''A Dog of Flanders'' is a 1960 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by James B. Clark, with stars

David Ladd David Alan Ladd (born February 5, 1947)is an American film and television producer and former actor. Early life Ladd was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was Alan Ladd, an actor. His mother was Sue Carol, Alan Ladd's second wife, ...

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

and

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

. It is based on the 1872 novel of the same name by

Ouida Ouida (; 1 January 1839 – 25 January 1908) was the pseudonym of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée). During her career, Ouida wrote more than 40 novels, as well as s ...

. It was released on March 17, 1960, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in CinemaScope and Color by De Luxe. Unlike the novel, which has a tragic end, the film has a happy ending for the boy and his dog. Spike (who played Old Yeller in the 1959 Disney Film) plays Patrasche in 20th Century Fox's A Dog of Flanders with Donald Crisp and David Ladd in 1959.

Plot

The emotional story of a boy, his grandfather, and his dog. The boy's dream of becoming a great classical painter appears shattered when his loving grandfather dies.

Cast

as Nello Daas *

as Jehan Daas *

as Piet Van Gelder * Max Croiset as Cogez the miller *Monique Ahrens as Corrie *Siohban Taylor as Alois Cogez *Gijsbert Tersteeg as the landlord *John Soer as the peddler *Katherine Holland as the miller's wife *Lo van Hensbergen as the priest *"Patrasche" - Sam the Bluetick Coonhound *Hans Tiemeyer *Maxim Hamel *John De Freese * Mathieu van Eysden *Katja Berndsen *Heleen van Meurs *Ulla Larsen

Production

Robert L. Lippert enjoyed success with a children's film starring David Ladd called '' The Sad Horse''. The film was announced in March 1959. Robert L. Lippert says the film was originally shot in black and white "but everything was so beautiful so we changed it to color." Filming started June 22, 1959. The film was shot in Holland and Belgium. It included a 12-minute scene where Theodore Bikel gives a painting lesson. "Everybody thought they were crazy when he did that", said producer Radnitz. "But the kids loved it."

Comic book adaptation

* Dell

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

#1088 (April 1960)

Reception

The film was one of Lippert's most successful films, commercially making over $3 million.

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

called it "the sleeper of the year." Lippert bought a story, ''Gallus'' to make as a follow up for Clark and Ladd. However the film was not made. They ended up making ''

Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...

''. Writer

Ted Sherdeman Ted Sherdeman (21 June 1909 – 22 August 1987) was an American radio producer, television writer and screenwriter. He was known for the films '' The Eddie Cantor Story'' (1953), ''Away All Boats'' (1956), ''St. Louis Blues'' (1958), '' A Dog of ...

and director Clark later formed their own company, Gemtaur. The film was first in the children's film category at the Venice Film Festival.

References

External links

* *
''Dog of Flanders''
at BFI * *
''A Dog of Flanders''
at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' (a revised and expanded version of 1987 write-up which was originally published in ''The Motion Picture Guide'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Dog of Flanders (1960 film), A 1960 films Films based on works by Ouida Films shot in Antwerp 1960 drama films 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films American drama films Films adapted into comics Films about dogs Films directed by James B. Clark Films scored by Paul Sawtell Works based on A Dog of Flanders 1960s English-language films 1960s American films