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| Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood - 1976 |
Coming up next we have 1976's "Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood", a sort of spoof on the story of Rin Tin Tin. In this film, a very smart dog becomes the biggest celebrity of all time and changes the fortunes of a young lady who wants to be an actress.
The film's cast includes Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Art Carney, Phil Silvers, Ron Leibman, Teri Garr, Augustus von Schumacher, Dorothy Lamour, Joan Blondell, Virginia Mayo, Ethel Merman, Nancy Walker, Dick Haymes, Tab Hunter, Robert Alda, Victor Mature, Edgar Bergen, Henry Wilcoxon, Alice Faye, Yvonne De Carlo, Dennis Morgan, William Demarest, Andy Devine, Broderick Crawford, Rudy Vallee, George Jessel, Fritz Feld, Fernando Lamas, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Milton Berle, John Carradine, Walter Pidgeon, Sterling Holloway, Gloria DeHaven, Johnny Weissmuller, Rhonda Fleming, Janet Blair, and Peter Lawford, and many more!
At Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1970's Hollywood, tourists gaze at the handprints and footprints of the stars of yesteryear. They are particularly interested in the one marked "Won Ton Ton". The tour guide begins to explain what an important star he was in the 1920s.
In the 1920s, a wannabe actress named Estie Del Ruth comes across a stray dog one day. He's not just any stray dog. He's a very smart stray dog. He even decides to share a snack with her.
Even though Estie doesn't know the dog, he sticks with her. He rescues her from a very bad situation at a movie studio during what she thought was an audition.
And that, as they say, is history. The movie producers love the dog (not the girl), and he is instantly rebranded as Won Ton Ton, a star. His films are an instant success. Though, Estie still harbors dreams of making it big and becoming a star herself, not just the woman who trains the dog.
Won Ton Ton is given all the treatment of a major Hollywood star. Fans love him! He goes on the radio, is featured in dozens of fan magazines, wins an award as the best motion picture actor, signs autographs, has his name on billboards, has his pawprints placed at Grauman's, and even gets massages!
The doggie celebrity even gets his own mega-mansion, which he moves into with Estie and producer Grayson Potchuck, who likes Estie (separate bedrooms, of course!).
Won Ton Ton even gets to work with the biggest star of the day, Rudy Montague, whose Santa Barbara mansion is something right out of Arabian Nights!
Rudy is regarded as something of an eccentric. He dresses incognito when he goes to see his own movies. He sees each performance thirty times.
However, Rudy gets very jealous when Won Ton Ton begins to receive more attention than he does. He even hires a hitman to kill both Won Ton Ton and Estie! Luckily, he is not successful.
Estie eventually does get the stardom that she seeks. She also marries Grayson Potchuck. However, it's a long, hard road to get to that point, and she and Won Ton Ton are separated due to dire circumstances.
Have no fear, though. They all are reunited and walk off into the sunset together!
This film is packed full of cameos from '30s and '40s Hollywood stars. They include Dennis Morgan, Ethel Merman, Henry Wilcoxon, William Demarest, Dorothy Lamour, Fernando Lamas, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Alice Faye, and many, many more!
Cast rundown:
Bruce Dern....................................Grayson Potchuck
Madeline Kahn................................Estie Del Ruth
Art Carney.....................................J.J. Fromberg
Phil Silvers.....................................Murray Fromberg
Ron Leibman..................................Rudy Montague
Teri Garr........................................Fluffy Peters
Augustus von Schumacher...............Won Ton Ton
Dorothy Lamour..............................Visiting Film Star
Joan Blondell..................................Landlady
Virginia Mayo..................................Miss Battley
Ethel Merman.................................Hedda Parsons
Nancy Walker..................................Mrs. Fromberg
Dick Haymes..................................James Crawford
Tab Hunter.....................................David Hamilton
Robert Alda....................................Richard Entwhistle
Victor Mature.................................Nick
Edgar Bergen.................................Professor Quicksand
Henry Wilcoxon..............................Silent Film Director
Alice Faye......................................Secretary At Gate
Yvonne De Carlo.............................Cleaning Woman
Dennis Morgan...............................Tour Guide
William Demarest...........................Studio Gatekeeper
Andy Devine..................................Priest
Broderick Crawford.........................Special Effects Man
Rudy Vallee...................................Autograph Hound
George Jessel.................................Awards Announcer
Fritz Feld.......................................Rudy's Butler
Fernando Lamas.............................Premier Male Star
Zsa Zsa Gabor................................Premier Female Star
Milton Berle....................................Blind Man
John Carradine...............................Drunk
Walter Pidgeon...............................Grayson's Butler
Sterling Holloway............................Old Man On Bus
Gloria DeHaven..............................President's Girl #1
Johnny Weissmuller.........................Stagehand #2
Rhonda Fleming.............................Rhoda Flaming
Janet Blair......................................President's Girl #3
Peter Lawford.................................Slapstick Star
And that's it for Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood. As stated earlier, this film is full of old Hollywood star cameos. It was intended to include Hedy Lamarr in the film, but she couldn't be traced. Don Ameche and Cesar Romero were asked to participate, but both were unavailable. In the 1920s portion of the film, two "future" films were mentioned, "Jaws" and "The Wizard Of Oz". Both of them were dismissed as movies that the public wouldn't pay to see.
