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CAIRN MOVIE DESCRIPTIONS
· *Bright Eyes- 1934,
Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Jane Withers, Toto, directed by David Butler.
A famous Cairn has the role of Shirley's
dog Rags. Rags is played by Terry the Cairn who later starred as Toto. This was Toto's first flim appearance.Terry aka Toto had to
auditon for the part. Miss Temple had the final choice of canine co-stars and her pet Pekingese, Ching Ching, had to approve
the dog hired. Terry passed the audition with flying colors. It's rumored Miss Temple was so fond of the Cairn actor Terry in this
picture that MGM signed the dog first to play Toto for “The Wizard of Oz” in hopes of signing Shirley Temple for the part of Dorothy
since Shirley was known to want to play that part.
Sadly for Miss Temple but happily for Judy Garland fans
she was contracted to another picture and could not be released to take the offer. Shirley Temple sings her famous rendition of “On
the Good Ship Lollipop” in this film. You will need several boxes of tissues. VHS, DVD, available on Netflix.
*Ready For Love-1934,
Richard Arlen, Ida Lupino, Toto, directed by Marion Gering.
The dog in this film is the young pup Terry aka Toto the Cairn. Terry stars as the beloved pet of a young woman
dreaming of the stage. Her mother sends her to live with an aunt. The girl's dog gets lost when it runs away from the train in
a town that honors it's Puritan ancestors a little too highly. The beautiful grieving girl dressed in black at the train platform
is mistaken for the mistress of a deceased local businessman who died on a trip to New York. Snobbery and prudish behavior prevail
as true love wins out in this comedy of small town crime and punishment. Available through Amazon DVD purchase.
· *Dark Angel-1935,
Fredric March, Merle Oberon, Toto, directed by Sidney Franklin.
This is a WWI love story. Adapted from a stage play by Guy Bolton. It is notable for a script by Lillian Hellman.
This is a picture that will need a box of hankies. The dog is played by Terry aka Toto the Cairn. A lifelong competition for a girl
between two brothers sets the plot. A young girl named Kitty grows up with a crush on two brothers that live next door. They go to
war and Allen, the brother engaged to Kitty, disappears and then reappears later wounded and blind. There are many tearful missed
opportunities and plenty of examples of nobility and self sacrifice but the right couple gets together by the end.
The Cairn Terrier Terry has a small, pleasant role in the first third of the picture as the beloved pet of the happy children.
Two
Academy Award nominations. VHS, on Netflix future release list.
· *Fury- 1936,
Spencer Tracy, Walter Brennan, Sylvia Sydney, Toto, directed by Fritz Lang.
This
is a Dark and absorbing drama of ruined reputations, false imprisonment, corruption, revenge, mental illness, and lynch mobs in small
town America. Tracy is Joe, a man held in jail due to mistaken identity and then nearly killed by a lynch mob. The fire he escapes
kills his dog Rainbow.
Joe uses his bitter experience and nervous breakdown to secretly track down those
who killed his dog and tried to kill him. He forces the members of the mob that attacked him to face trial and risk hanging for his
death.
Terry aka Toto the Cairn is featured in the role of Rainbow in the film. She has a litter of puppies
and then appears in several sequences in a sadly memorable role. The puppies shown in the first puppy scene are Terry’s pups and they
are Cairn Terrier pups. Later in the film the litter appears again but they are not the same pups.
It seems
over time the litter changed into what are probably Golden Retriever puppies. Apparently the filming took a long time and the original
litter was not available to finish the picture. The filmmakers must have figured the public would not notice the switch. This film
has violent content. VHS, DVD, available on Netflix.
· *?Double Or Nothing-1937,
Bing Crosby, Martha Raye, Andy Devine, William Frawley, Mary Carlisle, Toto, directed by Theodore Reed.
Although she is not credited, this picture stars Toto. You can’t miss that it is Terry aka Toto. That is why there is a star on this
list next to the title with a question mark. I am sure this film features Toto but there is no documentation to prove it.
She starts the plot rolling by bringing in one of the wallets full of money that is the premise of the plot. The lawyers in charge
of a millionaire’s estate leave wallets full of money around town to see who is honest enough to return them. Those who return wallets
find they are challenged to double the money in the wallets in a set period of time to inherit the estate.
If the owners of the wallets fail to double their fortunes, the money goes to the millionaire’s brother who believed people are not
honest. If they do it, the money goes to the honest souls who proved the millionaire’s faith in humanity was well placed. The film
turns into a “let’s put on a show” picture with lovely music and a romantic twist. VHS, DVD, Available on Netflix.
· *#The Buccaneer-1938,
Fredric March, Francisca Gall, Walter Brennen, Toto, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
The Cairn featured is Terry aka Toto the Cairn. It is the story of Jean Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans. This film starts off
with Dolly Madison saving both the Declaration of Independence and the portrait of George Washington from a burning White House that
is under attack by the British.
Later in the picture, in the dangerous waters of the gulf coast, after capture
by pirates, Terry walks the plank and saves her mistress in this very entertaining, dramatic Hollywood historical swashbuckler. Mr.
DeMille remade this film in 1958 with Yul Bynner, Charles Boyer, Charlton Heston, and other luminaries. Steampunk fans will enjoy
the time period and pirate themes of the film. Until 2011, this film was available. Look for it in bargain bins, Ebay, and new
classic movie collections. This film contains some violence. VHS, DVD.
· *Barefoot Boy-1938,
Jackie Moran, Toto, directed by Karl Brown.
The dog is a Cairn
–the famous Terry a.k.a. Toto working as a farm dog under her real name Terry. This is the story of two boys, a good moral farm boy
and a rich spoiled brat who is turning bad. The bad boy needs a lesson or two in life, and .has no respect for his wrongly convicted
jailbird father. When his dad gets out of the clink he makes the boy stay on the farm with his old friends. The bad boy eventually
comes around to help to clear his father’s name.
The Cairn Terrier Terry has a pivotal role in the plot melting
the spoiled boy’s hardened heart. Spoiler alert—Watch it to the end no matter how you feel, Terry is a happy survivor in the last
scene. Although intended for children, this film contains some violence and disturbing imagery. DVD.
· *Stablemates-1938,
Margaret Hamilton, (Wicked Witch of the West fame), Mickey Rooney, Wallace Beery,
Toto, directed by Sam Wood.
With such a great cast, it is a pity it is unavailable for home viewing.
The dog is played by Terry aka Toto the Cairn. The movie has a plot involving stables and horse racing.
It
is a fun fact that Terry starred in pictures not only with Judy Garland but also with Mickey Rooney. Since this hardworking little
Cairn appeared over and over with the same actors and directors, it is too bad she never made it into the Andy Hardy pictures. Unavailable
for home viewing as of 2011.
· *The Women-1939
Norma
Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Toto, directed by George Cukor.
Joan Crawford steals the film as the
tacky gold digger that loses out to the charming wife who grows claws. This movie is terrific; the remake of it did not measure up
to the original. The off-screen drama in the personal fight between Shearer and Crawford made this film a must see at the time.
The Cairn in the film is Terry aka Toto the Cairn. 1939 was a very busy year for Terry working at the top of her career. She
opens the picture on the way to a high society beauty parlor/spa when she has a spat with a Boston Terrier at the door. Every kind
of pampered pooch is waiting to be groomed in the parlor while their owners get beauty treatments.
This is
a movie that shows off the high fashion habits of the film’s characters. To emphasis that point, the ladies attend a fashion show
and the picture changes from black and white to color for the segment in the designer shop. That makes the second movie for Terry
where there is a black and white to color transition. “The Wizard of Oz” used the technique of transitioning from black and white
to color and back with spectacular results. This film has adult themes. VHS, DVD, This film is also available as part of “The Joan
Crawford Collection” on DVD. Available on Netflix.
· *Bad Little Angel-1939,
Virginia Wilder, Gene Reynolds, Toto, directed by William Thiele.
The dog in this
picture is Terry later known as Toto the Cairn. It is the story of a little orphan girl who finds a friend to protect her while living
on the streets. Not available for home viewing as of 2011.
· *Wizard Of OZ- 1939,
Judy Garland, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, (he plays five parts, have
you found them all?), included in the cast is every available little person entertainer that could be contracted worldwide, and Terry
the Cairn as Toto too, directed by Victor Fleming.
Terry was a famous actor by the time this picture was made and was offered $300.00 per week. That was bargain salary if you consider that at the top of his career Rin Tin Tin, who was an earlier, more famous canine actor, earned $6000.00 per week at the top of his career and Skippy the dog who played Asta in the Thin Man series earned $250.00 per week. Terry was signed onto the film as Toto before the studio chose their Dorothy. It has been rumored for years that Terry was signed in an effort to get Shirley Temple who had worked with her before, was known to be fond of Terry and known to want the part. Shirley was busy on other projects and her studio refused to release her so MGM hired their own up and coming child prodigy, Judy Garland.
Although Toto would be one of the
main characters, her owner Carl Spitz felt she was a bit shy. He was not sure how she would handle all of the special effects and
costumed actors so he accepted a contract for $125.00 per week. (This sum is documented from the actual signed MGM working contract
for Toto featured on page 51 of the book “I Toto” by Willard Carroll. Some sources list the amount incorrectly as $150.00 per week.).
To contrast Terry’s salary, the Munchkins were paid an average of $50.00 per week, a few earned $100.00 per week. However, as
you compare these salaries, remember there were hundreds of Munchkins and only one Toto. They worked in fewer scenes. Excluding the
introductions of key Munchkins when Dorothy arrived in Oz, they were essentially the background artists of the picture.
Toto suffered a sprained paw during filming when a Winkie soldier stepped on her foot. She was given time off to recover at the Sptiz home and a studio scout purchased a dog as a standin but there is no record of that dog being used. Filming the scene continued with a stuffed dog for blocking and when Toto returned she promptly tore it to bits to the amusement of the cast and crew. (That incident is documented in "I Toto" by Williard Carroll. The purchase of a replacement dog is documented in "The Making of The Wizard of Oz" by Aljean Harmetz.)
This film was mostly directed by Victor Fleming (he gets the final
credit). He had to leave before the picture finished to begin work on “Gone With The Wind”. “The Wizard of Oz” earned two Academy
Awards for music, and five additional Academy nominations.
The music is beautiful and memorable. In one of
the defining scenes that open the story, Terry is beautifully serenaded by a wistful Judy Garland with the great song “Somewhere Over
the Rainbow”.
This is the film that made Toto a household name and made Judy Garland world famous. It is
a charming tale about a little girl and her dog transported to a fantasy world. They find friends, travel to see a wizard, vanquish
two witches, and finally learn how to get back to the home they realize they love. Terry the Cairn plays the loyal, and brave pet
Toto who travels with Dorothy and keeps the plot moving throughout.
Although this list features two editions of
this film, since the onslaught of DVD and streaming video there have been many editions. Choose your favorite. This film contains
a scary witch and flying monkeys that may frighten very small children. VHS, DVD, available on Netflix.
· *The Wizard Of Oz 70th Anniversary Edition,
This anniversary edition includes script and out-takes, and a
how it was made video. VHS, DVD, Blu Ray
