Before Chaser, the Border Collie who knew hundreds of objects by name in the 2010s, there was Tuffy, the Hollywood dog who stunned John Hopkins University scholars by correctly identifying and retrieving around fifty unique objects in the 1930s.
As a puppy, Tuffy was given to Gerhardt Orvedahl, South Dakota cowboy, while he recovered from a riding accident. Needing company and distraction, Orvedahl began training the pup to retriever and know objects by name, from coins to potatoes. An Australian Shepherd mixed with either Border Collie or Rough Collie, Tuffy was a born working dog and cowhand, fitting in effortlessly to ranch life while learning more and more, including the skill of leading horses by rein and very long stays over the years at home from 1930 to 1935.
When Orvedahl imagined more and took Tuffy to Hollywood, it wasn’t long before the handsome dog with one ice-blue eye drew attention from a Paramount producer. Tuffy landed his first cameo role before the end of 1935 in Nevada. In 1936 he gained small parts in more western dramas like Drift Fence while his reputation grew so that before the year was out Tuffy would appear in six films, most notably The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, his only Technicolor production, which originally had no part for a dog at all, but one was written in especially for Tuffy.
He went on to act until Brigham Young in 1940, in which he is only seen in a glimpse, before an illness halted his movie career. He died in 1946 at age sixteen.
✯ Known Tuffy Filmography ✯
Early to Bed (1936)
Old Hutch (1936)
Rose of the Rancho (1936)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
The Mighty Treve (1937)
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) a serial
Phantom Gold (1938)
Pioneer Trail (1938)
Rolling Caravans (1938)
Stagecoach Days (1938)
Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) a serial
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Laurence Trimble, today remembered more for Strongheart, reportedly got his first film gig for his Rough Collie (or Scotch Collie at the time) simply by being in the right place at the right time. He’d actually come to Vitagraph Studios in New York to write an article on movie making, but ended up offering his dog for a leading role.
Jean (1902–1916) became the second Collie movie star, and, in fact, only the second canine movie star in history after Blair of England.
Jean (1902–1916) appeared in at least 25 films, almost all of them shorts, and became the first ever American canine movie star, paving the way for Strongheart, Rin-Tin-Tin, Teddy, Lassie, and all the rest. Only Blair of England, also a Collie, preceded Jean, the Vitagraph Dog.
✯ Known Jean Filmography ✯
If you know more films of Jean’s, please let us know!
Jean and the Calico Doll (1910)
Jean, the Match-Maker (1910)
Jean Goes Foraging (1910)
Jean Goes Fishing (1910)
A Tin-Type Romance (1910)
Jean and the Waif (1910)
Where the Winds Blow (1910)
Her Mother’s Wedding Gown (1910)
Jean Rescues (1911)
When the Light Waned (1911)
The Stumbling Block (1911)
Tested by the Flag (1911)
Auld Lang Syne (1911)
Jean Intervenes (1912)
Playmates (1912)
The Church Across the Way (1912)
Bachelor Buttons (1912)
The Signal of Distress (1912)
Jean and Her Family (1913) – A documentary short.
Jean’s Evidence (1913)
’Fraid Cat (1914)
The Shepherd Lassie of Argyle (1914)
Through the Valley of Shadows (1914) – Possibly Jean’s first feature-length film.
Lost and Won (1915)
Far from the Madding Crowd (1915) – Another feature film at five reels.
It’s important to remember when we talk about the first dog movie star that he wasn’t only the first in the canine world. Catapulted into fame in 1905, Blair was already famous before the first human film star, Florence Lawrence, appeared in her debut motion picture in 1906. Blair, a Collie, was the first movie star in the world. Period.
Belonging to English producer, director, and writer Cecil Hepworth, Blair (like Rin-Tin-Tin years later for Warner Bros.) helped to establish Hepworth and Co. with the massive commercial success of the first film in which he starred, Rescued by Rover.
Cecil Hepworth was one of the best-known and most prolific early British film-makers, producing so many short films through his company, as many as three per week, during Blair’s lifetime (he died in 1914) that it is likely Blair appeared in dozens of movies. We may never know how many, or which ones, however. In 1924, when Hepworth had to sell his studio below value, most of his hundreds of original negatives were melted down to recover the silver in them. Nearly all of Blair’s films have now been lost.
We do know a handful of this pioneering Collie’s filmography, and have the pleasure today of being able to see Rescued by Rover due to its being preserved and now being in the public domain. Even in this case though, it is not the original. Rescued by Rover was such a phenomenal hit across Great Britain and beyond, the first negative wore out and the film had to be reshot twice.
Blair is easy to spot in the few films of his that do survive today. Note the diamond mark on his forehead and the distinct white ruff on the left side, sable on the right.
✯ Known Blair Filmography ✯
If you know more shorts which definitely featured Blair, please let us know!
Alice in Wonderland (1903) – Possibly Blair’s first film. He can only be seen for an instant.
Rescued by Rover (1905) – The film that launched not only Blair’s career, but the whole concept of a narrative dog movie.
Rover Takes a Call (1905) – A curtain call short shown after Rescued by Rover.
Dumb Sagacity (1907) – In which Blair costarred with the horse who played Black Beauty in 1906. (Note “dumb” meant mute at that time.)
The Dog Outwits the Kidnapper (1908) – Similar to Rescued by Rover, but now “Rover” drives the kidnapped girl back home himself. This is one of Blair’s only surviving shorts.
The Dog Thief (1908)
The Dog and the Bone (1909)
The Dog Came Back (1909)
The Shepherd’s Dog (1909) – Blair guides the shepherd to save his daughter from the snow.
The Detective’s Dog (1910)
The Dog Chaperone (1910) – A man must win over the dog before the woman.
Love Me, Love My Dog (1910)
The Dog’s Devotion (1911) – Blair saves a marriage.
Rover the Peacemaker (1911)
Lost in the Woods (1912) – Blair leads lost children home.
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The Smooth Collie is so scarce in film we have yet to found one in a real role. Also see Rough Collie movies.
The title links will take you to Amazon movie pages (Reel Dogs earns a referral fee at no cost to you) or, for rarer titles, alternative sources for the films.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers * Year: 1954 * Country: US * Breed content: See note
Dogs are seen darting around the background in several scenes, including one that looks like a sable Smooth Collie, although this may very well be a mixed breed.
Know any Smooth Collie movies? Please send info to moviedogs@gmail.com. Thank you!
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The title links will take you to Amazon movie pages (Reel Dogs earns a referral fee at no cost to you) or, for rarer titles, alternative sources for the films.
Lassie * Year: 2005 * Country: France/Ireland/UK/US * Breed content: High
Very few remakes are just as good as the original while adding something new and improved along the way. This 2005 Lassie is one of those special films.
Under Construction
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You can send new dog movie info to moviedogs@gmail.com. Thank you!
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