Won Ton Ton the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)

Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood is a delightful romp that will delight anyone who's ever been enchanted by the movies. Won Ton Ton is an amazing mutt who gets discovered by a studio bus driver, Grayson Potchuck (Bruce Dern). He soon touches the lives and changes the fortunes of all who cross his path, including Art Carney, Teri Garr and a never funnier Madeline Kahn. There's also a veritable who's who of Golden Age Hollywood talent on display here, and you'll see some of your favorite stars of all time singing and dancing and getting big laughs. See how many you can spot! Won Ton Ton is the dog who saved Hollywood, and he's sure to be the dog that steals your heart! Product Description

long lost gem

I had seen it when it came out but when I rediscovered it on DVD, it was
so Laugh out Loud funny. A brilliant hymn to movies and the script is just a delight. Such a treat to see so many old gems in one film. A real treasure to own... September 2, 2008

Won Ton of actors

WON TON TON, THE DOG THAT SAVED HOLLYWOOD (1976) is a story set in silent-era Hollywood of a starlet, a hack screenwriter and a German Shepherd. The script is slight, but the cast memorable:

Bruce Dern/Madeline Kahn/Art Carney/Phil Silvers/Teri Garr/Ron Leibman

With cameos by (listed alphabetically):
Robert Alda/Morey Amsterdam/Army Archerd/Richard Arlen/Billy Barty/Edgar Bergen/Milton Berle/Janet Blair/Joan Blondell/Rory Calhoun/John Carradine/Jack Carter/Cyd Charisse/Jackie Coogan/Broderick Crawford/Dennis Day/Yvonne De Carlo/Gloria DeHaven/William Demarest/Andy Devine/Alice Faye/Stepin Fetchit/Rhonda Fleming/Eddie Foy Jr./Zsa Zsa Gabor/Shecky Greene/Huntz Hall/Dick Haymes/Sterling Holloway/Tab Hunter/George Jessel/Fernando Lamas/Dorothy Lamour/Jack La Rue/Peter Lawford/Phil Leeds/Keye Luke/Guy Madison/Victor Mature/Virginia Mayo/Mike Mazurki/Ethel Merman/Ann Miller/Ricardo Montalban/Dennis Morgan/Ken Murray/Louis Nye/Walter Pidgeon/Aldo Ray/Ann Rutherford/Dean Stockwell/Regis Toomey/Rudy Vallee/Nancy Walker/Doodles Weaver/Johnny Weissmuller/Jesse White/Henry Wilcoxon/Henny Youngman

Richard Arlen, Jackie Coogan, Jack LaRue and Henry Wilcoxon were all silent screen stars. Doodles Weaver was a member of Spike Jones & his City Slickers; he narrated their horse race record "Feitelbaum." Billy Barty was part of The Lollipop Guild in THE WIZARD OF OZ. Also here are two of the (then) surviving Ritz Bros. and Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, whose surprisingly funny guest appearance on Groucho's YOU BET YOUR LIFE TV quiz show led to a film career!

There's too many other names here to go into each performer's resume; it's sufficient to observe that all of these folks had their heydays.


Pet lovers will also enjoy RHUBARB (1951), a screwball comedy about a cat that inherits a fortune and a baseball team. August 27, 2008

A lot of Fun

The dog deserves an Academy award, and the satirical skits on Hollywood are great.It certainly was thrilling for me to see the stars of the 1930's & 1940's in the 1970's. Favorite gag- a pitchman says to a studio executive- "How about this idea for a movie, a tornado takes a girl from Kansas to a fantasy land where she meets a man made from tin, a lion, and a strawman." Executive- " Will you get out of here!" July 16, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...