MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Limerculer
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
BigSkyMax
This program went off the air when I was 5 years old so I only have vague recollections of it, mostly from older brothers talk. I think there was a comic book too. What I do remember is that in the sixties just about everybody had a German Shepherd in their backyard and I suspect this kiddie show was the reason. Now pit bulls are all the rage, and Shepherd puppies sell for between $600-2500!I just watched the only episode available on YouTube, "Sorrowful Jones" with Sterling Holliday. What a sad, racist depiction of "Indians" -- white guys running around committing mayhem while wearing, for no logical reason, full ceremonial headdresses and buckskins. In the Arizona desert? What a lazy lesson of unhistorical hatred to serve up to kids. I suspect that's why you can't find the series on DVD. But I was also disappointed by how little the dog actually did. He had a few reaction shots, a couple of dubbed barks and 'saves' the day at the end by jumping on the bad guy. Not very sophisticated tricks. This was an influential show and I wish I could see more episodes to judge it better. From the one I've seen, it's kind of a bad dog.
John T. Ryan
The Scene: Board Room, Screen Gems TV Unit; Subsidiary of Columbia Pictures Corporation. A paunchy, Balding and Bespectacled 50ish man is presiding over a strategy meeting. The "Suits" have to make a decision about what to do with a property that they have an option on using in Movies or TV.Bald Head: "Well, what are we gonna do with this, this,...Watzis name, Schultz? Schultz: "Uh, the Dog, sir? It's Rin-Tin-Tin." Bald Head: "Yeah, that German Shepherd from World War I, the Army Dog! Our option runs out and that'd be $8,000,000.oo down the drain if we don't do something with 'em! What we gonna do?" Board Man 1: "That's the dog from France in World War II, right?" Board Man 2: "No, genius, it was in the First Big War, 1918. The mutt is supposed to have saved Warner Brothers from going belly up!" Bald Head: "Yeah, he was a sort of canine War Bride or somethin' like that! But we can't put him in a World War or anything like that! People are sick of War! We just finished that Korean "Police Action!" C'mon you guys! Think of somethin'! THINK!" BOARD MAN 3: "Hell, why don't we put 'em in the Cavalry or somethin' like that?" BALD HEAD: "The Cavalry!!! Are you nuts!?!?" ...............And thus if not exactly a Legend, a Series is born!The Series THE ADVENTURES OF RIN TIN TIN successfully combined several popular themes into a highly successful Kiddie Western. We took a Dog, a Kid (an orphan, yet) and had the good Cavalrymen at Fort Apache's "B" Company adopt him and give him their Unit name as his Family or Surname.They added a good sampling of veteran Hollywood Film Actors to give the thing a certain dependability. Lt. Rip Masters (Former "B" Movie Leading Man and a capable dramatic Actor name of James Brown), Sgt. Biff O'Hara (Joe Sawyer, always cast as the Sergeant, always), Jimmy Lyden (The former Henry Aldrich of the Movies) and a cast of seemingly thousands of guest starring actors; a veritable Who's Who of supporting players available then.This Fort Apache seemed to have everything a boy could want. Heroes to hero worship, towns folk to rescue, horses to ride. They even had all kinds of Injuns! And not all the Apaches were bad. They had the renegades led by Geronimo and the friendly Apaches headed up by Cochise. Who said that all Hollywood Indians were bad? It certainly wasn't here!THE ADVENTURES OF RIN TIN TIN provided us with a Western adventure all our own. And thanks to our folks, Clement J. & Bertha F.Ryan (nee Fuerst), we learned of the Origin of the FIRST RINTY and his coming to America from the Western Front in World War I France.That's the sort of Mom and Dad we had!NOTE: * From the old World War I Song (as if they're are any new World War I songs)!
jonesy74-1
When I was little, I always got this series mixed up with Lassie. Dog hero - little boy who was friend of dog. Pretty similar, except for the cavalry part and the era being quite different. And, oh yeah - German Shepherd and Collie.I was very small when I watched this show. It was in syndication at this time.Basically, I remember Rinny helping rustle bad guys and being the mascot of the Cavalry troop. I also remember Rusty as being a red-haired freckle-faced boy who was cute, a la Beaver Cleaver.This was an entertaining show - good moral stories with good ending - typical for the fifties.And really, who could resist a show with a boy and a dog?
Ramar
Adventure packed story after story. Rusty gets into a danger situation and Rin Tin Tin saves him, either by himself or by going back to Fort Apache to get Lt. Rip Masters and/or Sgt O'Hara and Corporal Boone to save him. It was a must see for 5 years on Friday nights on ABC, than afternoon re-runs and Saturday morning re-runs for years.
