White Dog (1982)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writers:

Samuel Fuller (writer)
Romain Gary (story)
(more)

Release Date:

7 July 1982 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

...Trained To Kill [Video Australia]

Plot:

Keys is a trainer attempting to reprogram a vicious dog who's been trained to attack and kill people with black skin. |

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Racism | Cult | Accidental Nudity | Los Angeles California

Cast

Kristy McNichol	...	Julie Sawyer
Christa Lang	...	Nurse
Vernon Weddle	...	Vet
Jameson Parker	...	Roland Gray
Karl Lewis Miller	...	Attacker
Karrie Emerson	...	Sun Bather
Helen Siff	...	Pound Operator (as Helen J. Siff)
Glen Garner	...	Pound Worker
Terrence Beasor	...	Pound Driver
Tony Brubaker	...	Sweeper Driver
Samuel Fuller	...	Charlie Felton
Marshall Thompson	...	Director
Paul Bartel	...	Cameraman
Richard Monahan	...	Assistant director
Neyle Morrow	...	Soundman
George Fisher	...	Gondolier
Lynne Moody	...	Molly
Hubert Wells	...	Trainer
Paul Winfield	...	Keys
Martine Dawson	...	Martine
Burl Ives	...	Carruthers
Bob Minor	...	Joe
Dick Miller	...	Animal Trainer #1
Robert Ritchie	...	Animal Trainer #2
Alex Brown	...	Man in Church (as Alex A. Brown)
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Sheriff (as Cliff Pellow)
Sam Laws	...	Charlie
Parley Baer	...	Wilber Hull
Samantha Fuller	...	Helen
Jamie L. Crowe	...	Theona
Joe Hornok	...	Guitar Player (as Joseph R. Hornok)

Directed by
Samuel Fuller

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Samuel Fuller		writer
Romain Gary		story
Curtis Hanson		writer

Produced by
Jon Davison	....	producer
Richard Hashimoto	....	associate producer
Edgar J. Scherick	....	executive producer
Nick Vanoff	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees

Film Editing by
Bernard Gribble

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Brian Eatwell

Set Decoration by
Barbara Krieger

Costume Design by
Ellis Cohen
Gail Viola

Makeup Department
Adelbert Acevedo	....	makeup artist
Barbara Lorenz	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Richard Hashimoto	....	unit production manager
Michael John Meehan	....	unit production manager (as Mike Meehan)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel Attias	....	second assistant director
Bill Scott	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sal Sommatino	....	property master
Duff Miller	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ray Alba	....	sound effects editor
Jim Bullock	....	sound effects editor
Don Cahn	....	sound re-recording mixer
Carolyn Colwell	....	sound effects editor
Jim Cook	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Gravenor	....	sound mixer
Robert L. Harman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Mann	....	dialogue editor
Tom C. McCarthy	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Dave Allen	....	prosthetics
John Frazier	....	special effects

Stunts
Kerrie Cullen	....	stunts
Jadie David	....	stunts
Gene LeBell	....	stunts
Steve Martin	....	stunts (as Steve Earl Martin)
Bob Minor	....	stunt coordinator
Sherry Peterson	....	stunts
Wallace Ross	....	stunts
John Sherrod	....	stunts
Eddie Smith	....	stunts
Marvin Walters	....	stunts
George P. Wilbur	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Sidney Ray Baldwin	....	still photographer
Owen Marsh	....	camera operator
Rick Neff	....	camera operator
Charles Saldana	....	key grip
Tom Stern	....	gaffer
Henry Minski	....	assistant camera trainee (uncredited)
Randall Robinson	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Bruce D. Spellman	....	second company grip (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Robert Hendricks	....	assistant editor
Pamela Malouf	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Daniel Allan Carlin	....	music editor
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Ennio Morricone	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	music mixer

Other crew
Glen Garner	....	assistant dog trainer
Joe Hornok	....	assistant dog trainer (as Joseph R. Hornok)
Karl Lewis Miller	....	dog trainer
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Kenneth Shiffrin	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1984) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Wildlife Way Station - 14831 Little Tujunga Canyon Road, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The film is based on a true story. While she was living in Hollywood with her husband, writer Romain Gary, actress Jean Seberg brought home a large white dog she had found on the street that seemed friendly and playful. However, when the animal saw her black gardener it attacked him viciously, injuring him. Afterwards they kept it in the back yard, but one day it got out and attacked another black man on the street but no one else. After this happened a third time they realized that someone had trained the dog to attack and injure only black people. Gary wrote a story about it, and eventually Samuel Fuller read it and made it into this movie.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Julie Sawyer first takes the dog to the animal training center, Carruthers is on the phone but tells her to sit down. To his right, almost out of frame, you can see some fingers moving. Most likely the dog's trainer making signs.

Movie Connections:

References True Grit (1969)

Not what you might think

If you get the chance, by all means see this movie, but try to leave your preconceptions aside.

Before this movie came out, it was roundly denounced by people who misunderstood what it is about. The story is not, as many feared, about a dog trained to attack black people. It is the story of a man (Paul Winfield) and his determination to do something that everyone says cannot be done - FREE the dog of its programming. Unfortunately, it seems that too few people were able to break THEIR programming and give this movie a chance.