Every major studio had its own child star during the 1940s. Fox had Shirley Temple...MGM had Margaret O'Brien...Republic had Twinkle Watts...and RKO had Sharyn Moffett. Little Miss Moffett came from a show biz family and had her first movie role, uncredited, at the age of 11 months.
MY PAL WOLF was her first starring role in a feature at the age of seven. This film was a hit and was the template for most of her other projects at the studio.
Like the other girl child stars, she was a combination of innocent and not-so-innocent. She worked opposite stern authority figures, and she was surrounded by plenty of other cute kids. Oh and there was usually a dog in the story.
The dog in this story is a German Shepherd that she calls Wolf. They become fast friends after she finds him in an old abandoned well that he's fallen into. She climbs down into the well using a rope that snaps in half, and she's stuck down there with him, with only some water. There's a suspenseful scene where she helps the animal scale the rocky walls of the well. He's able to reach the top and run for help.
In the next part, a neighbor couple and their kids are lifting her up to safety as Wolf proudly looks on. Moffett's new no-nonsense governess (Jill Esmond) is also there, looking on.
One thing that makes this story more enjoyable than others of its type is Miss Esmond's performance. She's not mean as much as she's proper, and she is perfectly professional in her exchanges with the girl and the dog.
Even better, she has a contentious battle in the home with the other employees. These include the cook (Una O'Connor) and a charming handyman (George Cleveland). There's a hysterical scene where Esmond becomes their "boss" and forces them to wear proper uniforms.
Esmond blames the other adults for Moffett's uncouth manners. She feels they coddle the child too much. More importantly, she does not feel Moffett should have a dog, it's not dignified; she should have a kitten instead.
The heart of this tale is not really the governess or the pooch's connection to the girl, or the other employed at the estate. It's the girl's nearly non-existent relationship with her parents (Leona Maricle and Bruce Edwards) who are often away overseeing their businesses. Their daughter's time in the well is not even enough to bring them to their senses. It will take something more dramatic.
That something is the fact that Wolf, whom the family has adopted, is actually an army dog. He is part of the service's K-9 division, trained to carry messages and medicine across battlefields. He is AWOL and is scheduled to go overseas. Of course, Moffett and her friends don't want to see Wolf go away. He is taken to an army base.
They visit the animal one last time at the military compound, but Wolf digs his way out. So they take him to find the Secretary of War (Edward Fielding) to see if Wolf can be made exempt from military duty. There's a poignant scene where Mr. Secretary explains to Moffett just how valuable Wolf is to the army. She realizes she has to let Wolf go off to Europe.
This is a film I enjoyed quite a lot. It brings the realities of adult fighting down to the level of a child. It explains difficult concepts in simple language that all children can understand. In the situation dramatized on screen, the girl becomes part of the war effort by sacrificing her beloved pet for the good of the country. In the final scene, the army brings her Wolf's son which she will nurture and help grow strong like his father.
MY PAL WOLF was her first starring role in a feature at the age of seven. This film was a hit and was the template for most of her other projects at the studio.
Like the other girl child stars, she was a combination of innocent and not-so-innocent. She worked opposite stern authority figures, and she was surrounded by plenty of other cute kids. Oh and there was usually a dog in the story.
The dog in this story is a German Shepherd that she calls Wolf. They become fast friends after she finds him in an old abandoned well that he's fallen into. She climbs down into the well using a rope that snaps in half, and she's stuck down there with him, with only some water. There's a suspenseful scene where she helps the animal scale the rocky walls of the well. He's able to reach the top and run for help.
In the next part, a neighbor couple and their kids are lifting her up to safety as Wolf proudly looks on. Moffett's new no-nonsense governess (Jill Esmond) is also there, looking on.
One thing that makes this story more enjoyable than others of its type is Miss Esmond's performance. She's not mean as much as she's proper, and she is perfectly professional in her exchanges with the girl and the dog.
Even better, she has a contentious battle in the home with the other employees. These include the cook (Una O'Connor) and a charming handyman (George Cleveland). There's a hysterical scene where Esmond becomes their "boss" and forces them to wear proper uniforms.
Esmond blames the other adults for Moffett's uncouth manners. She feels they coddle the child too much. More importantly, she does not feel Moffett should have a dog, it's not dignified; she should have a kitten instead.
The heart of this tale is not really the governess or the pooch's connection to the girl, or the other employed at the estate. It's the girl's nearly non-existent relationship with her parents (Leona Maricle and Bruce Edwards) who are often away overseeing their businesses. Their daughter's time in the well is not even enough to bring them to their senses. It will take something more dramatic.
That something is the fact that Wolf, whom the family has adopted, is actually an army dog. He is part of the service's K-9 division, trained to carry messages and medicine across battlefields. He is AWOL and is scheduled to go overseas. Of course, Moffett and her friends don't want to see Wolf go away. He is taken to an army base.
They visit the animal one last time at the military compound, but Wolf digs his way out. So they take him to find the Secretary of War (Edward Fielding) to see if Wolf can be made exempt from military duty. There's a poignant scene where Mr. Secretary explains to Moffett just how valuable Wolf is to the army. She realizes she has to let Wolf go off to Europe.
This is a film I enjoyed quite a lot. It brings the realities of adult fighting down to the level of a child. It explains difficult concepts in simple language that all children can understand. In the situation dramatized on screen, the girl becomes part of the war effort by sacrificing her beloved pet for the good of the country. In the final scene, the army brings her Wolf's son which she will nurture and help grow strong like his father.