A Dog's Love

A Dog's Love

A DOG'S LOVE (October 4 1914) Helen Badgley, Shep (The Thanhouser Collie) (Courtesy of Dominick Bruzzese)

(One reel of 1,007 feet, released October 4, 1914)
Directed by John Harvey. Scenario by Nolan Gane
Print source: Museum of Modern Art, 11 minutes, 12 seconds.
Cast: Shep (The Thanhouser Collie, as himself), Helen Badgley (Baby Helen), Arthur Bauer (Helen's father), Ethyle Cooke Benham (Helen's mother), Fan Bourke (a visitor).
Original music composed and performed by musician Andrew Crow.

A fantasy about the love between a child (Helen Badgley "The Kidlet") and her dog ("Shep" The Thanhouser Collie).

The fantasy centers on a dog and a child, a universally appealing movie subject. The loyal dog's attachment to his little girl playmate is treated with pictorial beauty and simple, honest sentiment. Reviewers of the time praised the double-exposure passages for their dramatic effectiveness.

Baby Helen, also known as The Thanhouser Kidlet, was a precocious child actress who was very comfortable and expressive in front of the camera. Also a regular, Shep, The Thanhouser Collie, was a well-trained member of the studio's repertory company.