Fighting to Live (1934)
When attacked by two dogs, Joe Gilmore leaves them on the desert to die. Later one of the dogs saves John Blake from drowning. Men arrive claiming the dog is killing their chickens. They want to kill the dog but John convinces them the dog's fate should be determined by a trial.
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How sad is this?
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
The nominal star of Fighting To Live takes a back seat in this production. Reb Russell plays of all things a mailman who drives a flivver on his rural appointed rounds. The story here is a love triangle that has heavy consequences on a pair of dogs.Marion Schilling is the unwanted object of the attentions of Eddie Phillips and when he gets fresh her trusty dogs attack her. She'd rather have the attentions of the newcomer in town lawyer Steve Pendleton.Later on Phillips captures the dogs and let's them out on the desert to starve. The female gives birth to pups and the male dog tries to provide for his family by stealing chickens from the neighboring farms.But despite his recently acquired fear of humans he saves Steve Pendleton from drowning. And Pendleton insists on a trial before these dogs are killed.Our nominal hero only comes in prominently in the end to capture one of the dogs when they escape. Otherwise it's the supporting cast that does the heavy lifting.Fighting To Live is an independent production with a budget I'm not sure could have broken five figures. There were a gazillion fly by night studios that were making westerns because they were shot outdoors at this time. This might have rated a couple notches higher had a big studio done this story. As it is the story went to the dogs.