There are far too many spotted dogs in this film, but Toby gives it ***** Airedale points because the hero is an ADT. Newton the wire fox thinks the ADT gets far too much credit and rates it a **. MJ was bored except when the dogs were on screen, but thinks it should be on the list because of the heroic ADT and because snooty Newton gets his due later in this list.

A veritable feast for Airedale fans, this movie features animals with far better acting skills than the key actors, who move about as if they were the Pod People from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The story centers on Hector, an Airedale on a ship, and some hijinks or other over a valuable necklace and some villains. I can't recall exactly because I was so focused on the dogs. This Disney flick is ranked fourth because it's a very bad movie disguised by the lovely ADTs that people the screen. Seven or eight ADTs played Hector, one of them the legendary champion Bengal Jokyl something-or-other. Worth seeing just to look at the dogs.

A better movie than reviewers at the time gave it credit for, it's a ripped-off version of the Broadway play and stars Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak and a Cairn Terrier with the movie name of Snuffy. Frank is a scuzzy nightclub singer and Kim a struggling dancer. She tricks him into buying the dog from a pet shop after he claims it reminds him of a pet he had as a boy (actually he wants Kim, not the dog).
Snuffy is a very endearing tan Cairn who probably has about 10-15 minutes on screen. He sleeps in a dresser drawer and dips his bagels in coffee before eating them. I was impressed.
Snuffy was also the dog in I Love Lucy and Dennis the Menace according to http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1910/moviedogad.html
Pal Joey has less dog than the two preceding movies, but Snuffy gets quality time on screen and the movie is superior, so Toby and Newton, being discerning terriers, give Pal Joey ****. MJ gives it a Sinatra rating of *****, because you can see the singer crooning in his prime. Rita Hayworth has a fun number too.

A witty script, William Powell, Myrna Loy and Asta the WFT, what more could you want? This screwball comedy is almost 70 years old and still holds up today. The acting is great and Asta is on the screen for at least half the movie. He does flips in the air, covers his eyes and is very good at hiding when there's danger, although his trusty nose finds the body buried in the cement.
Asta and his descendants were used in the Thin Man sequels, which got increasingly silly as they stretched into the '40s, but he deserves a canine Oscar nonetheless for doing what he could with the material he had.
Newton the WFT gives the movie ****1/2, holding back half a star for Asta's occasionally cowardly and undignified behavior. Toby the ADT gives it ****, because after all Asta is NOT an ADT. MJ overrules both and gives the movie a gold *****.

Okay, this is the movie that got me thinking about the top-terrier list.

I saw it again last week and for the first time realized that Toto the Cairn terrier (actually named Terry) is on screen for virtually the whole film.
Judy Garland deserves a nip for the way she clutches him and flings him around, but Toto just keeps smiling a Cairn smile (or maybe he's baring his teeth). He goes after those evil flying monkeys, leaps a gaping moat to get into the castle and uncovers the real identity of the supposed Wizard. And he escapes the evil Miss Gulch's bike basket by jumping out as she pedals away at full speed. Talk about canine heroes. He's the one who deserved that medal for bravery, not that wimpy lion.
Dropping their breed biases, Toby and Newton agree that Terry and The Wizard of Oz deserve the full ***** and the top ranking as the top terrier movie of all time. MJ agrees.

• Greyfriars Bobby - a great story about a Skye Terrier that was made into a Disney movie -- Lynn & Joey the Dale and Fred the Westie
• Alexandre le bieheureix (1967) with a young Philippe Noiret and a WFT? there is an English version called Very Happy Alexander and Alexander It is about a very overworked husband whose rich young wife drops dead and he decides to spend the rest of his life in bed. His dog takes basket and notes into town to do the shopping for him. The villagers are outraged and plot to destroy the seamless relationship between this man and his dog. Hilarious! I can NOT find a copy anywhere. -- Donna
• The Kennel Club Murders (1930's?) Lots of Scotties in this one. Mostly men in suits and hats in the rings and there is drinking and betting going on at the show! I've seen it in video. -- Donna [I assume this is The Kennel Murder Case made in 1933 with William Powell and Mary Astor - ed.]
• Mixed Nuts with Steve Martin and with the great Airedale at the vet and all the Airedale portraits on the walls -- Airedale Babette of Nebraska says she especially likes Mixed Nuts for the barking
• The Bear for the heroic Airedale in the pack.
• The Ballad of Hector sounds a lot like a movie put out by Disney in the 40''s, called The Million Dollar Collar starring Hector the Airedale terrier, which coincidentally happens to be the name of our 6-year-old king kong breed Airedale! if you have the Disney channel you may see a late night re-run, and its pretty good. if you've had an Airedale, you know how funny and precocious they can be, and this movie captures that trait. Thanks a lot. Chris, Lisa, Alex and hector smith - new castle DE
• It's a Dog's Life (1955) based on "The Bar Sinister" by Richard Harding Davis. It's a great old time dog story -- Dorah
  "A classic rags-to-riches story told from the point of view of a hero-dog battling adversity. Jeff Richards and Edmund Gwenn star in this charming, turn-of-the-century tale of a bull terrier that escapes from an evil rogue into the home of a kind stableman who recognizes his true worth. " From Family Fun There were actually two dogs used to play the lead. Wildfire was used for close-ups and non-action shots, and a double was used to perform the tricks.
• Jack Frost (1998) is the movie that made my wife fall in love with the Airedale Terrier. She saw the dog and went nuts. We didn't even know what kind of dog it was. We did a lot of research to find out the breed and ever since have had our sights set on an Airedale -- Steven
  Chester the Dog is played by Mr. Chips , but no photo available.
• Without Love (1945)
  Check out the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy film: WITHOUT LOVE. In it Tracy is a scientist working in secret for the War Department. He tries to rent Hepburn's Washington D.C. home and instead becomes the caretaker with his wheaten Cairn Terrier, Dizzy. The dog plays quite a prominent part in the film. His job is to stop Tracy when he begins to sleepwalk. For lovers of Cairns it is a great film but how can you go wrong with Tracy and Hepburn. Lucille Ball also has an amusing roll as the real estate agent! Enjoy. --- Russ
• Best in Show (2000)
  Featured all breeds, but the winner, and in my opinion the star, was a terrier. And how about that song about terriers, sung by the two (dysfunctional) stars. Inspired my own song about my little guy, the terrier derrière can't be beat! --- Kim
  
  Of course it was BEST IN SHOW, although the movie and the two 90's Westminster BIS wins put the price of Norwiches out of sight.......$3000+.
  
  -spike, the Norwich Terrier
• Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
  aka Mrs. Parker and the Round Table (1994)
  The Dorothy Parker biography film included a number of small terriers, and at one point has her going into a pet store and buying an Airedale puppy. -- Greg
• Big Trouble (2002)
  It has an Airedale from hell in it. My Airedale and I laughed and laughed. -- Mary Lee
• The great Asta is at his best in The Awful Truth (1937). His owner, Irene Dunne, calls him "the biggest roughneck," but rough-housing is only part of his repetoire. He also plays hide and seek, climbs walls, does great dramatic reaction shots, and best of all, sings -- or barks in time to Cary Grant's piano playing. He was also amazing in Bringing Up Baby ('38) and After The Thin Man ('36). Yet after all this, he was callously overlooked by the Academy. Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for Asta now! -- Jeff Ward
• My Dog Skip (2000)
  My favorite Jack Russell movie. This is about a boy and his dog growing up during WWII in a small town - be prepared to laugh and cry. If you have ever had a dog like Skip, it will wrench your heart all over again. Great Family movie. Steven T. Wall
  [Ed. Note: "Skip" is played by Enzo and "Old Skip" is played by Moose III, who was Eddie on Frasier, and is the father of Enzo.]
• The Mask (1994)
  The Mask has a terrier in it the one with Jim Carrey
  [Ed. Note: "Milo the Dog" is played by Max VI ]
• Butterfield 8 (1960)
  In "Butterfield 8," the 1960 movie for which Elizabeth Taylor won an Oscar, we saw a rather nicely shaggy Airedale in a couple of scenes. The dog is owned by a woman who runs a seedy motel, but she is a sympathetic character so I'm assuming the Airedale was another sign of her warmth and humanity. Penelope, and Millie & Muggs the Airedales