It's not just crabby Dudley Digges but the whole lot of stubborn old men starting with Lionel Barrymore and continuing with Charlie Grapewin, tied down in the tradition of grooming hound dogs just for the sport of fox hunting. The hounds don't harm the foxes. They just chase it until they are all worn out. Digges moves onto an old family farm where his late wife grew up, and he puts up barbed wire to keep his sheep in and trespassers out. Hating all of his neighbors from the start, Digges threatens to shoot any hound he finds on his property and makes a point of telling young Eric Linden to stay away from his pretty daughter, Maureen O'Sullivan which leads to violence in the Missouri farming community.
Truthfully, it's difficult to root for anything but the fox and young lovers Linden and O'Sullivan because there is absolutely no understanding or respect between Barrymore and Digges. Animal abuse aside, this is genuinely just an unpleasant movie with a few good sequences involving the wild animals, and I longed for the skunk or groundhog to shout out to the fox, "Hide here!"
Bugle Ann, the titled hound dog, is an adorable pup, the runt of the litter whose yelp can be singled out among all the others. Of all of MGM's classic tales of man's love for all kinds of non-human creatures, this is by far the most disappointing in spite of Barrymore's plea for understanding. The state rested and so does this reviewer. Found guilty of attempted audience manipulation through passive aggressive sentiments that made no sense. Guilty on the second count of completely wasting Spring Byington in a do nothing role.
Truthfully, it's difficult to root for anything but the fox and young lovers Linden and O'Sullivan because there is absolutely no understanding or respect between Barrymore and Digges. Animal abuse aside, this is genuinely just an unpleasant movie with a few good sequences involving the wild animals, and I longed for the skunk or groundhog to shout out to the fox, "Hide here!"
Bugle Ann, the titled hound dog, is an adorable pup, the runt of the litter whose yelp can be singled out among all the others. Of all of MGM's classic tales of man's love for all kinds of non-human creatures, this is by far the most disappointing in spite of Barrymore's plea for understanding. The state rested and so does this reviewer. Found guilty of attempted audience manipulation through passive aggressive sentiments that made no sense. Guilty on the second count of completely wasting Spring Byington in a do nothing role.