So Quiet on the Canine Front

1931 Comedy 2 reels Directed by Jules White

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About So Quiet on the Canine Front

Dogs in an anatomy class hear that war has started. Several enlist and train at Camp Poodle. Shelling rattles them, and within a week it does not. Barker more or less volunteers to parachute behind the lines dressed as a nurse and steal the enemy's troop movements. He is caught and sentenced to death. The Airedale Army sets out to bring him back. The description stops at the rescue.

Cast & crew

More about So Quiet on the Canine Front

Jules White and Zion Myers directed, wrote, produced, and supplied voices. It is the fifth of nine black-and-white two-reel Dogville Comedies they made for MGM from 1929 to 1931. The dogs' jaw movements are dubbed with dialogue. The target is All Quiet on the Western Front, the Universal feature that won Outstanding Production at the 3rd Academy Awards on 5 November 1930.

Themes

  • A dog army at Camp Poodle
  • A nurse disguise behind the lines
  • A parody of a war picture
  • Dogville
  • Camp Poodle
  • Barker
  • Airedale Army
  • All Quiet on the Western Front
  • Jules White
  • talking dogs

Music

Human voices, including White and Myers, are dubbed onto the dogs.

Notes

  • A DVD edition is the Dogville Shorts Collection.
  • Turner Classic Movies has broadcast the short.

Scenes

  • The class enlists the moment war is announced.
  • Barker drops behind the lines in a nurse's outfit.
  • The Airedale Army goes after him once the sentence is death.

Influenced by

  • All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (So Quiet on the Canine Front (1931).webm)
  • Dogville Shorts Collection (DVD)

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