The Shaggy Dog (1959)

The 1959 live-action comedy from Walt Disney Studios, “The Shaggy Dog,” is about a teenage boy named Wilbur “Wilby” Daniels (Tommy Kirk) who turns into a shaggy dog and in this transformation is responsible for capturing a group of atomic spies (Alexander Scourby, Jacques Aubuchon, and Strother Martin).

The movie tries to account for this transformation regarding the Latin inscription in a Borgia ring and also a professor’s (Cecil Kellaway) dissertation on the history of “shapeshifters.” Moira Walsh said in her review, “Mostly through it is a real shaggy dog story in the sense of having neither explanation nor point. It is intelligently made however and surprisingly likeable especially for youngsters. Also its lunatic premise gives rise to some pricelessly funny bits.” A couple of parts include Wilby’s distraught father’s (Fred MacMurray) explanation to the security officer (Forrest Lewis and James Westerfield) in an electronics plant that his son knew about the spies because he is sometimes a dog. Another is Wilby’s little brother, played by Kevin Corcoran, who wants to adopt Wilby when he turns into a dog.

All of this starts when Wilby sees Francesca (Roberta Shore) moving into a house across the street and he and his rival (Tim Considine) start to fight over her. Also, she happens to have a shaggy dog that disappears whenever Wilby transfigures into one.

Overall, this is a pretty funny movie. You should check it out and pay no mind to the fact that this is a black-and-white Disney movie. Still see it because it is very good and I think everyone can watch it fine and get a good laugh out of it. See it on Disney+ and enjoy.

Tomorrow I will be looking at the sequel, which I started to watch a long time ago, in “Disney Month 2023.”