Fangs of the Wild (1939)

Simply A Masterpiece

Fresh and Exciting

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

FANGS OF THE WILD is an amiable family adventure yarn starring Rin Tin Tin Jr., variously described as the original Rin Tin Tin's son or grandson depending on where you look. The film is serviceable enough but feels largely dated insofar that it takes place at a fox farm in which black foxes are bred solely for the purpose of supplying furs for rich people to wear around their necks. As an animal lover I found this largely unpalatable especially when the fox farm owners are posited as the good guys.Rin Tin Tin Jr. (or Rinty as he is affectionately known) is brought in to help out when foxes begin to disappear in mysterious circumstances. There are a couple of shady types hanging around and a whole lot of simpering protagonists who are acted off the screen by the lovable and well-trained pooch. The bit where the German Shepherd cuddles with some cute rabbits is sure to melt even the warmest of hearts, so it's just a pity that the fur farming business makes this such an unpleasant bit of spectacle.

Another Rin Tin Tin Jr. action/thriller about the theft of valuable foxes raised on a farm for their coats and part of a ring for stolen furs. There is no doubt in my mind that these adorable members of the canine family would end up around some rich woman's shoulders. Rin is their bodyguard, at one point carrying a few in his mouth to prevent them from being stolen. The plot is more about capturing the crooks rather than saving these cute animals, and my feeling of anti-fur trading took a great increase. But this movie is still irresistible, especially when Rin babysits some infant white bunny rabbits.Once again, Rin is more believable, or at least a bigger scene-stealer than the human actors, here lead by Dennis Moore with Luana Anderson as the female lead. The foxes, too, are equally fascinating to watch, with them running around and playing, squawking like chipmunks at the ever watchful Rin, and providing a look into the life of a basically shy, retreating animal that nature documentary lovers rarely get to film. The moments of Rin on his own are long with little dialog for minutes at a time. This makes the film more interesting and frustrating because of the mystery of why these foxes are being bred on farms in the first place.

This title was amongst a job lot of 16mm films we bought and was a British copy complete with British Board of Film Censors "U" certificate and an Ealing Film Distributors logo at the beginning. It is so ineptly directed and scripted and the "handsome" leading man is so wooden in his role that I found it all rather charming and endearing. Undoubtedly watching this on a screen in a gorgeous crisp and contrasty 16mm print added to my enjoyment. Students of action sequences should study the fight scenes so as to learn how not to do it. And the two presumably intended-to-be-nefarious "bad" guys - Brad and Pete - are really quite affable.To show how gentle the hero's dog Rinty is there is a brief sequence where he takes off ("Dogs are like humans; sometimes they just like to be on their own" intones our stolid leading man to his nephew)and coming across a gorgeous little litter of fluffy white bunnies decides to snuggle down next to them! One wonders if this is where Peanuts creator Charles Schultz got the idea for Snoopy's affection for bunnies? The music is manically mismatched! At the end Rinty settles down to a relationship with the villain's reformed dog Queenie. Lovely! Oh .. and there is a brief appearance by Laurel and Hardy shorts regular Mae Busch.