The Shaggy Dog

""I was a Teen-age boy!""

1959 1h 44m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 100

ComedyFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune times and the spell can only be broken by an act of bravery....

“"I was a Teen-age boy!"”

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Cast

Fred MacMurray
Wilson Daniels
Jean Hagen
Freeda Daniels
Tommy Kirk
Wilby Daniels
Annette Funicello
Allison D'Allessio
Tim Considine
Buzz Miller
Kevin Corcoran
Moochie Daniels
Cecil Kellaway
Professor Plumcutt
Alexander Scourby
Mikhail Andrassy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Charles Barton
Writers: Bill Walsh, Lillie Hayward
Languages: French, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $18M — a 14.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Shaggy Dog Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Charles Barton, shot by Edward Colman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul J. Smith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Ballas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Charles Barton directs. Edward Colman behind the camera. Paul J. Smith scores. James Ballas cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $18M — a 14.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
367 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
5Part of the "The Shaggy Dog Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Charles Barton, shot by Edward Colman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Paul J. Smith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor James Ballas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Fred MacMurray and Jean Hagen and Tommy Kirk carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: ""I was a Teen-age boy!"".
11IMDB entry: tt0053271 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Edward Colman
Original score: Paul J. Smith
Editing: James Ballas
Costume design: Chuck Keehne
Makeup / hair: Pat McNalley
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,250,000
Box office: $17,658,000
Return: 1413% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: The Shaggy Dog (1959)

Part of

The Shaggy Dog Collection

The Shaggy Dog is a 1959 Walt Disney film about Wilby Daniels, a teenage boy who by the power of an enchanted ring of the Borgias is transformed into the title character, a shaggy Old English Sheepdog. The film was based on the story, The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten. It is directed by Charles Barton and stars Fred MacMurray, Tommy Kirk, Jean Hagen, Kevin Corcoran, Tim Considine, Roberta Shore, and Annette Funicello. It was the first ever Walt Disney live-action comedy. Walt Disney Productions filmed a successful sequel in 1976 called The Shaggy D.A. which starred Dean Jones, Tim Conway, and Suzanne Pleshette. This was then followed by a 1987 television sequel, a 1994 television remake and a 2006 live-action theatrical remake.