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From 1929 to 1931,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
produced a series of nine short comedy films called ''All Barkie Dogville Comedies'', sometimes known as the "barkies" (in a parody of " talkies")."Movieland Goes Roman", Performing and Captive Animals' Defence League circular, 1931 The actors in these films were trained
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...
s, dressed up to
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...
the performers in contemporary films. The dogs' dialogue in these early sound films was dubbed by actors and voice artists including Pete Smith. The films were directed by Zion Myers and conceived and co-directed by
Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; hu, Weisz Gyula; 17 September 190030 April 1985) was a Hungarian-American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges Early years White began working in mo ...
. Both Myers and White later worked on
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appear ...
comedies.


Series titles

1929 *''College Hounds''.....parody of college football films, such as MGM's ''Brown of Harvard'' (1926), featuring "Red Mange" (
Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...
) *''Hot Dog''.....parody of courtroom dramas, such as MGM's ''Madame X'' (1929), featuring "Clara Bone" (
Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...
) 1930 *''Who Killed Rover?'' AKA ''The Dogville Murder Case''http://www.wbshop.com/Dogville-Shorts-+EST-MOD/1000114157,default,pd.html?cgid=.....parody of
Philo Vance Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish� ...
whodunits (here "Phido Vance"), such as Paramount's ''The Canary Murder Case'' (1929) *''
The Dogway Melody ''The Dogway Melody'' is a 1930 comedy short film that recreates scenes from early musical films, particularly The Broadway Melody. The entire cast are trained dogs with human voiceovers. It was directed by Zion Myers and Jules White and it form ...
''.....parody of all talking, all singing, all dancing early musicals, specifically MGM's ''
The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequen ...
'' (1929) *''
So Quiet on the Canine Front ''So Quiet on the Canine Front'' is a 1930 American comedy short film, from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, that parodies Universal Pictures' celebrated anti-war drama ''All Quiet on the Western Front'', the winner, on November 5, 1930, at the 3rd Academy ...
''.....parody of World War I films, specifically Universal's ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) *''The Big Dog House''.....parody of prison films, specifically MGM's ''The Big House'' (1930) 1931 *''Love-Tails of Morocco''.....parody of Foreign Legion films, such as Paramount's ''Morocco'' (1930) *''The Two Barks Brothers''.....parody of "brothers on the opposite side of the law" films, specifically MGM's ''
Gentleman's Fate ''Gentleman's Fate'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and written by Leonard Praskins. The film stars John Gilbert, Louis Wolheim, Leila Hyams, Anita Page, and Marie Prevost. The film was released on March 7, 193 ...
'' (1931) *''Trader Hound''.....parody of jungle adventure films, specifically MGM's ''Trader Horn'' (1931)


Home video

The complete series of Dogville Comedies has been released on DVD by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
as part of its
Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the int ...
.


References

{{Reflist American film series Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films American comedy films