“Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Dr. Sterdivant on sabbatical from the Sorbonne.”
“Oh hi, I’m Tim, the ice cream man from Dolly Dixons.”
40 years ago Walt Disney Productions’ comedy classic “The Shaggy D.A.” returned to network television, presented in two parts, a 1976 sequel to Disney’s first live-action comedy, the 1959 classic “The Shaggy Dog”, a whole 17 years later.
Wilby Daniels (Dean Jones) is now grown up and a lawyer with a wife (Suzanne Pleshette) and son (Shane Sinutko) who’s house is robbed twice, and decides to run for District Attorney, against the crooked current DA John Slade (Keenan Wynn) and his crooked partner Eddie Rochack (Vic Tayback). The Lucrezia Borgia ring cursed with magical transformative powers from the museum is stolen by the same two crooks that robbed the Daniels’ house (Dick Bakalyan and Warren Berlinger), and eventually falls into the hands of local ice cream man Tim (Tim Conway) and his girlfriend (Joanne Worley), and the reading of the inscription turns Wilby into Elwood, Tim’s dog. Slade’s henchman Raymond (Dick Van Patten) finds out about the powers of the ring, and the campaign is going to the pound!
“The Shaggy D.A.” is a wonderful, joyous film that incorporates a great cast with an engaging plot for some truly inspired fun. The interview with host Jonathan Daly, the pie fight with Iris Adrian hoping to find the ring for the reward, the nocturnal prowls with Tim to try to get evidence on Keenan Wynn, and the dog pound with John Fiedler and Michael McGreevey as two very unfortunate kennel keepers makes for one of the best comedies the studio ever made. The voices by George Kirby for the dogs in the kennel, with imitations of Bogart, Cagney, Robinson and even Mae West make for one inspired film.
The 1976 film was produced by Bill Anderson, and directed by Robert Stevenson, both of them retiring after this film, two greats leaving with a great swan song. Buddy Baker made the delightful score, and the title song was done by Shane Tatum and Richard McKinley.
“The Shaggy D.A.” was first presented on NBC on “The Wonderful World Of Disney” on 9/26/78 in a special 2-hour presentation, with the second showing being in 2 parts on “Disney’s Wonderful World” on 3/23/80 and the conclusion on 3/30/80, cutting the wonderful animated title sequence and song of the 91 minute film. It would return for one last showing in 2 parts on CBS on 1/25/83 and 2/1/83, just as it was announced that the show was going to be cancelled.
“The Shaggy D.A.” is an all-time classic, with Robert Stevenson leaving at the top of his game. There was nobody better.
“Well I think you’d better make that 16 quarter house steaks.”