His bigotry is worse than his bite

Racism isn't funny, but Kristy McNichol's substitute-teacher hair is...

...(here's the back view:)...

 

...and reconciling those two truths is what Samuel Fuller's 1981 post-exploitation flick White Dog is all about. Well, it's about that and a white German Shepherd, who seems to have ripped a page from the Marlon Brando school of cotton usage...

 

...but also, and more importantly, who has been trained to attack black people. This nameless dog is anything but an invisible man -- he's the key to curing racism, the pet project of a black animal trainer who uses positive reinforcement as activism. As if the monster-movie-cum-social-commentary weren't enough of a meeting of high and low to make me swoon (and boy, did it!), it's all shrouded in silly b-movieness that makes White Dog compulsively watchable.

Things of that nature, you know?

Criterion just released it on DVD. Ask for it for Christmas and enjoy it by the fireplace that day. Fine family fun!

Some more highlights below the jump...

To pin the entire concept of racism onto a single character in a film (much less a non-speaking, “four-legged time-bomb,” as the dog is referred to) is to commit entirely to broadness. But White Dog's simplicity is no insult to its cause (despite the NAACP’s cries of racesploitation that kept this movie largely shelved and otherwise unseen until now). Shlock is the risk Fuller takes to relate a profound worldview: bigotry need not be articulated by its bearers. It’s so misguided, wrong and evil that it can drive a movie monster.

The movie explores the programmed nature of hatred and (spoiler!) resolves bleakly, suggesting that hatred permanently taints and makes unlearning impossible. It’s pessimistic, and I’m not sure if I agree with it entirely, but Fuller’s hard line feels a lot realer and angrier than ultimately rosey race flicks that have been released since, like Higher Learning or Crash.

If the polemic aspect of White Dog is admirable, the low-brow b-movie minutiae is what makes this flick irresistible to me. Case in point:

As heavy as the subject matter is, the details provide nonstop hilarity, lending the movie a woozy vibe. Some flicks have their moments, ups and downs that give them the feel of a roller coaster. Some move between tones like swings. White Dog feels more like a strobe light.

For a dash of said hilarity, take Kirsty McNichol’s sweater that she’s wearing when she first picks up the bleeding dog on the side of the road…

…how prescient of her to match the blood of the dog she’d later rescue when she got ready that evening. Her sweater looks like my period.

Then, there’s her frequent mugging that only serves the tonal unevenness:

In the first act, the rescued dog chases a bunny, effectively running away from home (he ends up attacking a black truck driver). Kristy visits the pound, along with, like, dozens of other people (must be dog-losing season!). Among the last stragglers who leave empty-handed (and –pawed) is…

…a blind dude!

When the dog finally does return, she buries him in kisses, despite that fact that he’s bloody and she isn’t wearing the right outfit…

What follows is an oddly sentimental bathing scene that is misty enough to feel erotic…

I think at this point, my boyfriend turned to me and said, “She gonna fuck that dog!” I think she’ll at least stick butter up his ass.

Seriously, how Last Tango in Paris is that?

 

When she takes the dog to the guy who’ll turn out to be an activist trainer, it isn’t immediately clear that she’s arrived at an animal sanctuary – it seems more like some sort of boot camp, as we see wild cats being trained and other wild animals sounding off in the establishing shots. And then this guy pops up…

…and you can just imagine with the owner said upon dropping him off: “Dude, I have this unruly llama who needs his ass whipped into shape, like, now.”

The dog’s positive reinforcement comes mostly via food and that food is mostly hamburgers…in the bun. With, like, onions and stuff. (This happens both before and while he’s at the sanctuary).

 

Like, what the fuck is this carb propaganda, you know?

The dog himself (or themselves, really, as many were used) is never short of astounding. Brando cotton aside, he jumps through windows with admirable anti-heroism.

He knows how effective well-choreographed saliva can be…

He’s aware enough to the point of murdering a black man in a church to underscore religion’s history of endorsing racism…

And like many amazing characters such as Back to the Future’s Doc and Céline Dion, he's a master of electricity…

That last gif, btw, comes during his great escape, made possible since he’s placed in a pen covered just by leaves and twigs, like it’s some Lord of the Flies-type prison…

On his way out, we see him run past a disapproving elephant.

Elephants know, you know?

When the owner of the dog finally arrives to retrieve his lost pet, like, weeks later, this irresponsible racist proves to be even more of a prize by showing up with thank-you present of a box of Whitman's chocolates, which is no longer made but remains eternally disgusting.

And really: more carb propaganda? A different time, it was.

Anyway, this gives Kristy’s character the opportunity to show her progression. Whereas she started with her focus on the dog’s rehabilitation and well-being (to the point of sneaking him food despite this undermining his need to become solely dependent on the black trainer), she finally knows that there’s a greater cause. In an essay that accompanies the DVD, J. Hoberman writes, “While the movie’s white characters are invariably amazed by the whole idea of the ‘white dog,’ most of the black characters treat his existence as a brute fact of life.” I'm reminded of that election-time USA Today/Gallup poll that found that: "Blacks and whites continue to see different worlds when it comes to race. Two-thirds of non-Hispanic whites say they are satisfied with the way blacks are treated in the USA; two-thirds of blacks say they are dissatisfied."

Almost 30 years on, this movie is still relevant. How depressing. How pointed.

And speaking of that, I'll leave you with two more points.

You're welcome.

Comments

[the maljax]

I've seen quite a few Sam Fuller movies, and have been meaning to see this one.

Another interesting movie is Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor. One of the characters is a black man in a loony bin who is convinced that he is white and he's known for periodically stealing pillow cases to make KKK hoods.

[ShabbySabby]

fabulous! love you.

also: you can SO still buy a Whitman's Sampler: http://www.russellstover.com/jump.jsp?itemID=216&itemType=CATEGORY&path=1%2C2%2C5%2C216&page=1&viewAll=1&cid=Google&kwd=

[trix]

Whitman's Samplers are freakin' delicious, what the hell are you talking about? This whole anti-Whitman's stance you've suddenly taken has totally made me question my enjoyment of your blogs.

I mean, hello, where else can you eat a chocolate mailman?

Which considering the dog/mailman thing makes its presence in White Dog all the more pointedly right. Or not.

Whatever, now I really want some candy. Thanks a bunch!

Kidding aside, I cannot wait to add this to my netflix queue (or at least see if its actually available...).

[Joe]

Kristy McNicol is a handsome lez. Good thing it wasn't Straight Dog, 'cause that would be real blood on her Merry Go Round sweater.

[Ian Arizona]

Kristy McNichol is MARJORIE!!

[John R]

Looking forward to seeing this without Dutch subtitles (the only bootlegs I ever found had them). Thanks for that last pic - Kristy McNipple was my biggest childhood crush!

[Dan Johnson]

Laugh if you want, but that is a racist llama, trained to attack innocent Tamils. A Tamil-mauling llama.

[Lisa]

I totally agree with Ian. I was about to write the same thing.

[HouseofJules]

Perhaps that horrible job query your boyfriend got yesterday was written by White Dog.
Jules
House of Jules

[holy cuteness]

The hairstyle of that woman is really eighties...
You told me all, so I don't have to watch the movie anymore.

[DLCS]

One of my friends once said that the truest test of courage is eating a Whitman's Sampler in the dark.

[lily]

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[dissertation writing help]

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!

[Catsnstuff]

Ian Arizona, you beat me to the Marjorie point(s)!!!

[Abrego]

Her mugging reminds me of Marjorie.

[Sarah]

I hoped I could be the first to point out the resemblance to Marjorie but obviously EVERYONE sees it, and why the HECK did you not point it out in your commentary?

[Scott Free]

That was really enjoyable. More b-movie commentary, please! Hmm...I think that elephant is a member of the dinosaur family...

[kityglitr]

Alright, I'm not crazy. I know Whitman's is not the best chocolate in all the world. But it's chocolate! All it has to do is exist for me to want to eat it. You may live in fear of the carb, Rich, but not I. That being said, I am going right out and renting this movie.

[Erin Donovan]

I love this movie! Great review, Rich!

[Laurie]

I saw Shock Corridor when on Sundance or IFC or one of those channels when I was in high school in the late nineties. It became an instant favorite. The Naked Kiss is also a classic. If you haven't seen them, you really, really need to get thee to a Best Buy or something. Like, now.

[mary]

Oh god that "Last Tango In Paris" shoop is cracking my shit up.

[Evan]

I enjoyed this movie for its unexpectedly morbid kicks. I could go on further describing its charming nuances but everyone seems to have covered those bases. Nice review Btw.

Evan
http://www.beyondrace.com

[Rose]

Sooo...lower-rent Cujo?
I can't help but feel misrepresented by proxy. My white shepherd girl was probably the bunny this one chased.

[sammy]

I love Samuel Fuller! He always had that laser-like sight straight to the heart of issues, and despised bulls*** in conjunction with a love for upsetting people (maybe its his Park Row days that did it) with uncomfortable truths, in that boldly free-associating visual style that makes immedaite emotional sense. All his movies make you squirm, like Pickup on South St, The Crimson Komono, and The Steel Helmet (probably the best treatise on racism ever produced in American cinema), House of Bamboo, etc.

I especially love the opening of The Naked Kiss, when the pimp pulls off hooker Constance Towers' wig as she is beating the crap out of him with her clutch while jazz fusion blares in the background. Fun fact: Did you know that Constance Towers, (who also played the stripper in Shock Corridor who did that weird number with the feather boa wrapped around her head a'la Randy's winter gear in Christmas Story) ended up playing Helena Cassadine on General Hospital for years?

[CJ]

This is my first fourfour movie review, and while this movie sounds disturbing and interesting, I think I laughed inappropriately through the whole thing, especially at the "disapproving elephant" and "Last Tango In Paris" parts. Oh lord. I'm still wiping the tears and giggling.