A Boy and His Dog (1975)

A young man and his telepathic dog wander a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Director:

L.Q. Jones

Writers:

L.Q. Jones (screenplay), Harlan Ellison (novel)

Stars:

Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Don Johnson	...	Vic
Susanne Benton	...	Quilla June Holmes
Jason Robards	...	Lou Craddock
Tim McIntire	...	Blood (voice)
Alvy Moore	...	Dr. Moore
Helene Winston	...	Mez Smith
Charles McGraw	...	Preacher
Hal Baylor	...	Michael
Ron Feinberg	...	Fellini
Michael Rupert	...	Gery (as Mike Rupert)
Don Carter	...	Ken
Michael Hershman	...	Richard

Storyline

A post-apocalyptic tale based on a novella by Harlan Ellison. A boy communicates telepathically with his dog as they scavenge for food and sex, and they stumble into an underground society where the old society is preserved. The daughter of one of the leaders of the community seduces and lures him below, where the citizens have become unable to reproduce because of being underground so long. They use him for impregnation purposes, and then plan to be rid of him.

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | dog | nuclear holocaust | bare chested male | underground life | 

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Taglines:

An R-rated, rather kinky tale of survival

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the reasons the film now enjoys cult status is because of its blackly comic last line. Ironically, Harlan Ellison hated this and actively campaigned to have it removed.

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Goofs

Near the end of the film, when Vic is speaking with Blood outside the entrance to The Down Under, Vic refers to him as "Tiger", which was the dog's actual name.

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Quotes

Vic: [to sentry] If my gun picks up one rust spot you're gonna wake up with a crowd around 'ya.

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Alternate Versions

According to the Blu-ray commentary, the prologue (mushroom clouds and explanatory text, the first minute and a half or so) was added for the 1982 rerelease to help explain the world of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game (1997)

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Soundtracks

On Top of Old Smoky
(uncredited)
Traditional American folk tune

User Reviews

Not totally satisfying but not without interest

After WW III Vic (Don Johnson) and his dog Blood (played by Tiger from "The Brady Bunch" TV show) travel around looking for women for Vic to rape and food for Blood. They talk telepathically--Vic hears Blood's voice in his mind and talks aloud back to him. Eventually they meet Quilla June Holmes (Susanne Benton) who's from an underground city called Topeka. She urges him to come down with her but Blood senses there is something wrong...

This is extremely low budget but not bad. The conversations between Vic and Blood are hilarious (and Blood's face and movements totally match the dialogue). Love the bit when Blood asks Vic to name the presidents (remember, this came out in 1975). He responds "Nixon, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy..." When they meet Quilla (about an hour in) the film falls apart. The sequences down under are, at first, scary but get quickly repetitious. But it leads up to a twist ending which is great.

This was issued in 1975 with a horribly exploitive ad campaign. It showed a woman lying down on the ground. You don't see her face--just her body and all she's wearing is a shirt and covering her breasts and other parts. Blood has a paw on her and a proud look on his face and Vic is standing beside him holding a gun! The implication is obvious and the rape aspect of this bothered a lot of people. It was reissued in the early 80s (that's when I saw it) with a totally different ad campaign. I understand why people are upset with the rape theme but this is a science-fiction fantasy--don't take this too seriously.

The acting is good. Johnson was, surprisingly, dead perfect as Vic. Tiger was great:) Benton also is pretty good and Jason Robards pops up late in the proceedings.

Not a perfect film but an interesting one. I give it a 7.

Details

Official Sites:

-The original movie

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Boy and His Dog

Filming Locations:

Arroyo Verde Park, Ventura, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

LQ/JAF

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1