The film, adapted from Eleanor Atkinson’s 1912 novel (itself coming from local lore,) is set in 19th century Scotland and focuses on the exploits of a little Skye Terrier named Bobby. The dog of an unnamed family of farmers, Bobby nevertheless has chosen to be the loyal companion of an elderly shepherd who goes by the name Auld Jock (played with a believable world-weariness by Alex Mackenzie,) who works for the family seasonally. At the start of the film, Jock attempts to leave Bobby with the young daughter of the family as he and the farmer (played by Gordon Jackson) take their wool to market in Edinburgh. Once they are on their way, we learn that the farmer and Jock have come to an agreement: Jock has become too old and sick for the family to support, and they plan to leave him in Edinburgh. Before long, Bobby escapes the farm and runs the entire 30 miles to the city to be with his adopted master.
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| Just me an' me terrier, who sits on his derriere ... och! |
At first glance, one expects Greyfriars Bobby to be a fairly straight-forward affair; a light-hearted romp about a spunky terrier and his loveable old master. Watching this film soon after Darby O’Gill And The Little People, one can be forgiven for expecting a lesser copy of that movie (and yes, I know the Irish and the Scottish are two completely different people, but bear with me here;) but while Darby O’Gill was a whimsical pastoral, Greyfriars Bobby soon becomes something rather more bleak. Once arriving in Edinburgh, we find that the plan to leave Auld Jock in the city is just that - a plan to leave him to fend for himself. Whether the farmer believes the old shepherd will find refuge someplace is never revealed, though his somewhat caustic manner suggests that he really doesn’t care. Upon reaching Edinburgh, little Bobby discovers the old man in the street, taking refuge near a broken-down cart. Only once the dog joins him does Jock decide to seek shelter indoors.
The pair are briefly taken in by a generous tavern owner, Mr. Traill (the impressively-sideburn’d Laurence Naismith,) but then wander off once it's suggested that Jock should be taken to a sanitarium to see a doctor. Jock and Bobby end up in a rattily decrepit boarding house, run by a nasty old caretaker (Freda Jackson) who looks a bit like the witch from Snow White. After finding some comfort from Bobby’s “sit-up and beg” tricks (and an old Bible the shepherd isn’t able to read,) Jock passes away in the night from untreated pneumonia. He's buried in Greyfriar's Kirkyard, and despite the efforts of the church’s caretaker, Mr. Brown (How Green Was My Valley’s Donald Crisp,) Bobby faithfully returns there every night to sleep atop the old man’s final resting place.
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| Dog days are over |
The movie is set within the lowest strata of Scotland’s social order, in dimly-lit boarding houses and run-down tenements. Far from the sunny Irish village of Darby O’Gill, this film's Edinburgh is under a perpetual state of dampness, inhabited not by smiling country folk, but sneering and uncaring dregs. Even the sympathetic central characters spend much of the time trying not to outwardly display charity or compassion, instead quickly buttoning-up their emotions behind facades of Scottish steel.
Greyfriars Bobby was helmed by Don Chaffey, a prolific and eclectic working-director who before this headed up such films as 1957’s The Flesh Is Weak and 1958’s A Question Of Adultery, and would go on to direct the 1966 Raquel Welch vehicle One Million Years B.C. (as well as two other unusual “child-and-animal” features for Disney: 1964’s The Three Lives Of Thomasina and 1977’s Pete’s Dragon.) Again unlike Darby O’Gill, where one can consistently feel the hand of Walt Disney himself over the whole production, Greyfriars Bobby seems like a film that was passed along to the boys in the studio, left alone to adapt the story without much interference from Uncle Walt. The conspicuous absence of the usual roster of actors, artists and musicians one notes in most of the studio’s films during this era is notable in this regard.
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| Och! May I have a little kiss before you go? |
The majority of the film involves Mr. Traill and Mr. Brown discreetly vying for Bobby’s affections, as the dog befriends both old bachelor Traill and Mr. Brown's wife (played by Kay Walsh) - as well as the impoverished children of the neighborhood. The terrier, however, refuses to sleep anywhere but atop Jock’s grave. The film becomes something of a legal drama by the end, as local authorities threaten to put Bobby down unless someone claims him as his owner and pays a back-log of licensing fees. The two stubborn men both refuse, as Bobby never “rests for the night” anywhere but the churchyard - which isn’t supposed to allow dogs anyway. The tenement children scrape together what little money they can to spare the dog, but luckily the Lord Provost of Edinburgh (a warm Andrew Cruickshank) decrees that Bobby belongs to the city, and is free to roam as he pleases. The film ends with various townsfolk wishing Bobby a good day as he tours the city, and the tenement children calling “goodnight” to him as he rests on Jock’s grave, now grown-over with vibrant green heather.
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| Attica! Attica! Och! |
As I alluded earlier, this is a sweet little film, and one that doesn’t talk down to its audience. The bleakness of the first act isn’t so overwhelming as to become depressing - a distinct possibility given the subject matter. One can’t help but feel a bit of joy watching the terrier brighten the lives of the downtrodden characters as Greyfriars Bobby progresses, mainly because the movie never becomes too cloy or overly-sentimental. It’s a shame that this film probably won’t be seen by many in the future, as it’s not one of Disney’s better-known live-action movies. I’m certainly glad that I was able to enjoy it, and recommend that anyone reading seek it out and give it a try.
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