Sign of the Wolf (1941) User Reviews

Poverty row strikes gold.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 23 September 2021]

Just because its from Monogram, PRC, Republic or one of the other dozens of B studios that lined up with offices heading towards downtown Los Angeles doesn't mean that it isn't a good film. Sometimes all it took was a little Ingenuity, a good story that people could get engrossed by and a Director of Photography with a knowledge of how to make the most out of very little. That's the case of this action/adventure film starring Grace Bradley as a woman who enters her dogs into shows and Michael Whalen as the man who rescues her and Mantan Moreland when their plane crashes in the Yukon. The film focuses on the search for one of the missing dogs from the plane with the aide of the other one who is revealed to be part wolf.

Darryl Hickman is his adorable ward of course enthralled by the courageous mixed breed, and of course a romance develops between Whalen and Bradley. Moreland too finds romance with the always delightful Louise Beavers although theirs is more comical and a bit cliched with the typical black stereotypes. Beavers plays a character named Beulah, and of course would later play another Beulah on TV.

The missing dog is found by some rather shady trappers who lie to Whalen about the dog's fate and try to make a profit by selling it for higher than the reward offer. Shadow, the wolf, and Smoky, the pure bread, are of course adorable although Shadow is vicious when he senses evil, and very protective of those he loves. This is the type of film that you can watch and get through quickly, and come out feeling completely satisfied.

No, Those Are German Shepherds

[boblipton · 5/10 · 30 April 2023]

Grace Bradley crashes her plane, transporting Mantan Moreland and her two German Shepherds, onto Michael Whalen's silver fox farm. She thinks she has sold one of them because they fight, but Moreland has smuggled it onto the plane. One gets free and falls into the hands of two men who have been stealing the valuable critters. They use the dog to steal foxes, which gets blamed on the other.

There's a lot of plot going on int his Monogram picture based on a Jack London short story. Sometimes it gets lost in welter of performers, including Louise Beavers as Whalen's housekeeper, and Darryl Hickman as his brother. Hickman loves the dog and indulges in a lot of "What Lassie? Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota?" monologues while the action sequences are shot up by Big Bear Lake. It's an okay production for people who like movies about dogs.

Bad dog!! Bad, bad dog!!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 15 September 2023]

The story begins at a dog show. The German Shepherds are being judged and Smokey (that's a dog...not a person) is acting up. It keeps barking at another dog, Shadow, because Smokey apparently doesn't like it. In frustration, after the show, the owner of Smokey agrees to sell the dog to Shadow's owner. But there's a problem...the lady is flying the dogs to Shadow's owner and the plane ends up crashing. In the confusion, Smokey is mistaken for Shadow and vice-versa. Shadow is a good dog and despite a broken leg, he saves the woman and her employee (Mantan Moreland). As for Smokey, he joins up with crooks and gets involved in a life of crime. What's next?

I had TWO huge problems with the film. At the onset, when Smokey is misbehaving, the dog's owner slaps the dog in the show ring...something that should have gotten her in deep trouble with the dog show folks. Heck, I sure was unhappy to see that!! Second, when there's a crash, how can the woman who owned Smokey think Shadow is her dog? Plus, her employee loves the dog...and he made the same mistake. Yes, German Shepherds are similar but I could see the difference between them AND it was her dog. This just doesn't make much sense.

So is this any good? Well, although I have a dog and have had many, this sort of doggy film doesn't appeal to me very much. Apart from a few Lassie films and "Greyfriar's Bobby", I don't love dog films. So, whether or not you adore doggy flicks will definitely help determine how much you like or hate this movie. But, if you put this aside, the film still has the two problems I mentioned above. It's also basically a B-movie...a low budgeted one from a minor studio. About the only think I liked about it was Moreland, who did a good job with what he was given.