Dog Factory (1904) User Reviews

The Dog Transformator

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 24 June 2009]

This is an unusual little film apparently based on a popular vaudeville sketch which had already been filmed on a number of occasions.

The set shows a room with frankfurters hanging on the wall under signs naming different varieties of dog. A tramp enters the shop with a number of dogs which he sells to the two owners who, once the tramp has left, proceed to feed the dogs into a large contraption labelled 'The Dog Transformator' which transforms them into strings of frankfurters. These frankfurters aren't for eating however, but are simply an easy way of storing the dogs until somebody wants to buy that particular breed.

This is truly a bizarre little film but it is quite entertaining.

Amusing, Even When Removed From Its Cultural Context

[Snow Leopard · 23 August 2005]

As is the case with a fair number of movies from the era, "Dog Factory" is based on a then-current bit of pop culture that has long since disappeared. But it still stands pretty well on its own, as an offbeat and amusing short comedy.

The premise comes from a vaudeville routine that was pretty popular at the time, in which a mechanical-looking contraption would appear to change a dog into a string of sausages. Why this idea ever became so popular is anybody's guess, but the same could be said about some portion of any era's popular entertainments. The basic idea had already been used as a premise for films by Lumière and by American Mutoscope & Biograph, although those movies are apparently either lost or unavailable.

This Edwin S. Porter feature expands the idea considerably, and it turns the idea into a much more pleasant scenario for any animal lovers. It also uses a collection of typical vaudeville characters as it further elaborates upon the expanded premise. Audiences of the time probably particularly enjoyed seeing the added material combined with a routine that was already familiar to them, but it is still worth seeing now. The numerous dogs are particularly lively and endearing.

Porter's experience and technical know-how generally enabled him to make good use out of an interesting basic idea like this one, and as a result this short feature probably gets as much out of the simple comedy idea as anyone at the time could have.

By 1904 the dog-to-sausage gag was getting a bit tired

[jamesrupert2014 · 4/10 · 7 February 2020]

Yet another version of the dog-to-sausage shtick. This time the "Patent Dog Transformer" generates breed-specific links, allowing customers to obtain sausages accordingly to their temperament (a tough pugilist requests bull-dog flavour). Also new to the 'technology', the machine works in reverse, transforming sausages into dogs. Four minutes is a bit long for the slim 'story' (although we are treated to some dog tricks). Apparently this odd little unappetising canon of films gained traction from a prevailing urban-myth (I hope) that missing pets could be found in one's breakfast bangers. Apparently 'mut' is a variant spelling of 'mutt'.

Go, you freaking dogs!!!

[booyah-1991 · 9/10 · 5 January 2006]

Go, you freaking dogs!!! I love the way that this film is created by the dogs turning into sausages, I mean, of course, it is technically simple to make a little skit of putting dogs in a box and getting the sausages out. But, of course I like this type of skit because the ways they did the film.

This will be like one of the coolest films I saw, ya know why? Those were one of the cool effects done independently. For instance, the film, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, made in 1906 and The Enchanted Drawing, which was made in 1900.

It is technically obvious that nowadays, people know how the people, in this film, made this type of simple effect, I mean, it was not really an effect.

It was just dogs inside a box, and you take the sausages out, to know that the dog had evolved into a sausage.

Besides that, I still LIKE this short film.

My opinion: 9/10

Far from being original, it's STILL a great little film

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 17 November 2006]

When this film debuted in 1904, it was a pretty typical film at only 4 minutes in length. Full-length films as we know of them today were still years ahead and many films were less than a minute long. A "long" one might be as long as eight or ten minutes in length.

In addition, so many of these short films were very derivative--with multiple studios making practically the same film. They called it "artistic license", but today it would most likely be seen as plagiarism! This wonderful film is actually one of these films, in that several very, very similar films were made involving a "dog factory" or "dog machine" before this film was made. One of the more famous versions was by the French genius, Georges Méliès. However, they say that "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery", and so this 1904 version is one of the more "sincere" films ever made (or so the producers might have told themselves!).

So despite its short length and it being not exactly a new idea, the film is marvelous fun. And unlike so many of the very early films, this one is incredibly funny and watchable even today. This cannot be said about many early films--which lack an interesting plot or have no plot whatsoever! The film is about two men who have a "dog factory"--where they drop dogs into a hopper and they come out as sausages! Now the movie does NOT go where you think--they are NOT to eat, but a convenient way to keep the dogs until an interested buyer approaches. Then, the sausages are put in the hopper, the handle is cranked and out pops a dog!!! This is terribly funny and well worth a look. I saw it on DVD, but it is also available on Google video. To see the film, go to www.google.com. Then type "dog factory" and then ENTER. Then, from the menu above, click VIDEO and it will display the film for viewing on Windows.