Retro Reel: A Dog's Life

1918, 40 minutes - add this title to your Netflix queue

This movie is in the FetchDog Top 20.

In director-actor-all-around-genius-control-freak Charlie Chaplin's silent masterpiece (and first million-dollar picture) the Little Tramp teams up with a homeless female mutt named Scraps. The two become a team after the L.T. rescues the four-footed damsel in distress as she's being roughed up by a pack of fellow strays.  

Check out the large canine hanging by his canines from Charlie's coat-tail - that's a scene-stealing Pit Bull. Chaplin's dog choreography - make that chore-dog-raphy - is jaw-dropping, yet manages to look completely natural. All in a day's work for a master of the arf of comedy.

A visionary on so many levels, Chaplin was ahead of his time in recognizing that shelter dogs are ready for their closeup: every one of the dogs starring in this film was adopted from the pound, including the lead dog, a mutt named Mutt.

Bravo. 

Presence of dogs:
Respect for dogs:
Canine star quality:
Family friendly:

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