Roddy McDowall and Pal in “Lassie Comes Home.”
The dog days of summer bite.
Named after Sirius, “the Dog Star,” the reliably unpleasant warm-weather period comprises the 20 days before and 20 days after the date that heavenly body first rises with the sun. An infamously sweltering period, it has been dreaded for millennia, and was blamed by the ancient Greeks for everything from persistent fevers to bad luck.
Considering that modern astronomers chart the phase as lasting from July 3 to Aug. 11, we have only just begun to sweat. So instead of panting and whining, why not retreat inside an air-conditioned home, pour a refreshingly icy beverage, and settle in with a couple of movies about some far more congenial, flesh-and-fur canines?
Whatever their astral avatar may be blamed for, dogs have been a happy part of cinema since the beginning. Blair, a collie, saved a baby from kidnapping in 1905’s “Rescued by Rover.” Jean, aka the Vitagraph Dog — another collie — soon became an even bigger four-footed star, meriting name-above-the-title billing.
Other breeds soon followed, including the German Shepherd Rin Tin Tin. Rescued as a puppy from a WWI battlefield, he would go on to make nearly 30 films and win a lucrative endorsement deal with Ken-L Ration. Skippy, a wire fox terrier, appeared in “The Thin Man” series and a pack of screwball comedies. Even more famous was Pal, who played Lassie in a string of films (his descendants have continued the tradition).
Before we dip into our beast-of-show list, though, a warning: These are good movies, not necessarily happy ones. Those of you who regularly check out the website DoesTheDogDie.com already know how triggering even the fictional demise of a pooch can be, particularly if — like me — you have recently lost a pet. So — spoilers be damned — I have attached warnings here when necessary.
AnnaSophia Robb as Opal, with Opal’s dog Winn-Dixie, in “Because of Winn-Dixie.”
Here are 10 of my favorites, in alphabetical order. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
“Because of Winn-Dixie” (2005)
Cast: Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, AnnaSophia Robb
The tale: A scruffy stray is the heart of this sweet film, which is, admitted, stuffed with sentimental tropes — the distant single father, the unhappy little girl, and a small town with an oddball librarian, eccentric neighbor and cranky landlord. But director Wayne Wang handles everything gracefully, and the fresh-to-movies Robb is just as winning as her Picardy Shepherd co-star.
Tissues: Keep out a few for kids who don’t know all (almost always) ends well in family films.
“Best in Show” (2000)
Cast: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey
The tale: Masterful mockumentarian Guest returns with another classic of improvisational comedy. The cast is exceptional — with the ensemble filled out by such talents as Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch — but what will stick with you are the good-natured pups, and the neurotic characters who alternately pamper and push them as they compete for a prize.
Tissues: Only to wipe your eyes because you’re laughing so hard.
“Frankenweenie” (2012)
Cast: Animated, with the voices of Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau
The tale: Years after getting fired from Disney for daring to make this as a short, a now-famous Tim Burton returned with the same tale told as a feature — a sort of kinder, funnier “Pet Sematary” in which a young Victor Frankenstein (no relation) uses electricity to revive his dead dog. It’s when his classmates try the trick on other animals that things go comically wrong.
Tissues: Although he is soon revived, Victor’s pooch is killed by a car, so be prepared for that.
Joan Allen with Hachi in “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.”
“Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” (2009)
Cast: Richard Gere, Joan Allen
The tale: Based on the Japanese film “Hachikō Monogatari” (itself inspired by a true story), it is about an abandoned dog who immediately bonds with the man who rescues him, so devotedly that every day, when the fellow goes to work, Hachi follows him to the train station and waits all day for him to come home. That begins an unspoken relationship not even death can dilute.
Tissues: Definitely, unless you want to be sitting in a puddle by the end.
“Isle of Dogs” (2018)
Cast: Animated, with the voices of Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson
The tale: A typically unique fantasy from director Wes Anderson, mixing grim sci-fi with bursts of whimsy, told with over a thousand puppets (and the help of an all-star cast ranging from Jeff Goldblum to Yoko Ono). But don’t let its handmade charms fool you: Despite its happy ending, this is about exiled pets and evil rulers, and not much more kid-friendly than “The Plague Dogs.”
Tissues: A few. Pets and their owners are forcibly separated, and some dogs die off-screen.
“Lassie Come Home” (1943)
Cast: Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Elizabeth Taylor
The tale: A cash-strapped Yorkshire family is forced to sell its beautiful collie to a rich nobleman, much to the tearful heartbreak of their son. But Lassie won’t let distance divide them, heroically escaping her kennel and travelling hundreds of miles to return. A classic, with the very young McDowall and Taylor — who became lifelong friends — terrific.
Tissues: Keep some handy. Lassie survives, but it’s a perilous and painful trek.
“Old Yeller” (1957)
Cast: Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire
The Tale: By some standards, Old Yeller is a naughty, food-thieving dog. But his young master Travis loves him, and the fearless pet is a terrific guardian, protecting his family and their livestock from angry cows, rampaging bears and even a rabid wolf. But Old Yeller gets bitten in that last fight — and eventually even Travis realizes they have no good options.
Tissues: You’ll need plenty. An even more traumatizing Disney movie than “Bambi.”
A scene from “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.”
“One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961)
Cast: Animated, with the voices of Rod Taylor, J. Pat O’Malley, Betty Lou Gerson
The tale: There have been live-action remakes and spinoffs of this, but the cartoon original is probably still the best (and certainly the sweetest) as a vast assortment of polka-dotted dogs join forces to escape the clutches of Cruella de Vil, who wants nothing more than to turn them into high-fashion furs. Sound the Twilight Bark!
Tissues: None needed, although there are some scary moments for little ones.
“Sounder” (1972)
Cast: Paul Winfield, Cicely Tyson, Kevin Hooks
The tale: A lifelong progressive, director Martin Ritt set out to make a story about Jim Crow, the Depression, and a brutal prison system — but all that bleakness is lightened not only by a poor family’s love for each other, but the love they get from the title character, a happy hunting dog whose patient loyalty rivals that of Argos, the faithful pet from “The Odyssey.”
Tissues: Sounder has a brighter fate than Argos, but the end may still bring a few (happy) tears.
“Wendy and Lucy” (2008)
Cast: Michelle Williams, Will Patton
The tale: Travelling to Alaska to look for work, a young woman spirals into homelessness after her car breaks down, and she loses her dog to a shelter. She doesn’t have the money to fix her ride, and her dog is quickly rehomed; chances for a happy ending seem remote, at best. A grim story, powerfully told by director Kelly Reichardt (with her own dog, Lucy, starring as the lovable pup).
Tissues: Keep the whole box handy. And don’t you dare follow this with Vittorio De Sica’s “Umberto D.”
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