The Ugly Dachshund (1966)

Director:

Norman Tokar

Writers:

Albert Aley (screenplay)
G.B. Stern (book)

Release Date:

16 February 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

A HAPPY HONEYMOON GOES TO THE DOGS!...When a Great Dane disguised as a Dachsie crashes the party!

Plot:

Fran Garrison's all in a tizzy because her prize Dachshund, Danke, is having pups, and she has hopes of one of the pups becoming a champion...

Plot Keywords:

Dachshund | Great Dane | Husband Wife Relationship | Male Female Relationship | Joke

Cast

Dean Jones	...	Mark Garrison
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Fran Garrison
Charles Ruggles	...	Dr. J.L. Pruitt (as Charlie Ruggles)
Kelly Thordsen	...	Officer Carmody
Parley Baer	...	Mel Chadwick
Robert Kino	...	Mr. Toyama
Mako	...	Kenji
Charles Lane	...	Judge

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

Paul Frees completely looped the voice of character "Eddie", since actor Dick Wessel had passed away after the completion of principal photography.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just over 43 minutes into the movie, when the dachshunds climb up on the bed with Fran, it is clear that one of the puppies is a male. Early in the movie, all of the dachshund puppies are said to be female.

Quotes:

Garbage Man: [after Mark rescues Chloe from the back of the garbage truck] Hey you know something? I'll bet that's why Brutus wouldn't let me in the truck, he knew that little pooch was in there.
Mark Garrison: It's certainly looking that way, don't you think, Fran?

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Disneyland: The Ugly Dachshund: Part 1 (#15.6)" (1968)

Dated but still a good choice for a Disney live-action film

Although I'm more a fan of the animated Disney classics, I must admit that Disney also used to do very good live-action movies back then. This is not one of them.

"The Ugly Dachshund" is a nice comedy, full of funny moments with 4 Dachshunds and a Great Danes very well named Brutus. It's so funny how those little "sausages" cause all that mess and the clumsy Brutus destroys everything while trying to stop the "little angels" (like Fran calls them).

The destruction of Mark's studio and the party's destruction are some of the funniest destructions ever.

Officer Carmody has got to be the funniest cinema policeman ever. Not even in the "Police Academy" movies the policemen are this funny. This character is wonderfully played by Kelly Thordsen.

Mr. Toyama and Kenji are the most hilarious Japanese characters ever, especially when they panic because of the "lion" (that's what they call Brutus). Both characters are greatly played by the actors Robert Kino and Mako.

I also like very much the performances by Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette and Charles Ruggles.

This is an enjoyable classic to watch, but it is already showing its age. It looks very dated now, especially nearly at the end, during that sequence with the dogs's show.