' of the character 'Dealy' seemed to be akin to both William Holden's Sgt. Frank Sefton from STALAG 17 and Phil Silvers' SGT. BILKO; all three being money hu$tler$..

A LARGE PART of the problem with the movie lies with young Master David Kory, whose rendering of the highly specialized Dondi-specific dialog lacked any authentic tone and cadence. This really wasn't David's fault as he had to deliver lines like "...me friend now, Dealy buddy?", or "...chow taste good now, Peewee buddy!" This goes on for the whole 99 minutes.

WE CAN TESTIFY that there was a lot of speculation on the part of the production company and the copyright owner about some further Dondi film projects. At the time of the movie's release, we recall an article that appeared locally in the Chicago Tribune's Sunday TV listings magazine supplement. In it, there was discussion of the newly released movie. They also did some speculation about a sequel and plans for a Dondi TV Series. They even went so far as to having the character in the funny pages age as David Kory did.

WELL AS WE all are aware, no further DONDI movies appeared. Much like the Tribune Company's character in Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY (1990), no film franchise materialized. There was a DONDI Movie connected Comic Book published by Dell Comics. It featured a photo cover with David Kory and the illustration was done by veteran Comics Artist, Joe Certa; who'd previously done CAPTAIN MARVEL, JR. for Fawcett and was currently drawing JOHN JONES, MANHUNTER FROM MARS in DC's Detective Comics.

THE SOUNDTRACK OF the movie did sport its own original score, as much as it was and an original song. Sappy as it was, both "Dondi" and "Meadow in the Sky" by Mort Gadson & Earl Schuman were rendered on screen by Miss Patti Page; who certainly gave it her all.

THE REST OF the sound track is filled with audio punctuation and emphasis provided by Tommy Morgan on Harmonica! It's much like that music that we are so familiar with on GREEN ACRES, PETTICOAT JUNCTION and DEPUTY DAWG Cartoons

NOTE: * Formerly Monogram Pictures, Allied Artists Studio was experienced in Comic Strip adaption; having done a couple of SNUFFY SMITH films (starring Bud Duncan) and a few MAGGIE & JIGGS (with Joe Yule-Mickey Rooney's Father). DONDI made these potboiler/programmers look mighty good!

It is hard to watch, and even harder to hear what the mumbling kid Dondi is actually saying

[Ed-Shullivan · 4/10 · 30 November 2020]

The audio on this film was terrible and/or the producers simply just picked the wrong child actor in the seven (7) year old David Kory to play Dondi. We the audience are expected to have sympathy for the war orphan seven (7) year old Dondi as the sailors led by David Janssen are suckers for his sad face and really poor language but sadly, the little Dondi just irritated me every time he opened his mouth and mumbled something incoherent.

Dondi stows away on the ship that is taking the sailors back to the USA and what is supposed to be a comedy of errors as little Dondi wanders the streets of New York city alone I for one failed to see nay entertainment value in this farce.

I gave it a rather higher 4 out of 10 IMDB rating simply for the fact the female leads of Susan Kelly, Joan Staley and Patti Page were easy on the eyes and were the only thing that helped me get through the entire film only to see a disappointing and commonly written happy ending.

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

[Jordan_Haelend · 20 August 2004]

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.

Worse than a toothache

[bregund · 1/10 · 7 January 2006]

It was 1977. My brother was lying on the couch with the worst toothache of his life. All he could do was lie there hurting. Then my sister turned on the t.v. and Dondi was on. For half an hour, my brother lay there growing angrier and angrier at the sound of Dondi's voice, which has been known to cause heads to explode. Finally, my brother got so sick of the treacly parade of sap that is Dondi that he said one word in disgust: "Dumbi". The pain of the movie was worse than the pain of his tooth. My brother thought he suffered enough, but after Dondi came the movie Dunderklumpen. Let's just say he forgot all about his toothache.

awful

[dadndsc · 1/10 · 22 June 2001]

Undoubtedly one of the worst little films ever made. The well-known "shlock" movies have no pretensions, don't take themselves too seriously and at least give the viewer a few laughs. "Dondi" is a true BOMB with no redeeming features which, when originally released, probably went long way to undermine US/Korean relations. As Leonard Maltin suggests, "Watch this film and you will understand why David Janssen became a fugitive!"

Nostalgia no cure

[whitec-3 · 1/10 · 11 August 2008]

Like some of the other post-WW2 baby boomers who commented, I remember Dondi in our morning paper in the 1950s and 60s. The strip had some kind of visual appeal--even though I wasn't old enough to follow a story strip, I kept giving it a look. The movie came out when I was 9 or 10, and because I actually recognized its subject matter, I went to the Paramount or State theater in downtown Burlington NC and tried to watch it. But even at that tender age I was aware I was watching a dreadful turkey of a movie. My only pleasant association with the subject thereafter was when Mad Magazine ran a calendar that featured a "Kick Dondi in the Teeth Day."

Not intended for anyone with diabetes....or good taste!

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 24 January 2011]

To me, seeing "Dondi" is a special treat. It's the 44th film I've seen from the book "The 50 Worst Films of All Time" by Harry Medved--and I hope to one day see them all. Now this is no easy task--it's taken me decades to see this many and a few of them just aren't available on video or DVD--mostly because most of the films truly are terrible. So why have I tried so hard to duplicate Harry's task? Well, the films on this list are truly hilarious because they are THAT bad--and from what I read about "Dondi", it sounded like one of the worst. So is it THAT bad and was it worth the wait?! Well, it IS that bad...and then some!

Not particularly talented David Kory plays the title character--a saccharinely sweet orphan who spouts such marvelous dialog as "Thanks Mr. G.I.-Buddy" and "Goshers! Chow! Is sure smelling good, Mr. Dealey-Buddy. Is tasting good, too?"! The net result leads the viewer to wonder whether he's meant to be a poor orphan or just a half-wit! Judging not just by the dialog but Kory's often baffling expressions, I'd vote on the latter! This sickening little kid wanders into a US military base on Christmas Eve and is befriended by the soldiers in one of the barracks. He spends the night with the guys (that's pretty creepy) and the next day the men find out they are being sent home. But what about Dondi?! No one even considers seeing their C.O. about the kid or contacting some relief organization. They just leave the kid with a bag of often useless items to tide him over until he reaches adulthood (such as a blackjack and some cigars)--apparently Dondi isn't the only half-wit in the film!

As for the soldiers, they are all one-dimensional stereotypes--with three who standout because they are so ridiculous. There's Arnold Stang as the momma's boy wimp. Then there's the Brooklyn Italian mobster-type (Robert Strauss). And, finally, there's David Janssen as the rich, cynical playboy. None of these have any depth and none of these actors has a chance to play anyone even approximating a real human being.

On the way back home to the States, the men are surprised to learn that Dondi has stolen himself aboard the troop ship. Apparently security wasn't very good back then, as the slow-witted Dondi seemed able to easily sneak on military bases and Naval ships.

Once back home, the soldiers lose track of Dondi. After all, he's just a human being--and quite easy to misplace!! The rest of the film is spent looking for the little munchkin and there's even a nation-wide search for him!! Yes, all of America comes to a screeching halt looking for this runt! Heck, there's more hysteria around this than when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor!! Columnist Walter Winchell makes a nation-wide appeal for the kid and Patti Page even sings a sickeningly sweet song composed just for this darling(??). For much of the film, we get to see 'funny'(???) ways that Dondi discovers New York--such as climbing up a down escalator and wandering the streets with a blind beggar. By the end of the film, not only is Dondi found by the formerly cynical playboy (Janssen), but he and his fiancée (Patti Page) have agreed to adopt the kid. Frankly, I would have just turned him in to authorities--hoping they would deport the little moron.

While the film is exceptionally nauseating and cloying, it's made worse by the sound effects and much of the soundtrack. The film makers apparently spared no expense and did this with a harmonica! Hearing this instrument blaring throughout the film (especially to accentuate 'funny' situations) was too much for any hearing person to bear. It's one of the few times I envied my daughter's deafness! Combining this with bad acting, atrocious writing, god-awful dialog (particularly Winchell's speech and EVERYTHING Dondi says) and dumbness on every level, it's a hard film to take--and one that probably STILL would be included on an updated list of 50 worst films. Why? Because it's not just bad on every level but because it tries so hard to be heart-warming and succeeds only in eliciting laughs (and possibly nausea).

My favorite horrible moment in this film? When Dondi is on his knees appealing through prayer to 'the biggest Buddy of them all' (God). It's enough to make all the viewers seriously consider converting to atheism!!

This stinker makes others stinkers more like perfume

[Asgardian · 1/10 · 24 May 2002]

I have a couple of kids, but I'm pretty sure that if I made them watch this film with me, I could be accused of child abuse. This film has not a single redeeming feature, the kid, David Kory, should have stuck to selling newspapers on a street corner, coz acting is way above his abilities.

Watching this movie is like either having a bad toothache or hearing fingernails on a black board...

[TheLittleSongbird · 1/10 · 27 January 2011]

Dondi is not the worst movie I have ever seen or even in my bottom 20. That said, it is still a terrible movie. There may be those who like it, but for me I saw it once as a child and kind of liked it but when I re watched it I was literally appalled at what I just watched.

To me the film looks dated, the cinematography is dreary and the sets, costumes and scenery didn't do much for me either. Likewise with the soundtrack, I liked the use of the single harmonica but nothing stuck out as memorable. The script is absolutely awful, the jokes are unfunny and tiresome while the sentimentality really left a bad taste in my mouth.

The story is very badly paced and predictable and the direction is leaden. The acting I don't know where to begin criticising, David Janssen looks both humiliated and bored, while David Kory in the title role is incredibly irritating and can't act if his life depends on it.

So all in all, not the worst but still an awful movie. 1/10 Bethany Cox

"The Dondi" Kicks Rocks!

[taylormadet1 · 1/10 · 3 April 2011]

This movie came on after another movie I'd been watching ended. I didn't bother changing the channel, and BOY-O-BOY I didn't know what I was in for. This movie kicks rocks and I don't mean that in a good way!

WHY was this kid cast as the lead character? The child's voice sounds as if he's suffering from a plugged up nose and a sever case of boogers. The movie wasn't cute or endearing, in fact, every time "The Dondi" appeared and recited his terrible rendition of "Italian orphan speak", my skin cringed!

Having recognizable actors in a movie did nothing to make it more "watchable". I wouldn't dare think of putting this movie on for my younger family members to watch at my house, then again, maybe I would; it could help to put them to sleep!

I Remember Dondi

[halco · 8/10 · 8 January 2004]

I was about about 9 years old when the movie Dondi came to the Fernrock Theater in North Philly, the neighborhood I grew up in. I had been an avid reader of the comic strip (published in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer) since it was first introduced and I suppose because of my age at the time, I related to the title character. All I remember today is that I loved it as a kid and cried like a baby at all the sappy parts.

I am sure if I were to revisit this movie today as a jaded 50-something year old guy, I too might rain harsh words about this movie which has accumulated a whopping 3.3 stars by the reviewers. But I choose to rate it based on the way it made me feel when I was nine, and too naive to know old folks in the year 2004 would consider it a piece of crap. Today our kids grow up much too fast. A movie like Dondi might be just what the doctor ordered for your kids as opposed to say - a prescription for Ritalin.

Dondi gets a 7.5 from me.

Cute WWII orphan befriends GI and stows away to America.

[berumte · 7/10 · 6 February 2002]

WWII is ending and now the Americans have occupied Italy. Dondi is an orphan, his home destroyed; little hope for the future. Dealy is a hard-boiled GI with no interest in kids, but for some reason, Dondi takes a liking to him and just won't go away, no matter what Dealy does. When Dealy is rotated Stateside, Dondi stows away.

This film is very sentimental, with the little boy, Dondi, reminiscent of Hamchunk, Jim Hutton's tag-along, in The Green Berets (David Janssen is in that film, too), or Mitsuo, the little boy who follows after Jerry Lewis, in The Geisha Boy.

As a kid, this movie was one of my favorites. I would love to view it, now, with my own children. While it is not one of the "Great Ones", it is well worth a watch.

Please, please, preserve your lovely memories...

[eminges · 1/10 · 26 May 2009]

...and do NOT go looking for Dondi to share with your kids.

I've got 'em all, kids, four hundred titles of the vilest filth and degradation ever burned into film. I've got Alien Private Eye, three different copies of Skidoo, Puffing Your Profits with Balloons, and two different releases of Night of Horror. Dondi, Chairman of the Board, and The Misery Brothers are the only three movies I own that neither I nor any of my fellow Stinker Ninjas can sit through in one shot.

Yeah. It's that bad. Remember, you can't blame the kid for the horrifying lines, the brain-damaged phrasing, or the ketchup-on-pizza accent: this is 1000% on the head of Zugsmith, unless Gus Edson contributed anything but the title to earn his writer's credit. Ever see Sex Kittens Go to College? There's that same sickening feeling about ten minutes in, that there is no God, no hope, and that the balance of the universe can be restored only by deep-frying Al Zugsmith's carcass like a Thanksgiving turkey on the deck of a double-wide for all eternity.

Gak, yuk ptooey, and Gah! Prunes!

Now, several commenters have mentioned that this isn't available on VHS or DVD. There's one way to find out for sure: google the name of the movie and the IMDb URL for Dondi. Oh, and to save Google money, enclose the name Dondi and that IMDb URL for Dondi in quotes, like,

"Dondi www.imdb.com/title/tt0054816/".

Them electrons is expensive.

Anyway, this way you'll know for sure.

Dondi was a very warm and tender movie!

[tobytyler · 14 March 2001]

I have looked for this movie for years. Seeing it as a youth was a special experience. I have never seen it in video stores. It is a warm and tender movie with some laughs about a war orphan and an army unit. I strongly recommend the movie to anyone with kids.

comments on Dondi - miss it!

[cfishymcelroy · 1/10 · 9 January 2009]

I was 5 years old when I saw this movie. Even then I knew it was bad. My sisters and I (both older) STILL say the line "are you in there, lady buddy?" or is it 'lady-body'? Still unsure of that. It was a waste of $.50 then, and would be a waste of $3.99 now to rent it!

Rent 'The Courtship of Eddie's Father' instead. Ronnie Howard - who I had a little crush on then - is adorable, Shirley Jones lovely and Dina Merrill positively icy-cold. Watch for ingénue Stella Stevens - wow.

Or rent buy the TV series (started in 1969) of the same name. Bill Bixby (another crush - hey, I know my men!) is handsome, yummy and acted like a really good dad. Brandon Cruz lived in my neighborhood - Westchester, CA.

An excruciating picture...bug-eyed sentiment with a wet bottom lip

[moonspinner55 · 2/10 · 24 January 2011]

Italian boy, not only orphaned but apparently nameless, stows away with a group of too-chummy American GIs sailing for New York City; soon, little mush-mouthed 'Dondi'--as his soldier buddies have been instructed to call him--gets lost in the crowd and attaches himself to a con artist and an orphaned dog. Screenwriters Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen, basing their characters on the not-too-popular comic strip, certainly leave family audiences orphaned with this ridiculous treacle, full of artificial hugs and kisses. It's like being suffocated with valentines. David Kory is an indisputably terrible child actor...but to be fair, nobody in this cast comes out looking particularly good. Producer-director Albert Zugsmith cannot stage the simplest comedic gag without turning the principals on-screen into dummies. Patti Page, in adoptive-mommy mode, probably fares the best; she sings a hot version of "Jingle Bells" over the opening credits (was Zugsmith hoping his film would become a holiday perennial?) and manages to make conversation with Kory, which is amazing since I couldn't understand a word the kid was saying. A seat-numbing excuse for a kiddie matinée. * from ****

Coal for Your Stocking

[wes-connors · 2/10 · 3 April 2011]

In Europe, warm-hearted Cold War soldiers adopt cute five-year-old Italian orphan David Kory (as Dondi) and take him home to America as a stowaway. The little tyke gets lost in New York City, where he continues to perform Shirley Temple impressions. In between "Richard Diamond" and "The Fugitive", TV serviceman David Janssen (as Dealey) looks after the lad along with singing sweetheart Patti Page (as Liz Porter).

The title song "Dondi" is sung by Ms. Page. Duplicating the success of the movie, it was released on the "B-side" of a non-hit single. Page, who has an excellent singing voice, also performs "Meadow in the Sky" and "Jingle Bells" (over the opening credits). This tediously ill-conceived and poorly executed film was based on the successful comic strip by Irwin Hasen, who has a cameo as the artist sketching "Dondi" for the police.

** Dondi (3/26/61) Albert Zugsmith ~ David Kory, David Janssen, Patti Page, Arnold Stang

Unsuccessful transfer from comic strip to the big screen

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 1 October 2020]

The comic strip Dondi about the Italian war orphan adopted by some GIs is given the big screen treatment in this film. It was a a disaster and made the Michael Medved list of the 50 worst films of all time.

Well it's bad, but I've seen worse, lots worse. The problem is that you needed a more realistic treatment for the screen. Dondi was played like a living cartoon strip and it didn't work. Contrast this film with what Warren Beatty did with Dick Tracy. A production like that for Dondi might have worked.

Child actor David Kory never had any kind of career after Dondi. We can't blame a kid in single digit years for the film's failure. You can add bad direction as well.

The plot is somewhat similar to Abbott&Costello's Buck Privates Come Home where the boys smuggle a French girl war orphan home. When Dondi gets lost on the mean streets of New York even Walter Winchell aids in the search for Dondi, taking time off from narrating The Untouchables.

David Janssen and Patti Page are the leads and such comic veterans as Gale Gordon, Robert Strauss, Arnold Stang and Mickey Shaughnessy are also around in roles fitted to their personas.

Dondi is no great film, but there are worse.

Must Be Remade the RIGHT Way - Dondi

[arthur_tafero · 3/10 · 6 April 2022]

This version of Dondi is dreadful. Those of us who read the original Sunday stories about the adventures of Dondi were often enthralled by the characters in the strip; especially the relationship between Dondi and Mrs. McGowan. This film completely ignores that sensitive relationship. In fact, this $10.000 production looks more like a bad episode of SGT Bilko (or in this case Private Janssen, since the Bilko episodes were much better than this piece of junk. There are absolutely no production values in this film. The city (New York) looks nothing like a place it would be in 1945. People are driving cars that are over a decade older than the setting of the story. The soldiers are dressed like fifties soldiers; not WW2 soldiers. Dondi is fine, but the rest of the cast is terrible. And I actually liked The Fugitive (David Janssen's only success). This film is begging to be remade with all the bells and whistles. This slapstick crap was an idiotic idea by some moron writer to try and get a few cheap laughs instead of telling a decent story. It looked like it was written during a bathroom break. The dialogue or make-believe screenplay was idiotic. It is dangerous to give people like that a typewriter (or most likely just yellow pads). I really hope someone picks up this story and does it the right way, but it seems unlikely that will happen. Stick to the comic strip.

"Is bad movie, yes, Mr. G. I. Buddy?"

[zxdex88 · 1/10 · 7 August 2021]

Dondi is a special film to me because it is one of..if not THE, worst movies ever made. It is often included in the 50 Worst Movies of All Time lists. The writing, directing, producing, acting all combine to make it a bad movie but what makes it the worst movie is the fact that little David Kory couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. I have long believed that David is without doubt the all time worst child actor I have ever seen, and I've seen some really bad ones (..I'm looking at YOU Jake Lloyd!) The fact that David was only 7 is no excuse. I've seen lots of 7 year old child actors who were great actors, very convincing and believable. So his age has nothing to do with it. He just could not act. Of course the script they gave him was beyond terrible. But I must say that this is one of those rare 'so-awful-it's-good' kind of movies that once every few years I summon up the courage to rewatch it just for the masochistic rush of a syrupy sweet high. It's a good thing little David is cute otherwise he'd have nothing going for him. (I have heard a rumor he is the nephew of Patti Page, one of the stars. That would explain how he got the job.) This movie got such terrible reviews when it came out (even children hated it) that David decided to retire from acting at age 9. He did act one last time on an episode of a TV series.

I will say though that I did enjoy the veteran character actors Arnold Stang and Robert Strauss. They made the most of what they had to work with. And David Janssen was at his peak of popularity when he made this. Also, I remembered the Dondi comic strip in the newspaper when I was growing up. So all in all, as moviemaking goes, a terrible movie but maybe worth watching once for nostalgic purposes.

Perhaps the worst

[BandSAboutMovies · 1/10 · 2 April 2023]

OK, I'm cheating. This is a comic strip not a comic book, but Dondi was created by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen and at the height of its fame, it ran in more than a hundred newspapers from September 25, 1955, to June 8, 1986. When I was obsessed by the comic pages in the Sunday paper - and, as always, the movie section with huge drive-in listings - Dondi was one of the strips I hated. I had no interest and I always wondered who did.

Dondi started as a five-year-old World War II orphan from Italy who didn't know his name or family who was brought to America by soldiers Ted Wills and Whitey McGowan. By the early 1960s, he was a Korean War orphan and by the 70s, he was a Vietnamese kid. If there's a tragedy or a war, Dondi is like Tom Joad and he will be there.

In 1961, Dondi was such a big thing that there was this movie, which stars David Kory in the title role and David Janssen as Dealey. Amazingly, Whitey died in the comic, so for some reason, they avoided all of that. Patti Page plays Liz and the creators of the comic show up, with Edson as a cop and Hansen as a sketch artist.

I was obsessed by the Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time as a kid. As an adult, I realize that so many of the movies they made fun of - Robot Monster, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - are really good.*

Dondi is not one of those movies.

Director and producer Albert Zugsmith** said that Allied Artists made the film to prove that they could make movies for kids and then "arbitrarily cut the wrong twenty minutes out of it."

How bad is it? Arnold Stang, who is in some horrible movies - Skidoo, Hercules In New York - is not the worst thing in it. The whole soundtrack is on one instrument, the most annoying of all musical implements, the harmonica. And David Kory was just seven years old and can't be blamed for how bad he is in this movie. He's like...there's never been a bad this bad. He was the son of Diane Kory, who was once a Rockette and was supposedly spotted on a New York City sidewalk because yes, he looks a lot like Dondi. I guess, knowing how much I hated the daily adventures of this kid, I should hate his movie just as much, so mission accomplished.

*Come back on April 20 for more of me against the Medveds.

**Zugsmith also produced Russ Meyer's Fanny Hill, Captive Women and Touch of Evil and directed one of the weirdest movies I've seen, The Chinese Room. He also made Mamie Van Doren a star with High School Confidential!, The Beat Generation, The Big Operator, Girls Town and The Private Lives of Adam and Eve, so I can forgive him this movie.

Copy available?

[jlahti-1 · 9/10 · 24 October 2008]

My brother & I saw this when we were kids. We enjoyed it and watched it every year at Christmas time. It is a heartwarming story and I think it would be great for today's family viewing. The acting, I admit, was probably not compelling enough for current savvy, yet possibly jaded, audiences, but it is a great escape from the blood and guts movies that seem to capture the attention of the masses. Besides, I liked David Janssen in this movie, as well as in The Fugitive. And the kid that played the role of Dondi did, I think, a pretty good job for a kid. I'll always remember what he says at the beginning of the movie when he encounters the soldiers, Someone asks him where his mother and father are and Dondi says, "Dondi not having no mama, no papa". Priceless - a great line. I would love to get a copy of this movie, or at least see it again. Does anyone know if it is available anywhere, in any format?

Sweet little Dondi

[dolenz5 · 7/10 · 7 August 2006]

I, too, was just a little kid when I saw "Dondi"...and I fell in love with it. I watched it on TV--probably on a Saturday afternoon--and was captivated by it's charm. Sweet little Dondi stole my heart. I only saw this movie once but it has stayed in my heart for over 40 years. I can still remember Patti Page singing a beautiful lullabye-like song about Dondi. By today's standards, it most likely wouldn't even be considered to be made---not enough sex and violence---but this is one that should somehow finds it's way to the "feel good movies" category on DVD....along with "The Toy Tiger", "Sitting Pretty", and "Mr. Belvidere". Hopefully some day we'll be able to get all of these great old movies on DVD!

A bad comic strip on screen.

[yenlo · 16 May 2000]

Saw this picture ages ago. Leonard Maltin hit the nail on the head when he said "Watch this film and you'll know why Janssen became a fugitive"! The comic strip was never very good and this film is ten times worse. If it had even a shred of Sci-Fi in it MST3K could swoop down on it for some laughs but it doesn't. David Janssen did fine work in his career but this is certainly the worst he was ever in.