The Shaggy Dog (1959)

I just learned that Kevin Corcoran ("Moochie") died in 2015 in his middle 60's. He was a Disney child actor that played in several notable Disney Movies including "Pollyanna", "Swiss Family Robinson", this film and many others. He was also a regular on the (original) Mickey Mouse Club, "Spin and Marty" and (surprisingly) many non-Disney productions as well. He quit acting at age 15 and became a respected film and TV director for many decades. Yes, he even directed "Murder She Wrote" episodes. Not standing on nostalgia, both this film and "The Absent-Minded Professor" were well-colorized and are more enjoyable because of it. Readily available from Amazon and "the usual" mail-order companies, bundled with the "Shaggy D.A." sequel. Annette steals the show. She was "dressed down" to make her look younger and less grown-up. It didn't work. I had a "crush" on her, too. The well-known plot involves awkward foreign intrigue and teenage romance as Annette completes with new girl on the block who even doesn't look remotely French and has a beautiful shaggy sheep dog. A magical "Borgia Ring" is involved along with a "real" sheepdog that disappears every time the "trans muto" dog transformation occurs. A silly sub-plot involves foreign spies. The best scene involves Moochies' brother (Tommy Kirk) in shaggy sheepdog fur, leading the police on a wild-goose car chase. (yeah, the dog is driving.) Note: "The Shaggy D.A." with Dean Jones is quite good, also. (I don't care for the 2006 Tim Allen remake at all.) A priceless classic Walt Disney Production.

Here's another flick from the past that I actually saw in the theater during it's initial run back in 1959. My Mom and Dad would take me to the movies as a kid and it was usually a Disney picture like this one. Watching them today is a little weird because they don't have that same magical quality unless you're with someone of the same age I was back then. That's why I bring my granddaughter over for company when tuning in to these old time films.The story's a blast for youngsters. Watching young Tommy Kirk turn into a Brataslavian Sheep Dog is a highlight of the picture and he gets to do it a number of times. The tale borrows from ancient fables of shape-shifting creatures and black magic, with a little bit of Lucretia Borgia thrown in for good measure. But you know, there might have been something to all that magical stuff - right after Franceska (Roberta Shore) cleans the cut above Buzz Miller's (Tim Considine) eye, all trace of the cut disappears!What's kind of interesting are those scenes of the Shaggy Dog driving Buzz's roadster and later on the police car. The Disney folks figured out a way to make it look like a dog was really driving the car, wagging tongue and all. Not too much of a problem today of course, but this was over fifty years ago and the special effects department did a pretty good job.For Annette Funicello, this was her first feature film, and even though she's not a principal, she still has a fair amount of screen time. Not to belabor the point, but it was cool way back when to see one of the Mousketeers make it to the big screen. This was also about the time I started becoming familiar with the names of the actors and actresses in the movies I saw. I happen to recall both Bob Hope and Bing Crosby being asked in separate interviews who they thought the richest person in Hollywood was. Without batting an eye or needing time to think about it, they both answered with the same name - Fred MacMurray.

Cranky mailman Wilson Daniels (a delightfully charming portrayal by Fred MacMurray) has a vehement disdain for dogs. Things get hairy (both literally and figuratively) when his likable misfit son Wilby (a wonderfully amiable performance by Tommy Kirk) gets stricken by a magical ring that causes him to transform into a big shaggy sheepdog. Wilby has to perform an act of heroism by thwarting an international spy ring so he can break the spell. Director Charles Bartun, working from a witty and good-natured script by Bill Walsh and Lillie Haward, relates the zany plot at a constant zippy pace, maintains a pleasant and frothy tone throughout, and stages the slapstick gags with praiseworthy brio (amusing comic highlights include the dog disrupting a swanky dance party, a hapless patrolman's sidesplitting constant run-ins with the talking pooch, and a marvelously wacky last reel car chase). Moreover, the characters are well-developed, sympathetic, and above all even pretty believable as everyday folks who find themselves caught up in a fantastic situation. Extra kudos are in order for the uniformly sound acting from a tip-top cast: MacMurray and Kirk shine in the lead roles, with fine support from Jean Hagen as Wilson's doting wife Freeda, Kevin Corcoran as Wilby's mischievous little squirt kid brother Moochie, Tim Considine as Wilby's hip pal Buzz Miller, Roberta Shore as fetching French hottie Franceska Andrassy, Annette Funicello as the sweet and adorable Allison D'Allessio, Cecil Kellaway as the jolly Professor Plumcutt, and Strother Martin as no-count criminal Thurm. Sam the dog is simply amazing as the titular canine. Legendary voice actor Paul Frees provides the narration and even has an uncredited minor part as disbelieving psychiatrist Dr. J.W. Galvin. The theme song is an absolute groovy gas. Edward Colman's crisp black and white cinematography makes neat occasional use of fades and dissolves. Endearing family fare.

Times have certainly changed. Here we have a Disney live action feature film that looks and sounds more like a TV sit-com (and a below par one at that), and yet it grossed $8,000,000 at the box-office at a time when any film that grossed more than a few million was considered a box-office hit.At least FRED MacMURRAY does a professional job as the bumbling father of TOMMY KIRK and KEVIN CORCORAN, a dog-hater with a shotgun who gets itchy around the collar if a dog is even remotely close to his territory. He provides some genuine chuckles with his comic touch on a role that could well have seemed anything but sympathetic. The boys do OK too, especially Kevin Corcoran as the younger brother who always wanted a dog and promises to take good care of his brother who has magically transformed into one.The plot is pretty threadbare but it does provide some very amusing moments--such as the one where Tommy Kirk gets into his pajamas and brushes his teeth while in the guise of the shaggy dog. The transmutation has taken place because he read aloud the inscription on a ring that had once belonged to the Borgias and whose Latin words were meant to change the sayer into a dog.What weakens the story is the whole spy subplot which has him overhearing the spies while a dog and then reverting to his own body before he can get away from their presence. All of this leads to a hectic chase that has the baffled police force falling all over themselves to catch a shaggy dog driving a stolen police car.It's silly stuff and never overcomes the feel of a lame sitcom from the innocent '50s, complete with people like ANNETTE FUNICELLO, TIM CONSIDINE, JEAN HAGEN (a far cry from her "Singin' in the Rain" dumb blonde), and JAMES WESTERFIELD as the policeman who can't believe his own eyes.It passes the time pleasantly enough but you have to be willing to view it in the context of its '50s era innocence.And contrary to what some here believe, this was not Disney's first live action film--not by a long shot. However, it was one of the few to make a bundle at the box-office for some unknown reason and gave a boost to the sagging career of Fred MacMurray at a time when his film career was on the skids.