The Screening Room

It must have seemed like a greatidea to all concerned back in 1981. Paramount Pictures wanted a “'Jaws’ withpaws” horror film; teen star Kristy McNichol was looking for a project thatwould help her make the transition to adult roles; director Samuel Fuller (“ShockCorridor,” “The Naked Kiss”) needed a big hit to continue his comeback. Butwhat they found was a movie that was ultimately too hot to handle.

The sad story behind “White Dog”illustrates how a misunderstood message movie sparked a controversy thatderailed careers. Fuller’s still-startling film will be shown at 9 p.m. Fridayat NorthStar Center, 106 Lathrop Street.

It’s amazing something aspotentially incendiary as “White Dog” was even put into production by a majorstudio, but, as with so many things, it was all in the timing. “Dog,” based ona semi-autobiographical book by Romain Gary, had been on the back-burner at thestudio since the mid-1970s when it was supposed to be directed by RomanPolanski. With potential strikes by the Writers’ Guild and the Directors’ Guildon the horizon, Paramount executives were anxious to stockpile as many picturesas possible and rushed “Dog” in front of the cameras.

Curtis Hanson (later to direct“L.A. Confidential” and “8 Mile”) collaborated with Fuller on a screenplayabout a young actress, Julie Sawyer (McNichol), who saves an injured Germanshepherd, only to discover she’s been caring for a “white dog,” an animaltrained by racists to kill African-Americans. Although Julie is advised to havethe dog destroyed, she insists on taking him to Keys (Paul Winfield), a blacktrainer who thinks he can change the dog’s programming, using B.F.Skinner-style behavior modification techniques.

Keys runs an animal refuge calledNoah’s Ark with his elderly partner, Carruthers (Burl Ives). “Can’t nobodyunlearn a dog,” Carruthers insists, but Keys is certain he can complete hismission in five weeks. Winfield skillfully navigates the rivers of emotionflowing through Keys, who is clearly no stranger to prejudice and persecution;in Keys’ confrontations with the dog, editor Bernard Gribble cuts back andforth between the frenzied eyes of the snarling animal and the glacial glare ofKeys, daring us to guess which one is ultimately more dangerous.

There are a few freakishly funnymoments in “White Dog,” including a bizarre, possibly ad-libbed line from apolice officer as he arrests a man who assaulted Julie (“Same damn rapist Inailed last year!”) and some weird walks down Memory Lane from Carruthers, whodetests America’s obsession with technology and hurls syringes at an R2D2 dartboard. It’s also easy to chuckle at the fuzzy tops, pastel-colored pants andOlivia Newton-John headbands in Julie’s oh-so-early-‘80s wardrobe.

But even when McNichol’s clothesare comical, the sincerity in her performance demands she be takenseriously. At the time “Dog” was filmed, McNichol was at the peak of hercareer, having just wrapped up a four-season run in ABC’s acclaimed series“Family” that brought her two best supporting actress Emmys. She’d had asurprise box office hit with the summer camp comedy “Little Darlings” in 1980and had just completed filming “Only When I Laugh” with Marsha Mason. AlthoughJulie may not be a complex or particularly fascinating character, McNicholgives her an impressive balance of vulnerability and volatility. When Juliefinally erupts, it’s not a showy, “polish up that Oscar for me” tantrum: Shesputters and repeats herself and gets caught up in loops of anger, just like anormal person in an emotionally charged situation. Honesty andstraightforwardness were always McNichol's trademarks, and they are very much inevidence here.

Fuller was not a director given topulling punches, and he builds the intensity to an almost uncomfortablelevel in some scenes. Far from being an enjoyably scary monster movie, this isa chiller that truly shakes you up, its foreboding mood constantly accentuatedby Ennio Morricone’s gripping score (permeated with quietly churning pianos andstrings that sound like muted sirens) and the outstanding cinematography ofBruce Surtee.

“White Dog” is ripe with unsettling images and offbeatdirectorial choices. In one sequence, the dog attacks a victim in an emptychurch. Although Fuller does not spare us from the anguished screams of the manbeing mauled, the camera drifts away from the violence and settles on a stainedglass window depicting, of all people, St. Francis of Assisi. Similarly, whenKeys pulls a gun on the dog during a standoff, the camera moves in not on the barrel of the revolver, but onKeys’ finger caressing the trigger. It’s not the weapon that will possibly killthis creature, Fuller is telling us, it’s the fury of the man who is wielding it.

For Fuller and company, thetrouble began even before the cameras rolled. After the NAACP voiced concernsabout the material, a representative was invited to supervise the filming;apparently, that wasn’t enough to calm the organization. “When you train awhite dog to kill black folks, that gives the KKK and other white supremacistorganizations ideas,” said Willis Edwards, then-president of the NAACP’sBeverly Hills/Hollywood chapter.

But if Edwards had bothered towait until the film was completed, he might have seen that “White Dog” is anindictment, not an endorsement, of such practices. The screenplay attacks thesick minds responsible for turning the dog into what one character calls “afour-legged time bomb”; instead of being intrigued by the situation, thefilmmakers are repulsed. One of the most terrifying moments occurs when Keysexplains to Julie how racists can teach a dog to “attack black skin,” as heputs it: Hire an African-American wino or junkie to beat the dog regularlyuntil it learns its horrible lesson.

Rumblings about a possible NAACPboycott led Paramount to nix a nationwide release of “Dog” in the spring of1982. There are no signs the studio even bothered to make up marketing materials for it, such as posters or a trailer. Ultimately, the movie played a one-week test run in Detroit before being quietlyshuttled off to the late-night cable TV graveyard. The film cost $7 million toproduce and brought in less than $50,000 during its brief run.

The bad buzz around the filmtarnished McNichol’s reputation (and her subsequent appearance in the campyAustralian musical “The Pirate Movie” didn’t help a bit); a disgusted Fullerleft America altogether, spending his remaining years in France.

Neither of them had any reason tobe ashamed. "Dog" is a hard-hitting horror film with a staunchlyanti-racist theme, and it’s exceptionally well played by Winfield and McNichol.Even without the controversy, it’s unlikely “White Dog” would ever have becomea box office hit. But it remains one of the most disturbing films of its day, amovie that goes straight for the jugular — just like its namesake.

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