Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

A treacherously unfunny comedy about the escapades of the title pooch in the mid-1920s and how he saves Carney's New Era Studios from going down the drain. The dog becomes a star, Carney's studio becomes the most prosperous, and Dern is promoted from tour bus driver to producer. Later a movie they produce bombs, and they lose their jobs, but by the finale everyone is cheerfully reunited. Somewhere along the line someone told director Winner that quantity was more important than quality, so WON TON TON is filled with cameo appearances, from Johnny Weissmuller to Billy Barty to Tab Hunter to Dennis Day, with the result that the cast list is more fun to read than the ...