This movie will stay with you for the rest of your life. I did not see the movie until 2002 on TCM, but the senate speech about the love of a dog quoted in the movie was excerpted in a comic book I read as a boy in the late 50s. I would love to see the movie again. Of course, like many people, I believe that every movie with Lionel Barrymore is a classic on some level. The movie is otherwise pretty much standard fare for the 30s: a low budget film made with contract players. But if you are a lover of animals, this movie is a classic that ranks right up there with Old Yeller, The Biscuiteater (original version), or even the Lassie series. You get a little flavor for what life was like in a pre-WWII America.
19 Reviews
A life affirming film
AlsExGal13 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I really loved this film, and though I can appreciate the sentiments of the people who have posted - in many cases - their seventy plus year recollections of it, they are wrong in some of the more important details. The dog Bugle Ann is not caught in a trap one night during a raging storm and found the next morning by a heartbroken Lionel Barrymore. I almost didn't watch this movie believing that this would be the outcome. It is not. The dog's fate turns out to be the big mystery of the film, and what became of her is not resolved for years after her disappearance one night.
Lionel Barrymore plays farmer Spring Davis, basically retired, who spends his evenings with other fellows in a Missouri farm community letting their hounds loose to chase foxes. In modern times this rather cruel sport has me rooting for the foxes, but that doesn't mean that Davis' devotion to the runt of the litter of one of his hounds that dies in childbirth won't mightily tug at your heart strings. Of course this runt grows up to be Bugle Ann, named as such for her "bugling" bark. Trouble develops when a grumpy old man, Jacob Terry, returns along with his daughter Camden (Maureen O'Sullivan) to the home once owned by his wife, whose family "ran hounds" themselves years before.
Apparently, Jacob was an unhappily married man when his wife was alive, laying the blame of much of his unhappy life on the people of the area to which he has returned. Since his daughter reminds him of his wife, he can find only fault with her too. Jacob has a black hole of a soul - if he's unhappy everyone is going to be, and his first act is to put up a fence for the sheep he intends to raise that is intentionally dangerous to the hounds that run near his property. Tempers rapidly escalate between Spring and Jacob, partially over the fence and partially over the fact that Jacob doesn't want his daughter to have anything to do with Spring's son, Benjy, who has taken a real liking to Camden. One night Bugle Ann goes missing, one member of the search party thinks he hear a dog's painful yip on Jacob's property, and a tragic confrontation results.
The cast in this film is outstanding, and although it is a family drama in the MGM tradition with a bit of an outlandish happy ending, it is certainly a beautiful piece of work. I particularly loved Spring's speech about how anything or anyone else could desert a man - his friends, his money, even his children, but that the loyal dog would take his last breath standing by his master despite his circumstances. It's too bad this one isn't televised more often or better remembered.
Lionel Barrymore plays farmer Spring Davis, basically retired, who spends his evenings with other fellows in a Missouri farm community letting their hounds loose to chase foxes. In modern times this rather cruel sport has me rooting for the foxes, but that doesn't mean that Davis' devotion to the runt of the litter of one of his hounds that dies in childbirth won't mightily tug at your heart strings. Of course this runt grows up to be Bugle Ann, named as such for her "bugling" bark. Trouble develops when a grumpy old man, Jacob Terry, returns along with his daughter Camden (Maureen O'Sullivan) to the home once owned by his wife, whose family "ran hounds" themselves years before.
Apparently, Jacob was an unhappily married man when his wife was alive, laying the blame of much of his unhappy life on the people of the area to which he has returned. Since his daughter reminds him of his wife, he can find only fault with her too. Jacob has a black hole of a soul - if he's unhappy everyone is going to be, and his first act is to put up a fence for the sheep he intends to raise that is intentionally dangerous to the hounds that run near his property. Tempers rapidly escalate between Spring and Jacob, partially over the fence and partially over the fact that Jacob doesn't want his daughter to have anything to do with Spring's son, Benjy, who has taken a real liking to Camden. One night Bugle Ann goes missing, one member of the search party thinks he hear a dog's painful yip on Jacob's property, and a tragic confrontation results.
The cast in this film is outstanding, and although it is a family drama in the MGM tradition with a bit of an outlandish happy ending, it is certainly a beautiful piece of work. I particularly loved Spring's speech about how anything or anyone else could desert a man - his friends, his money, even his children, but that the loyal dog would take his last breath standing by his master despite his circumstances. It's too bad this one isn't televised more often or better remembered.
Actually, a very memorable film
irvthom1-124 December 2007
Although I was only 9 years old at the time, this film somehow left a deep impression on me. Certainly not because it was the first I'd seen I had been watching films for several years by then. No, it was the feeling generated in a kid's heart . . . anyone who loved dogs would have felt it, I'm sure. I don't even remember much else about it. Just the baying of that lonely, doomed animal, Bugle Ann, caught in a steel trap on a foggy night. I don't even recall the details around it. They found her the next morning (Lionel Barrymore in one of his more moving scenes) when it was too late. It was a rare film, in those days, that left me feeling worse when I left the movie house than when I went in.
(Of course, the impression might have been solidified for me when I discovered that the girl I eventually married had also been deeply saddened by this film one of HER earliest film memories, and that was in the late 1940s when we talked about it.)
I do wish I could see a re-issue of it.
(Of course, the impression might have been solidified for me when I discovered that the girl I eventually married had also been deeply saddened by this film one of HER earliest film memories, and that was in the late 1940s when we talked about it.)
I do wish I could see a re-issue of it.
Born in 1929 I was 8 yrs. old when I saw "Voice of Bugle Ann"
joyalice28 August 2004
I cannot begin to tell the readers how Voice of Bugle Ann affected me!
As a little girl I knew that I loved all animals, big and small. Saturdays were my day to take my 15 cent allowance and walk to downtown Binghamton (NY) to see a movie at the Strand theater. This was my every Saturday routine.
5 cents would buy my way in to see the movie and I always headed for the front four rows of seats. I spent the remaining 10 cents on as much candy as it would buy.
I guess Lionel Barrymore was like a movie "father" to me and I adored him! And when I watched Bugle Ann and saw how loving he was with his companion and how hurt he was when Bugle Ann was lost to him, I couldn't stop crying.
This movie made a lifetime impression on me of how you should love and cherish any animal that God has put in your care. You should consider them a part of your family. You should express your affection for them whenever you're together. And, it's a good thing to sit down and talk to them about the things you have on mind, even your worries. Treat them as if they were another human.
I have a Yorkie mix and we are at one another's side 24-hrs. a day.
And something that has stayed with me from the age of 8 to my current age of 75...I have NEVER forgotten the beautiful bugle of Bugle Ann. I have heard it at times when we have driven through the Everglades. But, strangest of all, I will hear it at night time. I always tell myself "that's Bugle Ann and she's telling us she's OK by bugling..."
When, of course, I know that it's really a neighbor's dog.
As a little girl I knew that I loved all animals, big and small. Saturdays were my day to take my 15 cent allowance and walk to downtown Binghamton (NY) to see a movie at the Strand theater. This was my every Saturday routine.
5 cents would buy my way in to see the movie and I always headed for the front four rows of seats. I spent the remaining 10 cents on as much candy as it would buy.
I guess Lionel Barrymore was like a movie "father" to me and I adored him! And when I watched Bugle Ann and saw how loving he was with his companion and how hurt he was when Bugle Ann was lost to him, I couldn't stop crying.
This movie made a lifetime impression on me of how you should love and cherish any animal that God has put in your care. You should consider them a part of your family. You should express your affection for them whenever you're together. And, it's a good thing to sit down and talk to them about the things you have on mind, even your worries. Treat them as if they were another human.
I have a Yorkie mix and we are at one another's side 24-hrs. a day.
And something that has stayed with me from the age of 8 to my current age of 75...I have NEVER forgotten the beautiful bugle of Bugle Ann. I have heard it at times when we have driven through the Everglades. But, strangest of all, I will hear it at night time. I always tell myself "that's Bugle Ann and she's telling us she's OK by bugling..."
When, of course, I know that it's really a neighbor's dog.
Ode to a dog
bkoganbing24 January 2020
The origins of The Voice Of Bugle Ann come from an argument that lawyer and
future Senator George Vest made to a jury. He got his client off who killed a man
who killed his dog. Mackinley Kantor wrote the novel inspired by said closing
argument and MGM turned it into a film.
Lionel Barrymore plays the Missouri farmer whose dog neighbor Dudley Digges allegedly killed. Barrymore shoots Digges and goes to jail for it. But with Barrymore's son Eric Linden falling for Digges's daughter Maureen O'Sullivan that is hardly the end of the story from the human or the dog point of view.
George Vest's tribute to the dog lived on long after his political and he was over and done with. Only that New York Sun editorial about Santa Claus has more popular appeal. Although it's the defendant Barrymore says the words rather than his attorney Lionel does Vest's speech proud.
And the story and rustic characters it portrays is pleasant and easy to take. It's an ode to a dog just as Vest's speech was.
Lionel Barrymore plays the Missouri farmer whose dog neighbor Dudley Digges allegedly killed. Barrymore shoots Digges and goes to jail for it. But with Barrymore's son Eric Linden falling for Digges's daughter Maureen O'Sullivan that is hardly the end of the story from the human or the dog point of view.
George Vest's tribute to the dog lived on long after his political and he was over and done with. Only that New York Sun editorial about Santa Claus has more popular appeal. Although it's the defendant Barrymore says the words rather than his attorney Lionel does Vest's speech proud.
And the story and rustic characters it portrays is pleasant and easy to take. It's an ode to a dog just as Vest's speech was.
"Spring, you're so plumb crazy over that hound you make me sick!"
utgard1420 June 2016
Charming story about Missouri farmer Spring Davis (Lionel Barrymore) who has a beloved foxhound named Bugle Ann. When anti-social neighbor Jacob Terry (Dudley Digges) decides to put up barbed wire to prevent the foxhounds from running on his property, it creates bad blood between the two old men. Eventually the conflict leads to bloodshed. To add to the drama, Davis' son (Eric Linden) and Terry's daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) fall in love.
Sentimental drama, a bit of a tearjerker at times, carried largely by Barrymore in a characteristically likable turn. Dudley Digges is also good in a completely different way as a totally hissable villain whose only redeeming quality is that his daughter is played by the adorable Maureen O'Sullivan. Weak-voiced Eric Linden does a decent job. Also fine in supporting roles are Spring Byington and Charley Grapewin. It's a very entertaining movie. Some of the revelations late in the movie are eye roll-worthy but this isn't the type of film you watch for the plot. I can't imagine any fans of Barrymore not liking this one.
Sentimental drama, a bit of a tearjerker at times, carried largely by Barrymore in a characteristically likable turn. Dudley Digges is also good in a completely different way as a totally hissable villain whose only redeeming quality is that his daughter is played by the adorable Maureen O'Sullivan. Weak-voiced Eric Linden does a decent job. Also fine in supporting roles are Spring Byington and Charley Grapewin. It's a very entertaining movie. Some of the revelations late in the movie are eye roll-worthy but this isn't the type of film you watch for the plot. I can't imagine any fans of Barrymore not liking this one.
Incredibly sentimental and a bit dated
planktonrules11 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I love Lionel Barrymore and whenever I see one of his movies coming on TV, I'm sure to see it. On the other hand, I don't particularly love dog movies. I know I'll sound like the ultimate curmudgeon, but I didn't enjoy "Old Yeller" or the Lassie films--though when I was a kid, I did enjoy them. So this movie was a hard-sell to me.
The film is about an old Missourian who adores fox hounds. He raises them and loves them more than anything in life. In particular, he adores his newest pride and joy, Bugle Ann--a dog who was the run of the litter but has amazing hunting instincts and a wonderfully piercing and unique cry.
When Jacob Terry (Dudley Diggs) moves into the old abandoned Camden farm, he irritates his neighbors by fencing off the property with barbed wire--which poses a hazard to all his neighbors' hounds. But Terry isn't just interested in fencing off his land, but he deliberately antagonizes his neighbors--threatening to shoot any dog that comes on his property. Eventually, when it appears Terry has killed Bugle Ann, Barrymore snaps--and a huge confrontation is inevitable.
While I love Lionel Barrymore, here her was a bit too sentimental in his portrayal. He was good, but a big "gooshy". I was actually more impressed by Dudley Diggs. He was able to hide his English accent quite well and really made you hate him--and surely made the audience react to his characterization.
As for the film, it's not bad but not among Barrymore's best. As I said, I am not a huge fan of dog films and the sentiment level was very, very high. I own a dog and have owned them for years but just didn't care that much for a tale about fox hounds--especially because I tend to root for the fox! Watchable but far from great--this is the sort of film that played well in the 1930s and 40s, but today seems very dated.
The film is about an old Missourian who adores fox hounds. He raises them and loves them more than anything in life. In particular, he adores his newest pride and joy, Bugle Ann--a dog who was the run of the litter but has amazing hunting instincts and a wonderfully piercing and unique cry.
When Jacob Terry (Dudley Diggs) moves into the old abandoned Camden farm, he irritates his neighbors by fencing off the property with barbed wire--which poses a hazard to all his neighbors' hounds. But Terry isn't just interested in fencing off his land, but he deliberately antagonizes his neighbors--threatening to shoot any dog that comes on his property. Eventually, when it appears Terry has killed Bugle Ann, Barrymore snaps--and a huge confrontation is inevitable.
While I love Lionel Barrymore, here her was a bit too sentimental in his portrayal. He was good, but a big "gooshy". I was actually more impressed by Dudley Diggs. He was able to hide his English accent quite well and really made you hate him--and surely made the audience react to his characterization.
As for the film, it's not bad but not among Barrymore's best. As I said, I am not a huge fan of dog films and the sentiment level was very, very high. I own a dog and have owned them for years but just didn't care that much for a tale about fox hounds--especially because I tend to root for the fox! Watchable but far from great--this is the sort of film that played well in the 1930s and 40s, but today seems very dated.
fun for everyone
treesa-218 January 2005
I loved this movie . It is so good, reminds me of where the red fern grows ,sorta. I have wanted to see it again for 13 yrs ,my mom and I watched it yrs ago. This movie will stir the soul , at least it did mine . My mother and I watched it and knew our husbands would love it but have never seen it again or heard of it ,even asked local movie stores with no luck.Glad to have found it on this site . Hope to be able to buy it . If you love older movies and one that has animals , then this one you will love .
I am really ready to see again . I think it should be re-made ,and put on the big screen. I believe all kids would enjoy this clean movie . it has a sad part but not nothing like todays shows .
I am really ready to see again . I think it should be re-made ,and put on the big screen. I believe all kids would enjoy this clean movie . it has a sad part but not nothing like todays shows .
The snarl of unfriendly neighbors.
mark.waltz29 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
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.
You'll never forget Bugle Ann
crunchykitten15 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I just watched this movie on TCM for the first time in more than 60 years. Like many other older reviewers, I didn't remember the plot with 100% accuracy. I just remembered how strongly I reacted to it emotionally- I think I can't have been more than 8 years old when I first saw it.
It was terrific. As a kid, I was first strongly impressed by the hunting scenes. I'm a southerner, and I knew many relatives and friend who hunted in the style shown in the film- sitting around a fire, listening to the hounds chase a coon or a fox. The film was adapted from a book by a great American writer, MacKinley Kantor. The book certainly has a lot of sentiment going for it. But it also has a strong, mysterious plot, fine performances from good actors, and a simple sweetness that's impossible to find in a contemporary film, even those aimed at sub-teens. Nor is it unintelligent- another quality that's currently hard to come by.
It was terrific. As a kid, I was first strongly impressed by the hunting scenes. I'm a southerner, and I knew many relatives and friend who hunted in the style shown in the film- sitting around a fire, listening to the hounds chase a coon or a fox. The film was adapted from a book by a great American writer, MacKinley Kantor. The book certainly has a lot of sentiment going for it. But it also has a strong, mysterious plot, fine performances from good actors, and a simple sweetness that's impossible to find in a contemporary film, even those aimed at sub-teens. Nor is it unintelligent- another quality that's currently hard to come by.
The suffering of a dog and her owner.
jenbailey-6375920 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Good cast- terribly sad movie. SPOILERS*** I do not like sad animal movies, Old Yeller and Ring Of Bright Water for example. I read the synopsis on TCM and as I am a big Lionel Barrymore fan was interested in the movie. I read reviews and googled to make sure I wasn't going to see a tragic animal film. An improbable happy ending - hah! I watched the movie only to hear about a dog being hit by a car, surviving to give birth, weakly trying to make it home to her beloved owner only to strangle to death in a fence. The owner (Lionel Barrymore ) got one of her pups so I guess that makes for a happy ending for some. Liked the actors hated the movie.
I have not seen this movie but am interested in any info about it
texaskingfish29 June 2006
This movie was filmed in and around my home town of Mendon Missouri. A small farming community in north central Missouri. It was mostly filmed on the farm of Tom Bash who at the time had previously been Judge of the Eastern District of Kansas City and Sheriff of Jackson County(Kansas City) Missouri. Tom bash was famous for the different types of Hunts and parties he hosted there and many people came from all over to join in including, on a regular basis the future President Harry Truman I have heard my grandparents and other older folk from my community talk about when this movie happened there. Anyone living who may have been involved in this picture or may have anecdotal information or artifacts from the filming of this movie. I would be very much interested in hearing from you. Thanks
Long Awaited Sentimental Journey
ifyougnufilms17 May 2016
Whenever my father would hear the music of a distant, musical hound, he'd say jokingly, "It's the voice of Bugle Ann!" For more than fifty years I've waited to see this movie and learn why it was so memorable for him. Happily TCM televised it today. At first I was afraid it was going to be too slow and rustically sentimental for me, but I stayed with it because it brought back memories of my dad and some of our hunts with hounds in the Midwest. Eventually Barrymore's great courtroom speech about man's most loyal and innocent friend and the haunting voice of Bugle Ann herself brought quiet pleasure, and I shucked off my modern day cynicism long enough to enjoy the wonderfully sentimental ending.
Love this movie
rigoletto-795207 July 2021
I caught this movie by accident the one and only time I caught TCM playng it. I love a good movie about a dog. Lionel Barrymore I discovered as a actor in this movie also. I wish that it were played more often on TCM and released on DVD a good story about a dog and the de motion of its man owner a must see for any dog lovers.
A haunting film (as opposed to a hunting film)
irvthom114 April 2004
I have been watching for some reappearance of this film for many years, with no satisfaction. You see, I saw it as a child, and there are VERY few films that have remained with me from that long ago. (This very day happens to be my 77th birthday).
It is a touching tale involving a favored hunting dog that somehow gets caught in an animal trap and spends a stormy night baying for some help, but unreachable due to the raging storm. At least, that's the way I remember it. When the storm lets up, the anxious searchers who could hear him but could not locate or get to him find his trapped and dead body. It was so movingly done that I have never forgotten its effect on me.
Irv Thomas
It is a touching tale involving a favored hunting dog that somehow gets caught in an animal trap and spends a stormy night baying for some help, but unreachable due to the raging storm. At least, that's the way I remember it. When the storm lets up, the anxious searchers who could hear him but could not locate or get to him find his trapped and dead body. It was so movingly done that I have never forgotten its effect on me.
Irv Thomas
My Favorite Dog Movie
spencerc221722 October 2018
Where can I get Voice of Bugle Ann on VHS?
GB_TechWriter8 September 2002
This was the first movie my grandparents saw together...and they're still reminiscing about it. I want to get them a copy and watch it with them. I can't seem to find it online in VHS (video tape) anywhere...only the book at Borders. The TCM channel played it in July 2002, so I wonder if anyone taped it then? I would pay $$ for a copy! Thanks, --GB_TechWriter
For Dog lovers and...
kenandraf30 July 2002
Good drama about Fox hunting in 1930's Ozarks.The film had good all around production and a good cast.To nitpick,the film was kind of slow and the love story could have been better.Also,the script was average.But still hits the spot for those who love Fox hunting,Dogs,Ozark lifestyles,1930's drama films,and for big fans of the lead actors.....
Facts about this movie
Texaskingfish-18 August 2008
This movie was filmed around my home town of Mendon Missouri. Mostly on the farm of Tom Bash. I believe he financed part of the filming of this picture. He was judge of the eastern district in Missouri in the 20's and Sheriff of Jackson County Mo. in the 30's. He offered to adopt my father Calvin Collins but my father refused because he was told he would have to wear shoes and have to finish his homework before he went fishing. Bash hosted many large hunts on his vast farm and they were attended by many dignitaries including Harry Truman. Lionel Barrymore attended parties at the Bash Ranch aside from being there to make this film.
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