Dogs Is Dogs (1931) User Reviews

Dogs Is Dogs is a nearly perfect mixture of pathos and humor for "Our Gang"

[tavm · 8/10 · 8 February 2008]

This Hal Roach comedy short, Dogs Is Dogs, is the one hundred tenth in the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series and the twenty-second talkie. With their father away, Wheezer and Dorothy are stuck with a mean stepmother and equally mean stepbrother in Spud. In addition, while Spud's dog Nero is allowed to play in bed with him because of his being pedigreed, Wheezer's Pete is dismissed as an alley dog. Since she's going out for awhile, Spud's mother tells Wheezer not to get her son dirty. During breakfast as Spud helps himself to some ham and eggs while Wheezer and Dorothy are stuck with the same old hash, Stymie comes in and manages to con skeptical Spud to cook some more ham and eggs by saying they can talk. As he, Wheezer, and Dorothy eat their breakfast, Spud has left and gotten himself stuck down a well that his dog pushed him into. Hearing this news, Wheezer and Stymie take their time in rescuing him and when they finally do, Spud threatens to tell his mom so they let go of the rope making him fall down again! This time, Spud constantly tells them he won't tell then reneges again after he's finally out! "Well, the dunking you got is worth the whipping I'll get!" exclaims Wheezer proudly. At this point, Spud finds chicken feathers on Mr. Brown's farm and knows Nero's been striking again but blames it on Pete. So as Mr. Brown brings his gun, Wheezer, Stymie, and Dorothy, try to hide Pete in the hayloft before pelting Mr. Brown with eggs. A policeman stops Mr. Brown as he's readying to shoot Pete who gets sent to the pound since he has no license. A woman notices Weezer crying for his dog and pays the $2.00 to get Pete out. She turns out to be his aunt who explains her brother was too ill to care for Wheezer and Dorothy. With no love lost between the stepmother and the aunt, the aunt leaves her alone but not before literally kicking her butt! As the car leaves, Weezer wishes Stymie was with him. He doesn't know it but his wish comes true when the bald-headed kid with the derby stows on the trunk tire as we fade out...With equal parts pathos and humor, Dogs Is Dogs is one of the most heart-wrenching and hilarious "Our Gang" shorts ever. The highlight is definitely Stymie's putting one over on Spud on the whole "Ham and Eggs talking" bit especially the quotes he gives them. Blanch Payson is certainly one of the meanest adults ever depicted in an "Our Gang" comedy and Spud himself makes later "Our Gang"-er Butch a pansy in comparison! While Billy Gilbert usually goes for laughs, his Mr. Brown is appropriately cruel in trying to get rid of our favorite ring-around-one-eye dog Pete. And frequent adult "Our Gang" player Lyle Tayo makes the most of her scenes as the kindly aunt that rescues Wheezer, Pete, and Dorothy at the end. So in summation, I definitely recommend Dogs Is Dogs.

Tears & Laughter With The Little Rascals

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 15 May 2000]

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

Living with their wicked stepmother, Wheezer & Dorothy discover that DOGS IS DOGS when the evil woman threatens Pete, but protects nasty Sherwood's pedigreed Nero. Things start to move fast, however, when Sherwood falls down a well & Pete is accused of killing the neighbor's chickens.

A very good little film, with equal measures of comedy & tears. It's difficult to watch Wheezer being beaten. Standout performance from the inimitable Stymie. Highlight: Stymie's ham & eggs story. That's Billy Gilbert as the crazed neighbor with the gun.

WHEEZER AND STYMIE, AT THEIR BEST

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 1 November 2022]

DOGS IS DOGS is a terrific comedy, and a bit on the sentimental side. It truly reflects the Depression era as Wheezer and Dorothy are forced to live with their evil stepmother or face life on the streets, as most of their other pals seem to be doing. To make matters worse their stepmom wants to get rid of Pete the dog, because its their dog --and he's suspected of killing a neighbor's chickens.

What a mess these kids are in and Wheezer gets the brunt of the punishment. Additionally, Stymie is fun to watch as the man with a plan to save the day. The acting is spot on as the kids do a remarkable job with their roles and are quite convincing in some dramatic scenes. Special nod to Billy Gilbert, who plays Mr. Brown, a hot headed neighbor (with a big mouth!) who is out to shoot Pete. Long time Hal Roach character actress Lyle Tayo to the rescue as Wheezer and Dorothy's "real" aunt (and who has a nice car).

The ending is the best one ever, Hal Roach style.

What us kids grew up on back in the day, and still watching. Amen. Look for the Little Rascals/Our Gang dvd box set of short films. And THANK YOU for so many cable stations, such as the MOVIES NET. Re-running the Little Rascals after many long years.

Shows just how much so many kids love dogs!

[petersgrgm · 8 May 2008]

"Dogs Is Dogs", despite the (appropriately selected title) says a lot about dogs, and how so many children love them. Pete the Pup, much a part of the Our Gang Comedy scene, was loved by Wheezer, but his step brother Spud did not appreciate such love between kid and dog. Spud loved his OWN pooch Nero more; when Nero devoured one of a neighbor's chickens, Spud blamed poor Pete, whom Mr. Brown tried to shoot dead! The cop stopped that but Pete had no license, so ended up in the dog pound. Dorothy and Wheezer's aunt, their father's sister, saw how upset Wheezer was, as their stepmother refused the $2 for Pete's license, but their aunt paid it. (Lyle Tayo, playing the aunt, was in numerous Our Gang shorts, sometimes as a nice lady, as in this episode, in others as a dasmal-dame mother, like "Readin' and Writin'", even as a disagreeable old crone, as the headmistress in "Mush and Milk".) This Our-Ganger did not start out well, as Wheezer was spanked unjustly by the stepmother, as if she regarded spanking as the best punishment in the world (which it is NOT)! Yet it had a happy ending, when Wheezer and Dorothy were taken under care of their aunt, who would look after them until Daddy got well, and moved out of the home of the stepmother and stepbrother. Indeed, I had just two years ago an experience reminiscent of this episode, when I moved from cramped apartment to much roomier and more convenient one; I said good-by to neighbors at former apartment building, and felt slight twinge; by same token, Wheezer was a bit sad at moving away from Stymie, a pal living nearby, but he tagged along. So, it ended well, and is eloquent of what dogs mean to kids

LASSIE fans may recall that this super dog . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 6 January 2018]

. . . helped get "Little Timmy" OUT of wells, rather than butting his young American master INTO them. DOGS IS DOGS is yet another proof that Nature, Fate, and Canine Karma move in opposite directions up in Canadia (compared to the Civilized World). Little Lord Fauntleroy (aka, "Sherwood" here) gets a well-deserved drenching when his dog "Nero" dunks him down Mr. Brown's well so that the evil mutt can devour another one of Mr. Brown's chickens. Sherwood then fingers Wheezer's bed buddy, a pit bull named Petey, as the fowl killer, causing Mr. Brown to spray rifle shots all around Petey and his playmates. When a cop arrives at the scene of this active shooter seemingly Hell-bent upon Romper Room Carnage, the so-called lawman leaves this serial child assaulter untouched while hauling PETEY off to Doggie Jail. None of these events could be imagined as taking place in America, but they'll be sure to strike viewers as "par for the course" when set, as they are, up in Canadia. Up North a few miles from the Canadaysinn border is a tourist trap called "The Mystery Spot," where water runs uphill, the sun sets in the East, and the Earth is flat. Dogs may be dogs, but this short makes viewers wonder if Canadayinns are actually people.

A typical Our Gang short

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 19 March 2017]

DOGS IS DOGS is another Our Gang comedy short based around the popular character of Pete the Pup. I watched a colourised version as part of a package featured on Amazon Prime. This effort fits plenty of situational comedy into the running time, from egg throwing in a barn to horrible step parents and attempts to evade a dog catcher. It's not a particular laugh-out-loud adventure like some of Our Gang's efforts, but it certainly passes the time amiably enough and Pete is reliably hilarious.

Not as good as it starts out being (Spoiler Warning)

[xidax · 5/10 · 21 December 2000]

The first five minutes are affecting, with a traumatic scene between Wheezer (who is unusually good) and his step-relatives. Looking it over, though, I think it should have come further on in the story. It makes the later scenes of persecution anticlimactic. Then there's the fact that, after seeing Wheezer has a sister, a smart dog, a best friend and (eventually) an aunt who all love him, he doesn't seem so bad off. Some time before the picture ended I was sorrier for nasty little Sherwood, who only has chicken-thieving Nero and his creepy mother, who snarls at him at the picture's end. I doubt that's the feeling the writers meant to inspire. There is a funny breakfast scene, but most of the film is devoted to its drawn-out sob story, which reaches a rather abrupt conclusion.

sweet and sentimental but void of humor

[tomneiman · 5/10 · 20 March 2006]

With Jackie Cooper, Wheezer was both cute and funny. When Jackie Cooper left, there appeared to be a void of humor that would only be filled back up again with the arrival of Kendall "Breezy Brisbane" McComas in "Readin' and Writin'" and Spanky McFarland in "Free Eats". If you are only looking for sentiment and pathos in The Little Rascals, look no further than this two reeler. If you are looking for hilarity and comedy, then there are other Little Rascals Episodes to explore with the likes of Jackie Cooper, Spanky, Stymey, Dickie Moore, Buckwheat, Alfalfa, and adults Edgar Kennedy, Clarence Wilson, Emerson Treacy, Gay Seabrook, and Johnny Arthur.

Enjoyable but a bit unsavory...

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 2 December 2011]

"Dogs is Dogs" isn't so much about dogs but is more a reworking of the Cinderalla story. Wheezer and Dorothy live with their evil step-mother. The step-mother beats Wheezer (and they show it!!!) and treats her own little brat like a king. What will happen to these poor little kids?!

While the ending of the film is VERY satisfying and made the rest of the film much more watchable, "Dogs is Dogs" is still a rather unsavory and disturbing film. As I mentioned above, the step-mom beats poor Wheezer and it looks pretty realistic! There also is a nasty guy (Billy Gilbert) with a shotgun who is trying to kill Pete the Pup!!! What was wrong with the writers in this one?!?! Was it written by the Marquis de Sade?! As a result of the very dark story elements, it is not a particularly good short. The only bright spot, other than the ending, is Wheezer's acting--which (thankfully) had improved since his earlier films.

Among the weaker ones

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 31 August 2015]

"Dogs Is Dogs" is not the same like "Pups is Pups" although Hal Roach and the gang seemed to like going for titles like these. This is a 20-minute short film, in which Wheezer and Dorothy are in trouble in terms of family relations. It is in black-and-white, has some good moments, also dog shots of course, but all in all I did not find this one really entertaining or funny I have to admit. It is not among the best Rascals films I think, even if it is among the most known ones. Director and writer are McGowan and Walker, who made many of these films, many better ones as well. It's not a terrible watch by any means, but as a whole I did not really give it a thumbs-up.

Pretty depressing in spite of a good premise.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 14 November 2019]

This entry of "The Little Rascals" series is probably one that I saw as a kid and most likely forgot because it deals with child and pet abuse and for a little child, is as devastating as Bambi's mother being shot. Blanche Payson is Wheezer's stepmother, a vile woman who spanks Wheezer unjustifiably which indicates why Wheezer's father got sick and had to go live with his sister, Lyle Tayo, who arrives in the nick of time. A local neighbor wants to shoot Petey because Payson's equally nasty son (Sherwood Bailey) turned him in for eating one of his chickens even though Wheezer had just saved his life. Comic Billy Gilbert is completely unfunny in a rare dramatic role as the angry neighbor. The one dimensional characters are detrimental to this being memorable and it explains why I have not seen it in many years.