Ace the Wonder Dog stars in his third movie, assisted by embittered James Ellison. Ace is accused of murder -- although it is Mr. Ellison who is accused of harboring a vicious animal which needs to be destroyed.
Although there is considerable talent in this RKO programmer -- and Ace the Wonder Dog is a handsome animal -- it doesn't quite work. Leslie Goodwin, the director, was working his way out of the short subjects department and does his best. But the inherent difficulty of producing an interesting animal star and fitting it into a sound feature makes unreasonable demands on the plot to the point of occasionally disruptive silliness. Nor are the actors the best of RKO's players, producing a certain amount of untoward emotional reticence about the humans. These factors make the movie less than good.
Although there is considerable talent in this RKO programmer -- and Ace the Wonder Dog is a handsome animal -- it doesn't quite work. Leslie Goodwin, the director, was working his way out of the short subjects department and does his best. But the inherent difficulty of producing an interesting animal star and fitting it into a sound feature makes unreasonable demands on the plot to the point of occasionally disruptive silliness. Nor are the actors the best of RKO's players, producing a certain amount of untoward emotional reticence about the humans. These factors make the movie less than good.