Young lawyer Dan Preston (James Ellison) holds a bitter grudge against the affluent family which prevented his marriage with their daughter because he didn't meet their standards. He adopts a dog they were going to have killed, feeling a kinship to it, and is adversarial to the family whenever he gets the chance. His bitterness is encouraged by the son who insists both class and breeding are all that matter. He visits the family and in an awkward moment realizes his life is passing him by. Though he starts a promising romance, he still cant let go of his anger.
Two events take place - a murder and kidnapping, which allows Dan to both defend his dog as well as justify his existence and ideals. While the kidnapping is a contrived plot device, it provides the shared goal for two antagonists to make amends.
It is not often you see an embittered character study on this scale - Bright Leaf, In A Lonely Place, and Ben-Hur come to mind. Actor James Ellison usually starred in Westerns (and one of the first werewolf movies, "Undying Monster"), but here plays a contemporary character, and is quite good. Ace the dog is protectively vicious - that is, he isn't playing cute, so he matches the emotional grimness of the main character.
Two events take place - a murder and kidnapping, which allows Dan to both defend his dog as well as justify his existence and ideals. While the kidnapping is a contrived plot device, it provides the shared goal for two antagonists to make amends.
It is not often you see an embittered character study on this scale - Bright Leaf, In A Lonely Place, and Ben-Hur come to mind. Actor James Ellison usually starred in Westerns (and one of the first werewolf movies, "Undying Monster"), but here plays a contemporary character, and is quite good. Ace the dog is protectively vicious - that is, he isn't playing cute, so he matches the emotional grimness of the main character.