Recently-widowed young woman is terrorized by the black Doberman her husband once owned, the one she begged him to get rid of. Writer Del Reisman's teleplay for this doggy ghost story is pure balderdash, not helped by a visual shock at the finish line which fails to come off. However, Angie Dickinson's acting in the central role could not be improved upon. Rarely have I seen a poorly-conceived episode from an anthology series redeemed by a single performance. Dickinson, not particularly noted for being an award-caliber actress, obviously put a lot of thought and sensitivity into her work here, and it shows. The scene where Angie goes to the dog's new owners and asks them very gently to please keep the dangerous pooch tied up is flawlessly rendered, as is another sequence where Dickinson realizes her neighbors are trying to win over her new dog (one that looks amazingly like Scruffy from "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir"). The rest of the piece is muddled up with dog attacks (both real and imagined), a silly red herring involving a doggy statue outside Dickinson's office, and a weird bit of sibling battle between Angie and her sister. None of this works very well, but it nearly doesn't matter when the leading performance is so terrific.
4 Reviews
A hate letter to the big bad dog.
mark.waltz26 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The widowed Angie Dickinson is horrified by the presence of a doberman who seemingly comes back from the grave to haunt her after she had given him away prior to the death of her husband. It was far too big for her smaller dog, making Dickinson feel threatened. The dog, handed over to neighbor John Ireland, barks ferociously every time he sees angie, and manages to escape several times to taunt her. When the dog is allegedly poisoned, Angie thinks that it's ghost is haunting her, and at one point, it seems to be on the roof of her car. But is there more to the story? Obviously yes.
For those afraid of big dogs, this might not be a good episode of "Ghost Story" to watch. It's a disturbing subject, and there seems to be no point to the message other than the fact that you can't give a pet away without some type of repercussion. That's pretty much what the bitter John Ireland tells her, blaming Angie for its death. Now Angie finds out something in regards to her sister Madlyn Rhue who knows a bit more and has her own fear of big dogs. Dickinson is very good and holds the episode together, but that's the only thing memorable about this one that only makes you ask long before it's over, "What the heck was this about?", besides 50 minutes of wasting your time.
For those afraid of big dogs, this might not be a good episode of "Ghost Story" to watch. It's a disturbing subject, and there seems to be no point to the message other than the fact that you can't give a pet away without some type of repercussion. That's pretty much what the bitter John Ireland tells her, blaming Angie for its death. Now Angie finds out something in regards to her sister Madlyn Rhue who knows a bit more and has her own fear of big dogs. Dickinson is very good and holds the episode together, but that's the only thing memorable about this one that only makes you ask long before it's over, "What the heck was this about?", besides 50 minutes of wasting your time.
Wild Dog
AaronCapenBanner14 November 2014
Angie Dickinson stars as Carol Finney, a recently widowed woman who was afraid of her late husband's black Doberman. When she finds out that the dog is now owned by her neighbors, she goes to see them to ask that they keep it tied up, but the man(played by John Ireland) appears unsympathetic, and the dog is seen to roam around, which alarms her, though is it possible that the dog isn't really the threat at all, but a tool for someone else with an ulterior motive she is unaware of, and what does her sister have to do with it? Dickinson is fine here in a difficult role, as it doesn't really seem to suit her. Plot is mostly unremarkable and forgettable in any case.
Angie Dickinson vs dogs!
BandSAboutMovies25 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Originally airing December 15, 1972, this episode of Circle of Fear/Ghost Story has Carol Finney (Angie Dickinson) being stalked by a black Doberman that once belonged to her now-dead husband, a dog that keeps coming even after it's been poisoned.
John Ireland, who is in stuff like Waxwork II: Lost in Time and Miami Golem after a career playing in Hollywood classics like Spartacus, plays the neighbor who has taken ownership of the dog and doesn't care at all when Carol is being snarled and barked at.
Written by Richard Matheson and Del Reisman, who worked on everything from Peyton Place to Airwolf, this - not sorry for the pun - dog of an episode was directed by Walter Doniger, whose career was also mostly in TV directing episodes of Maverick and McCloud. He was known for using long, uninterrupted takes, frequent close-ups, deep-focus composition, tracking shots and early use of videotape.
Dickinson is fine if wasted in this. Ah, Circle of Fear. Your highs are highs and your lows are low.
John Ireland, who is in stuff like Waxwork II: Lost in Time and Miami Golem after a career playing in Hollywood classics like Spartacus, plays the neighbor who has taken ownership of the dog and doesn't care at all when Carol is being snarled and barked at.
Written by Richard Matheson and Del Reisman, who worked on everything from Peyton Place to Airwolf, this - not sorry for the pun - dog of an episode was directed by Walter Doniger, whose career was also mostly in TV directing episodes of Maverick and McCloud. He was known for using long, uninterrupted takes, frequent close-ups, deep-focus composition, tracking shots and early use of videotape.
Dickinson is fine if wasted in this. Ah, Circle of Fear. Your highs are highs and your lows are low.
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