Photoplay Editions & Movie Tie-Ins
The Golden Years [1912-1969] ... Animal Films

Animal actors, what would Hollywood think of next?

From a bombed-out kennel in France, an American soldier recovered two shepherd pups in 1918, with the male pup being named Rin Tin Tin.  This dog was discovered by Daryl Zanuck in 1923 and Rin Tin Tin (Rinty) went on to make 26 films for Warner Brothers.  His heirs stayed in films as well.  Some silent appearances include the paperback photoplay editions for The Hero of the Big Snows 1926), The Night Cry (1926), and Tracked by the Police (1927).  Not many animal actors can claim such a dramatic origin but animals before the cameras continue to this day.

A male collie by the name of Pal took a female role in a 1943 film titled Lassie Come Home and thus began another dog dynasty of sorts.  Eric Knight’s novel was first published by John C. Winston and circa the 10th printing (August 1943) a sticker can be found on the jacket proclaiming that Lassie has moved from Best Seller to Movie Star.  Other Pal films include The Challenge to Lassie (1949), The Sun Comes Up (1949), and The Painted Hills (1951) all published as lavish photoplays by the London-based publisher Ward Lock.  Pal retired from acting in 1954 but the character Lassie lives on.

Another noteworthy dog film is from the novel Owd Bob by Alfred Ollivant, later the film was retitled To the Victor.  Two Scottish sheepdogs in a herding contest competition are also suspects in some local sheep killings, what a storyline.  

A Dog of Flanders by Ouida (Marie Louise de la Ramee) is available in three film editions.  First filmed as A Boy of Flanders with Jackie Coogan and Teddy the Dog in 1924 and the talkie remake A Dog of Flanders (1935) with Frankie Thomas and Lightning, having two editions. 

Clyde Beatty earned his fame and fortune as a wild animal trainer, a circus owner, a Hollywood actor, and in no small part, as an author.  In 1933 with the help of Anthony Edward, he wrote an autobiography of sorts. These exploits were also filmed in 1933 as The Big Cage with Clyde playing the lead and published as an oversized movie edition by Century.  His animal training expertise, especially with tigers is seen in the film The Lost Jungle (1933) with several book variations by the Saalfield Publishing Company, in a format similar to Big Little Books.  Elephants had ample exposure in the film Elephant Boy (1937) with Sabu and a series of Tarzan films.

Horses have played equine roles in numerous films with cowboys and their transportation being most prevalent.  Some famous pairings would be Tony & Tom Mix (Teeth 1921), Champion & Gene Autry (Public Cowboy No. 1 1937), and Roy Rogers and Trigger, though Roy and Trigger never appeared in a specific movie tie-in.  Rex the Wonder Horse is a stand-alone actor being the lead in King of the Wild Horses in 1933.  The novel Black Beauty has been filmed several times with Grosset and Dunlap photoplays for the 1921 and 1933 versions.  National Velvet (1944) showcased a young Elizabeth Taylor alongside Mickey Rooney and Donald Crisp in a heartwarming adventure as Velvet rides The Pie to victory in the Grand National.

A male donkey and a female horse gave author David Stern the concept that led to Francis (the talking mule).  The film edition first published in 1950 by London publisher Hammond and Hammond shows Molly (Francis), Donald O’Connor, and Patricia Medina on the front dust jacket panel.

Feline roles are less evident but cats have their fans too.  Orangey played the cat Rhubarb in 1951 opposite Ray Milland & Jan Sterling, based on the novel by H. Allen Smith.  Walt Disney went on to popularize the novel That Undercover Cat by The Gordons under the film title That Darn Cat (1965) and gave us The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963). The Incredible Journey in 1963 had two dogs being led home by their Siamese companion. Those lovable lion cubs in Born Free (1966) gave us an appreciation of the “Kings of the Jungle”.

The Whitman Big Little Book for Sequoia has a subtitle “the story of a strange relationship between a mountain lion and a deer”, need we say more.

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Last Revision:  March 25, 2021 12:22 PM