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(Two reels of 1,870 feet, December 1, 1914)

Print source: British Film Institute, 26 minutes 38 seconds.

Directed by John Harvey. Scenario by Philip Lonergan.

Cast: Claire Droell (Ida Dean, the counterfeiter’s secret accomplice), Frank Wood (John Linton, the Secret Service agent), Sam Niblack (George Morley, the counterfeiter), George Niblack, Marguerite Loveridge (the old clerk’s daughter), Nolan Gane, 13 police dogs.
Original music composed and performed by Ben Model.

 

Who Let the Dogs Out? Thirty German police dogs are the heroes of this crime drama centered on the round up of a gang of counterfeiters.

 

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A counterfeiting gang is foiled by police, and the action-chase takes up almost all of the second reel. The real stars of the chase are the agile and determined police dogs. This is a rather conservative example of late-1914 film style with only a couple of interesting camera set-ups and compositions, few dialogue titles (almost all title cards merely announce the action of the next scene), and no identification of the actors. It succeeds on a strong story line to exploit the three sure-fire elements of crime, chase, and animals. A rare and technically difficult process inset is used to enhance the drama and to do what silent movies do best—replace words with pictures.

This film Copyright © 2011 Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Copyright © 2009 Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc., All rights reserved.