Pages

Friday, February 2, 2018

Dear Abby - Favorite Dog Movies: The Shaggy Dog (1959)

Dear Friends,

Today I would like to share an older Disney movie called The Shaggy Dog.  This movie, from 1959, was Disney's first live action comedy.  It was based on a novel called The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten, who also wrote Bambi.



The movie starred Fred MacMurray (later seen in My Three Sons) as the father of a boy named Wilby.  Wilby, played by Tommy Kirk, is a boy who loves inventions.  Wilby finds a mysterious ring belonging to the Borgias at a museum and it transforms him into a dog!  Wilby the dog is adventurous -- just like Wilby the teenage boy.  He even enjoys driving an old jalopy!  After a number of fun-loving misadventures, Wilby turns back into a boy ... and his family ends up adopting a dog.  It seems they discovered they loved dogs when he was one!

Here is a photo of Fred MacMurray and Wilby the sheepdog:


This photo shows Tim Considine (who also later appeared in My Three Sons), a dog friend, and Tommy Kirk (Wilby).


Some fun trivia about this movie:

The Shaggy Dog was originally imagined as a TV pilot.

The producer of The Shaggy Dog liked to joke that perhaps The Shaggy Dog inspired My Three Sons:  "Same kids, same dog and Fred MacMurray!"  

The movie was later the inspiration for a Scholastic book for children (1967) and a comic book.

There was a sequel in 1976 starring Dean Jones as a 45 year old version of Wilby.

It was also remade in 2006 with Tim Allen.

Here is a clip from the movie:



Have you seen The Shaggy Dog or the remake?   I would love to hear from you in the comments, below.

I enjoyed visiting with you today and look forward to catching up again next week!

Love,
Abby xoxoxo

9 comments:

  1. I love those Old English Sheepdogs! This movie, although it has been years since I saw it, is most excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I used to love this movie when I was a kid! This movie brings back so many wonderful childhood memories!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have heard of this movie but I honestly don't think I've watched it. I will admit, I love those old classics. They were a completely different mentality than the movies (or even shows) you see today!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ohhhh I used to love this movie when I was a kid. My parents had it on a VHS tape. So fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, never heard of this movie before. It sort of reminds me of Scooby Doo.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This would be fun to watch I havent heard of this movie not even once. I love how they used the cute dog it made the show more fun to watch!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't heard of this movie before. It sounds like a really good movie to check out.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have not seen this movie, not even the latest one with Tim Allen. It does look like a nice, heartwarming family movie. I will look for a copy of this!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, friends! I enjoyed reading your comments.

    Abby xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment! Please note: Your comment may take some time to appear, but should be visible shortly.