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"There  have been many German Shepherd Dogs that have tried for stardom since the 1920’s. I have compiled a list containing some of these German Shepherd Dogs along with the titles of their movies. There is very little if any information noted for many of these dogs but I will do my best to provide you with what I have."
-  Movie Titles highlighted in Orange below are part of my collection. -
- Titles in White are assumed to be Lost Movies or in the hands of Private Collectors. -

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"Strongheart"    

In the beginning there was Strongheart (Etzel von Oeringer) 1917-1929.
Animal trainer Larry Trimble and his screenwriter wife Jane Murfin had the idea to introduce a Dog Star in a feature film.
This German Shepherd Dogs name was Strongheart and the movie title is "The Silent Call" (1921).  
Other movies included "Brawn of the North" (1922)  - "The Love Master" (1924)  - "White Fang" (1925) 
"North Star" (1925) and "The Return of Boston Blackie" (1927).
To the best of my knowledge "The Return of Boston Blackie" is the only Strongheart movie that still exists today.
Update:  A Copy of Stronghearts "The Love Master" is held in the Archives du Film du CNC in Paris.

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"Rin-Tin-Tin" - The Most Famous of All

"Rin-Tin-Tin"

The next to hit the silver screen was probably the most famous German Shepherd Dog of them all. Rin-Tin-Tin (1918-1932). While serving in the 136^th Aero Division, Corporal Lee Duncan rescued Rin-Tin-Tin from an abandoned German War Dog station in Paris France in September of 1918. He introduced Rinty to the movies who starred in nearly two dozen Silent Films.
His first major feature film was with Warner Brothers  -  "Where the North Begins" in 1923.
Here is a list of his movies.

"The Man from Hell’s River" (1922)  - "My Dad" (1922)  - "Where the North Begins" (1923)   
"Shadows of the North" (1923) - "Hello Frisco" (1924) (a 10 minute short)  -  "Find your Man" (1924)
"The Lighthouse by the Sea" (1925)  - "Clash of the Wolves" (1925)  - "Tracked in the Snow Country" (1925)  
"Below the Line" (1925)  - " The Night Cry" (1926)   -  " A Hero of the Big Snow" (1926)   
"While London Sleeps" (1926)  - "Hills of Kentucky" (1927)  - "Jaws of Steel" (1927) 
"Tracked by the Police" (1927)  - "A Dog of the Regiment" (1927)  -  "A Race for Life" (1928) 
"Rinty of the Desert" (1928)  -  "Land of the Silver Fox" (1928)  - " The Famous Warner Brothers Dog Star" (1928) (a short)  
"The Million Dollar Collar" (1929)  - "Frozen River" (1929)   and seven Barkies.   "The Show of Shows" (1929)    
" Tiger Rose" (1929)  -  "The Man Hunter" (1930)  -  "On the Border" (1930) -  "Rough Waters" (1930) 
"The Lone Defender" (1930)  - "The Lightning Warrior" (1931)
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"Rin-Tin-Tin" died August 10, 1932 at the age of 14. He was laid to rest in a Bronze Casket
at Mr. Duncans home in Riverside California  under a beautiful rose bush, with the toys he played with.
Rinty's remains were later moved to "The Cimetie're des Chiens" in Paris France.
His stone is made from beautiful Black Marble and originally had a Statue of Rin-Tin-Tin on top
which was stolen several years ago. The cemetery is said to be having financial difficulties because
there are very few visitors and few Parisians bury their pets there anymore. One day they may close
their gates and Rin-Tin-Tin will be lost forever.

"Thanks to my friend Alain Sodoyer who took
this photo and left flowers on Rinty's grave for me."
(June 1998) 

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"Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr."  with Jackie Cooper
"Tough Guy"  (1936)

A promotional photo from "Tough Guy"
Note the difference in the German Shepherd Dogs in the two photos.
It is said that "Flash" was originally  cast for the movie but was replaced with
"Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr." at the last minute.
"Flash" is featured further down on this page.

"Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr."

After the death of Rin-Tin-Tin in 1932, Lee Duncan introduced another of his German Shepherd Dogs to the Silver Screen. Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr.
He starred in many movies through the 1930’s.
"Pride of the Legion" (1932)  "The Wolf Dog" (1933)  "Law of the Wild" (1934)  - "The Test" (1935)  - "Skull and Crown" (1935)
"Caryl of the Mountains" (1936)  
"The Adventures of Rex and Rinty" (1935)  - "Vengeance of Rannah" (1936)  - "Tough Guy " (1936)
"The Silver Trail" (1937)  - "Fangs of the Wild" (1938)  - "Death Goes North" (1939)  - "Law of the Wolf" (1941)
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"During the 1920’s and 1930’s other German Shepherd Dogs took a shot in the movies. The following are names of some of the dogs and movies they starred in."
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"Leader"
"The Return of Grey Wolf" (1922)
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"Wolfheart" in "Fangs of Wolfheart" (1925)

"Wolfheart"
"The Wonder Dog"
"The Big Stunt" (1925)  - "Wolfheart's Revenge" (1925)
"Courage of Wolfheart" (1925)   - "Fangs of Wolfheart" (1925)
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"Brawn"
(Son of Strongheart)
"Flapper Wives" (1924)

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"Fangs"
"Baited Trap" (1926) - "West of the Law" (1926) - "Sheriff's Girl (1926)
"The Range Riders" (1927) - "Riders of the West" (1927)
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"Ranger"
"Flaming Fury" (1926) - "Flashing Fangs" (1926)  - "Ranger of the North" (1927)  - "Swift Shadow" (1927)
"When a Dog Loves" (1927)  - "Outlaw Dog" (1927)  - "Breed of Courage" (1927) - "A Flame in the Sky" (1927)
"The Law of Fear" (1928)  - "Fangs of the Wild" (1928)   -  "Dog Law" (1928) - "Dog Justice" (1928)
"Tracked" (1928) - "When Dreams Come True" (1929) - "The One Man Dog" (1929) - "Fury of the Wild" (1929)
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"Rum Runners" (1926)

"Fearless"
Billed as "The Great Police Dog" - "The Great Police Dog Detective"
"The Peer of all Dog Actors" and "The Greatest of all Dog Actors"

"Fearless" starred in a series of 13 of short films from August to
October in 1926, 2 reels each produced by VAN PELT PRODUCTIONS, distributed
by Chesterfield Films and all them directed by Ernest Van Pelt. The star was billed as
"Fearless, the Dog Detective" and the titles of the shorts were:
(There is some question to if there were 12 or 13 titles. We are looking into this now.)
Also, there is a rumor that says Fearless had a female pal named "Trixie"

"The Silent Trailer"
"Dog Scents" - "A String of Diamonds" - "A Dumb Romeo" - "Rum Runners"
"Almost Human" - "His Pal" - "The Thief of Thieves" - "Fangs of Vengeance"
"The Wolf" - "The Love Fighter" - "Dog of Dogs" - "Detective K9"  

"Thanks to Fabian Cepeda and Chris Snowden  for the above information on "Fearless"

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"Lightnin"
"The Police Dog"
"Honor" (192?)  - "Claws" (192?)  - "Fangs" (192?)  - "Rage" (192?) - "Speed" (1924)
"Instinct" (192?) - "Vengeance" (192?) - "Lure of the Wild" (1925) - "Blitz" (1926)

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"Silver Streak"
"King of the Dog Stars"
"Fangs of Justice" (1926)  - "The Silent Flyer" (1926) - "Where Trails Begin" (1927)
"Cross Breed" (1927)  - "Code of the Air" (1928)
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Napoleon poses between scenes
of
"The Thirteenth Hour"  (1927)
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A scene from "The Danger Zone" (1928)

"Napoleon"
"Peacock Alley" (1922) - "The Silent Hero" (1927)  - "The Thirteenth Hour" (1927) - "The Danger Patrol" (1928)
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"Champion"
"The Sky Rider" (1927) - "The Silent Sentinel" (1929)
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"Peter the Great" with Eleanor Boardman
in
"The Silent Accuser" (1924)

"Peter the Great"

"Peter" was another German Shepherd Dog who might have been as famous as "Rin-Tin-Tin" or "Strongheart"
if it wasn't for a tragedy. Peter was brought from Germany in the early 1920's by his friend and master Edward Faust.
He did some small scenes in several films and was so well trained and so daring that he was called upon
to perform stunts for Thunder and Strongheart. He was finally given a leading role in the movie,
"The Silent Accuser" (1924).
Peter was having great  success in his movie career but tragedy was soon to happen.
The following is an account of what happened to Peter the Great  from the book
(Peter) written by Clara Foglesong in 1946.
On June 6, 1926,  Peter, Edward and a couple of friends were driving to a dinner party.
On the way Edward decided to stop by a friends house. (Fred Cyriacks)
A friend who had played with Peter and whom Peter loved.
Edward went to the door and rung the bell. His friend answered. Suddenly loud words from Edward and his friend filled the air. Edwards friend turned, ran into the house and returned with a rifle. Edward  ran to the car and started to drive away. Suddenly a shot rang out cutting through the back of the car. Another shot, this one straight in line with Edwards head. Peter knew that something was wrong and jumped toward Edward. He was struck in the neck. Peter was rushed to the hospital where for 3 days and 2 nights specialists tried to save him. Peter died with his paws in the hands of Edward.

On December 9, 1927 the Los Angeles Superior Court awarded the owners of
Peter The Great,  $125,000.00, to be paid by Cyriacks for killing the famous German Shepherd Dog.
(To read transcripts from this trial, click here)

To the best of my knowledge, these are the only films which Peter played the leading role.
I don't believe only one (1) is in existence today.
"Little Red Riding Hood" (1922)
"The Silent Accuser" (1924)   - "Wild Justice" (1925)  - "Sign of the Claw" (1926) - "King of the Pack" (1926)

"Thanks to Kathy Wittwer for the book "Peter" with this information."

A scene from the movie "Wild Justice" (1925)
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"Sandow"
"The Call of the Wilderness" (1926) - "Code of the Northwest" (1926) - "Avenging Fangs" (1927)
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"Dynamite"
"The Wonder Police Dog"
"Wolf's Trail" (1927) - "Fangs of Destiny" (1927)  - "The Hound of Silver Creek" (1928)
"The Call of the Heart" (1928) - "The Four Footed Ranger" (1928)
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"Thunder" in "Wings of the Storm" (1926)

"Thunder"
"The Dog Marvel"
" Black Lightning" (1924) - "The Silent Pal" (1925)  - "His Masters Voice" (1925)
"The Phantom of the Forest" (1926) - "Wings of the Storm" (1926)
"The Silent Avenger" (1927) - "Wolf Fangs" (1927)
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"White Fawn"
Billed as
"The Screens only White Police Dog"
and co-starred with "Thunder" in
"His Masters Voice" (1925)  - "The Phantom of the Forest" (1926) - "Wolf Fangs" (1927) 
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"Rex"
"Rex" starred with actor Art Acord in over a dozen movies during the 1920's
Acord himself starred in over One Hundred  movies in his career.
Nearly all are thought to be lost.

"The Oregon Trail" (1925) - "Three in Exile" (1925) - "The Circus Cyclone" (1925) - "The Wild Girl" (1925) - "The Silent Guardian" (1925)
"Pals" (1925) - "The Call of Courage" (1925) - "Sky High Corral" (1926) - "Rustlers Ranch" (1926) - "The Scrappin' Kid" (1926) 
"The Terror" (1926) -  "West of Rainbows End" (1926) - "The Man from the West" (1926) - "Hi-Jacking Rustlers" (1926) - "Set Free" (1927)
"The Western Rover" (1927) - "The Two Outlaws" (1928) - "Bullets and Justice" (1929) - "The Arizona Kid" (1929) aka Persued  

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"Zimbo"
"The Man Who Laughs" (1928)
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"Lightnin Girl"
"Call of the Klondike" (1926)

"A Special Thanks to Jack Hardy of Grapevine Video for this new addition
to my Video collection. He recently found this film in his archives of  great old movies."
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"Cyclone"
"The Yellow Cameo" (1928)  -  10 chapter serial
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"Klondike"
"The Laws Lash" (1928) - "Marlie the Killer" (1928) - "Fangs of Fate" (1928) - "The Avenging Shadow" (1928)
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Harry Piel and "Grief"
in
"Sein Bester Freund" - German (1929)

"Grief"
"Your Best Friend" (1929)
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"Flash" at home.

"Flash"
"Shadows of the Night" (1928) - "Under the Black Eagle" (1928) -  "Honeymoon" (1929)
  "Flaming Signal" (1933) - "Death Fangs" - "Crack-Up" (1934) - "Wild Waters" (1935)
"Timberesque" (1935) - "Call the Mesquiteers" (1938)
The above photo of "Flash" is from the personal collection of William Frederick Steuer.
He was the Owner/Trainer of "Flash" and Flash's son "Friday" who also starred in movies in the early 1940's.

"Thanks to Dawn Brown a Great Grand Daughter to Mr. Steuer for this photograph."
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"King"
Billed as "The Emperor of all Dogs"
"Untamed Justice" (1929) -  "Phantoms of the North"   (1929) - "Sign of the Wolf" (1931) Serial
"The Lone Trail" (1936)  a feature film cut from the 1931 Ten Chapter Serial, "Sign of the Wolf"
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"Caesar"
"Trailing the Killer" (1932)
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"Kazan"
Billed as "The Dog Marvel" and "The Wonder Dog"
"Jaws of Justice" (1933)  - "Ferocious Pal" (1934) - "Fighting Fury" (1938)
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"Captain"
"Timber Terrors" (1934) - "Courage of the North" (1935)
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"Captain" and "Lady"
"Fighting to Live"  (1934)
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"Lightning"
( Grandson of Strongheart )
Billed as "The Wonder Dog" and "The Marvel Dog"
"When Lightening Strikes" (1934)  - "Mans Best Friend" (1935) - "Wings in the Dark" (1935)
"A Dog of Flanders" (1935) - "White Fang" (1936)  - "Two in Revolt" (1936)
  "Renfrew of the Royal Mounted" (1937) - "Thorobreds All" (193?)
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"Tarzan"
"Inside Information" (1934) - "Million Dollar Haul" (1935) - "Captured in Chinatown" (1935)
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"Lobo"
"The Marvel Dog"
"Thunderbolt" (1935) - "Guard That Girl" (1935)
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"Wolfang"  in a scene from
"The Silent Code" (1935)

"Wolfang"
"The Silent Code" (1935)
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"Zandra"
"Trail of the Hawk" (1935) - "Paradise Valley" (1936)
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"Braveheart"
"Desert Justice" (1936) - "Gun Grit" (1936)
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"Silver Wolf"
"The Rogues Tavern" (1936) - "Killer Dog" (1936) - "Children of the Wild" (1937)  - "Radio Patrol" (1937)
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"Boots"
"The Adventures of the Masked Phantom" (1938)
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Caption reads: "A famous Grandson, Rin-Tin-Tin II, assists his master, Lee Duncan,
to try to carry out an extensive dog training course at Camp Hann. Mr. Duncan was the Owner and Trainer
of the celebrated dog movie actor (Rin-Tin-Tin) of a decade ago."

"Thanks to Anita Bishop for sharing this picture and article."
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In the late 1930's and into the 1940's more German Shepherd Dogs entered the movies.
There was  Ace  - Captain Boots  -  Smokey - Shadow - Friday - Flame
and after nearly a decade Mr. Lee Duncan
brought yet another of his German Shepherd Dogs to the screen.
Rin-Tin-Tin III

Ace was probably the most well know German Shepherd Dog stars of the 1940's. I believe he first appeared
in a movie titled  "Orphans of the Street" (1938).   He also starred in several others including at least one serial.
The following is a list of his movie titles I have gathered for him.
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"Ace"
"The Wonder Dog"
"Orphans of the Street" (1938)  - "Heart of the North" (1938) -  "Blind Alibi" (1938)  - "Rookie Cop" (1939)
"Almost a Gentleman" (1939)  - "Girl from Gods Country" (1940)  -  "Girl from Alaska" (1942)
"Nyoka and the Tigermen" (1942) (aka - The Perils of Nyoka) 15 chapter serial
"War Dogs" (1942) (aka - Unsung Heroes) - "Jack London" (1943) - "Silent Witness" (1943) 
"The Phantom" (1943) 15 chapter serial - "The Monster Maker" (1944) - "Adventures of Rusty" (1945)
"Danny Boy" (1946) - "Gods Country" (1946)

"Thanks to Jan Willis for the help with the information on "Ace."
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"Silver King"
"Renfrew On the Great White Trail" (1938) - "Rusty Rides Alone" (1933)
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"Smokey"
"Hittin The Trail" (1937)
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"Bill"
"Escape by Night" (1937)
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"Ace"
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"Grey Shadow"
"Wolf Call" (1939)  - "Sign of the Wolf" (1941) - "Wild Geese Calling" (1941) - "My Pal, Wolf" (1944)
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"Captain Boots"
"Silver Stallion" (1941)
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"Duke"
"Death Valley Outlaws" - (1941)
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"Gray Shadow"
"Desert Escape" (1940) - "Saboteur" (1942)

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"Smokey" and "Shadow"
"Sign of the Wolf" (1941)
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"Friday" in a scene from
"Eyes in the Night" (1942)

"Friday"
( Son of the Silent Star Flash )
"Eyes in the Night" (1942) - "The Hidden Eye" (1945)
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      This page was last updated on 03/18/08.
by
Page Owner, Dan Condon

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