A Boy and His Dog - 1975
The year is 2024... a future you'll probably live to see.
Director
L.Q. Jones
Writers
Harlan Ellison (story)
L.Q. Jones
Wayne Cruseturner
Producers
Tom Connors
L.Q. Jones
Alvy Moore
Cast
Don Johnson - Vic
Susanne Benton - Quilla June Holmes
Jason Robards - Lou Craddock
Tim McIntire - Blood (voice)
Alvy Moore - Doctor Moore
Helene Winston - Mez Smith
Charles McGraw - Preacher
Hal Baylor - Michael
Ron Feinberg - Fellini
Michael Rupert - Gery (as Mike Rupert)
Don Carter - Ken
Michael Hershman - Richard
L.Q. Jones - Actor in Porno Film
Review by Theo Robertson
Boy and His Dog (1975)
Slightly Confusing,
Wow . What could be worse than World War Three ? World War Four ? But according to some wise old Jew that`s only going to be fought with bows and arrows ? Oh I see " The Cold War is actually World War Three , but by calling The Cold War WW3 that`s cheating isn`t it ? Yes it is
And A BOY AND HIS DOG also cheats in more ways than one and is ultimately a confusing film . The story comes in three parts:
Part 1 ) Vic and his telepathic dog struggle for survival in a post apocalypse world
Part 2 ) Vic meets airhead blonde
Part 3 ) Vic and airhead blonde find a civilisation that isn`t all it appears to be
Oh and the film finishes on a grotesque joke that makes it more memorable than it possibly deserved to be , so you`ve got three themes , one of survival but is miles away from the convincing scenarios seen in the works of John Christopher and John Wyndham , one of trying to find a woman which does seem strange since Vic seems to be well nourished and I`d have thought many women would have no hesitation in prostituting them selves for food , and one of a utopian sanctury not being what it seems , something I`ve seen and read in a hundred different SF stories like the BLAKE`S 7 episode Powerplay .
I`m still trying to work out what plot line is the most important , it`s the joke at the end which is since the whole movie is built up to it . Oh and there`s a couple of other things that needed explaining like what is a " Screamer " and what is " The farm " ? I also couldn`t help noticing no one seems to have used nuclear weapons that cause radation sickness
At least one other commentator has mentioned that this is a movie that shouldn`t be taken seriously and with hindsight I can see what my mistake was - I took this film far too seriously and by the time I`d lightened up it was already too late which meant I couldn`t appreciate the funny scene where Vic is tied to the table .
A BOY AND HIS DOG isn`t the worst movie I`ve seen today but it`s probably a film that made an impression because it finishes far , far better than how it started and if you`ve never seen it and get the chance to then make sure you don`t take it at all seriously or you`ll be disappointed
A Boy and his Dog (1975)
Review by Wayne Malin
Not totally satisfying but not without interest,
After WW III Vic (Don Johnson) and his dog Blood (played by Tiger from "The Brady Bunch" TV show) travel around looking for women for Vic to rape and food for Blood. They talk telepathically--Vic hears Blood's voice in his mind and talks aloud back to him. Eventually they meet Quilla June Holmes (Susanne Benton) who's from an underground city called Topeka. She urges him to come down with her but Blood senses there is something wrong...
This is extremely low budget but not bad. The conversations between Vic and Blood are hilarious (and Blood's face and movements totally match the dialogue). Love the bit when Blood asks Vic to name the presidents (remember, this came out in 1975). He responds "Nixon, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy..." When they meet Quilla (about an hour in) the film falls apart. The sequences down under are, at first, scary but get quickly repetitious. But it leads up to a twist ending which is great.
This was issued in 1975 with a horribly exploitive ad campaign. It showed a woman lying down on the ground. You don't see her face--just her body and all she's wearing is a shirt and covering her breasts and other parts. Blood has a paw on her and a proud look on his face and Vic is standing beside him holding a gun! The implication is obvious and the rape aspect of this bothered a lot of people. It was reissued in the early 80s (that's when I saw it) with a totally different ad campaign. I understand why people are upset with the rape theme but this is a science-fiction fantasy--don't take this too seriously.
The acting is good. Johnson was, surprisingly, dead perfect as Vic. Tiger was great:) Benton also is pretty good and Jason Robards pops up late in the proceedings.
Not a perfect film but an interesting one. I give it a 7.
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