Man Trouble (1992)
Animal Action
Duke is present in much of the film and he immediately responds to Joan’s warmth, becoming more than just a guard dog, but a loyal and devoted friend. For a phoney dog attack in which Harry is trying to train Joan in the proper handling of Duke, the dog was responding to his trainers hand and verbal commands. When Joan is attacked by the hooded assailant Duke barks frantically but cannot help her because he has been locked in the house. Again, he was responding to his trainer’s hand and verbal commands. Duke’s one bad habit is to hump Joan or her maid whenever he feels so inclined, which is often. This was trained behavior which the dog did on cue. Duke’s original owner takes him back and gives Harry an identical German Shepherd. Joan is unaware of the switch and doesn’t understand why the dog is not responding to her commands at a critical moment. Instead of defending her, the imposter dog urinates against a tire (The dog had been trained to lift his leg on cue). The real Duke refuses to be separated from Joan and Harry and escapes by jumping over a high fence and running through city streets at night until he reaches the concert hall where Joan is singing. The escape scene was shot in cuts. At first the dog paces back and forth approximately ten feet. This was accomplished by having the trainers on each side of the kennel each in turn calling to the dog. When the dog jumped over the high fence he was actually jumping off of a ramp over the fence onto another ramp. The ramps were approximately 4 1/2 feet high and the fence was 6 feet high. Camera angles made the fence appear higher. The montage of shots with Duke running through the city streets was shot in cuts at various locations with the trainer placing the dog in position and then calling to the dog as he ran from A to B. Puppies are seen at various times mostly as atmosphere at Harry’s office where they are kept in a fenced in enclosure. Two small dogs are present in another scene where they bark throughout an argument that Harry is having with his estranged wife. For this the trainers placed the dogs into position and commanded them to speak at various times during the scene.
