A Boy and His Dog (1975)

A Boy and His Dog is a 1975 science fiction film which bombed at the box office although it has since gained a cult following. It is based on Harlan Ellison’s much-praised novella of the same name.

This was by no means the first post-apocalyptic science fiction movie but it is arguably the one that defined that genre for decades to come, both stylistically and thematically.

It is set in the year 2024, some years after a nuclear war has devastated the planet.

Vic (Don Johnson) is a teenaged boy who wanders the post-nuclear wasteland with his dog Blood with whom he has a telepathic bond. Blood not only communicates in human speech, he has a human level of intelligence. In fact in this particular partnership he is definitely the brains of the outfit.

Vic and Blood need each other. Blood, as a result of the same mutation that gave him telepathic abilities, can no longer hunt for food. He relies on Vic to provide him with food. In return Blood supplies Vic with what he needs - women. Blood’s sense of smell is unusually acute even for a dog. He can smell a human female a long ways off. Vic needs sex the way Blood needs food.

All Vic wants from women is sex. The closest thing he’s ever had to an emotional relationship is with Blood. When Blood scents a woman Vic chases her down and rapes her. As Blood says to him early on, Vic is not a very nice person. He’s as dumb as a rock, he’s violent and he’s obsessed with sex.

To be honest Blood isn’t a very nice dog either. They suit each other. One might say they deserve each other.

They are however both survivors and they are loyal to each other. Crucially, they need each other and they both know it.

There are plenty of other survivors of the nuclear war wandering about the wasteland. They’re mostly male. Women are in very short supply.

Most of the other survivors are even more unpleasant than Vic. It’s a world of casual violence, brutality and ignorance.

Vic is getting desperate for a woman when Blood announces that he has scented one. Vic follows her back to her hideout and is about to rape her when he’s rudely interrupted. A group of twenty-three Rovers arrives on the doorstep so to speak. Rover is the name given to wanderers like Vic. Most travel in packs but Vic is a loner.

He does eventually get to rape the girl, only he doesn’t have to. She is more than willing. Her name is Quilla June Holmes (Susanne Benton). She tells him that she lives Downunder. Downunder is as its name suggests an underground community, heavily fortified, which keeps civilisation alive. This particular Downunder colony is named Topeka. Once Vic gets a look at Topeka he decides he prefers barbarism and the post-nuclear wasteland to civilisation. One can’t blame him.

Topeka is like 1950s small town America on steroids, with a touch of 17th century Puritanism. Minor offences (such as disrespect towards the governing Committee) are punished by death.

Vic is even more unhappy when he figures out how he got to be there, and why he’s there.

The whole telepathic dog thing, which worked on the printed page in the original story, doesn’t quite work on the screen. It seems too silly and it undermines the necessary suspension of disbelief. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Surprisingly it works much of the time but occasionally when it don’t work it can seem silly. There’s also the problem that while the dog is obviously incredibly well-trained he looks like a dog out of a family sitcom. He’s too cute. They needed a dog that looked just a bit leaner and meaner.

The post-apocalyptic world on the surface (which obviously very heavily influenced Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) works well in the film. Topeka on the other hand is too much of a heavy-handed caricature and the attempt to make it look slightly surreal ends up making it look silly and unbelievable. Director L.Q. Jones admitted that he wasn’t entirely happy with the Topeka sequences.

Don Johnson is extremely good, as is Susanne Benton as Quilla June. The other cast members have a more difficult time since they’re playing characters who are mere caricatures.

I can understand why Jones went for the weird makeup effects for the citizens of Topeka. It gets the message across that despite the small town Americana feel this is an alien sort of society. Unfortunately the folk of Topeka end up looking like zombie clowns which again adds an unwanted touch of silliness. It’s also rather surreal, which contrasts uncomfortably with the gritty approach of the scenes on the surface.

The Shout! Factory Blu-Ray looks good and includes an audio commentary. More interesting is the lengthy conversation between L.Q. Jones and Harlan Ellison in which they discuss several vexed questions including their legendary disagreement over the last line in the movie. Ellison was supposed to write the screenplay but fund that he couldn’t do it. Jones then took over the writing. I can understand up to a point why Jones thought it would be tricky to stick to Ellison’s famous final sentence but overall I think Ellison is right - the closing sentence that Jones provides is too jokey.

A Boy and His Dog is visually impressive. It very nearly works. It’s a good movie but it misses out on greatness. Perhaps the story really was unfilmable. A flawed but interesting movie. Recommended as one of the crucial post-apocalyptic movies.