Who thought O.J would of popped up in this? He's just one of the characters, little lost Hambone meets on his ultimate quest/travels, to be reunited with his one true soul mate, Gish, perfect here. But O.J's the least of this films problems. I'm an advocate of anti animal cruelty, and I could not believe the filmmakers, showed depictions of a dog being whipped, or another being run down, as if down with such disregard, I myself felt sick, while being momentarily left in stupor. There are other moments in this film, that again, left me again with that feeling. I would of love to have torn the ar..e out of the actor/dog hater, for playing such a repellent character. Ex, white shock of hair, Koslo, who later appears, later as a thief, playing another repellent character, is just typecast. I totally agree with one other reviewer, about the no spark, in the precious bond that exists between Gish and man's best friend. For starters, the grief isn't shown enough as by the small number of scenes, not Gish's performance. She's just dealing the hand she's been dealt, And where's the plot, turning points, where instead we rely on the characters to carry us through, and it does, but I just felt this film was a mess, yet a standalone dog film, but an unremarkable one, too. The sudden end that took me by surprise, as to sudden end itself ( not the jaw dropped predictability of it) that just typified the problems with this movie, as if done with a stretched budget like The Norsemen. Shame, as it wasted some really good performances, none better than the solid Gish, of course. Timothy Bottoms, as her grandson, was wasted heavily in this too. Look up above, at the poster.... that's the best thing about this movie, and yes, there were moments, I cried heavily, in this near 90 minute pic, where you won't be doggone.
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videorama-759-8593914 June 2019
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Woodyanders26 April 2008We all know the story: Sweet little old lady (legendary silent film actress Lillian Gish, who must have had one hell of a hefty phone bill to pay when she decided to appear in this dismal dippy dreck) loses her dog in a New York City airport. The mangy loyal pooch makes a lengthy, laborious and perilous trek across the great big US of A in order to be reunited with his owner. En route the raggedy hound meets an assortment of pleasantly plastic generic one-note cardboard stereotypes of typically colorful American folks (affable grandpappy, sad, lonely crippled kid, perky pregnant lady, philosophical drifter, and so on) and has numerous misadventures with dognapers, burglars, and even a motorcyclist. WARNING: Big nasty *SPOILER* ahead. At the picture's heart-wrenching conclusion the rumpled rover and his old biddy owner cross paths again (sniff, sniff, ahh, ain't that so nice and touching?). Replete with pedestrian, by-the-numbers direction, a cruddy leave-no-cliché-unaccounted-for script, beauteous scenery, a sappy string score complete with faint angelic chorus, and a raft of embarrassingly cheesy guest star cameos -- Alan Hale, Jr., Candy Clark, Jack Carter, Robert Walker, Jr. (typecast as his usual aimless hippie wanderer), and, worst of all, O.J. Simpson as garrulous'n'gregarious gear-jammer Tucker the Trucker -- this flick overall sizes up as one incredibly lame, sappy and mush-headed family feature turkey that should have been put to sleep at the preliminary screen writing stage.
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Wizard-816 August 2012As of this date, no DVD company has resurrected the now-forgotten family movie "Hambone and Hillie". Having found an old VHS copy in a thrift store and subsequently watched it, it's easy to see why this movie hasn't built a cult. It gets off to a poor start, having spent almost no time showcasing the dog's human owner before the dog gets lost and subsequently spends the rest of the movie trying to find its owner. Not seeing a strong bond between the dog and its owner makes it hard to get involved with the dog's plight. But there are many more problems. There are technical goofs, like the reflection of a boom mike seen on a car's window, and other goofs like part of the movie taking place at Christmas despite no snow being visible and trees still having green leaves on their branches! And while the movie is aimed at a family audience, there are some rough parts like a dog being killed after being hit by a car, and someone being shot with a gun. This dog-related movie is a real dog.
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mark.waltz6 December 2021I was going to start my review that saying in spite of being an awful film that children might enjoy it, but half an hour into the film, there was a horrible scene that insinuates that the dog pound is actually beating one of the pooches they have captured. The storyline has no build-up, and its seemingly sweet old lady heroine played by silent screen sweetheart Lillian Gish isn't really all that sweet here, an impatient and demanding old lady who thinks that miracles can happen just because she demands it. It makes it all the more of a blessing that she ended her film career for years after this with "The Whales of August" rather than having this as her last film.
We are supposed to believe that the visiting dishes lost dog can find its way from New York City to Los Angeles within the period of 90 minutes. In fact, the dog is able to find its way into Manhattan before hitching a ride with trucker O. J. Simpson then finding canine friendship which results in the sequence with the dog pound. That sequence is resolved favorably but is still disturbing by its insinuations.
I'd suggest the original "Incredible Journey" or its remake "Homeward Bound" or even "Milo and Otis" over this film which just is not believable from the start. Those films certainly weren't totally realistic, but this one defies unbelievability. A sweet moment with Alan Hale of Gilligan's Island as a friendly farmer is nice, but like O. J.'s cameo, Hale's and all the rest are so quick that there's no real time for them to make an impact. Hale and his wheelchair bound granddaughter in their Christmas sequence just stopped the plot cold. It's easy to see why this one has fallen off the map. It just isn't worth rediscovering. -
calvertfan27 May 2002I loved this movie as a child, but never knew who the lady in it was until I saw it again recently. Quite funny that the only two Lillian Gish movies I've seen are from 1919 and 1984 - what a career!
Hambone & Hillie is along the Benji/Lassie trail, cute little dog makes cross-country trip to find his mistress again. On 2nd viewing, it's nothing at all great, but kids would like it. Warning - it's also very sad!