If you’re a movie buff, you probably smiled when you saw the elbow-in-the-ribs joke of this film’s title, but to illuminate those who don’t know their Hollywood trivia, it’s been said that the success of “Where the North Begins,” which provided a similarly-named canine star (Rin Tin Tin) with his first starring role, was responsible for keeping Warner Brothers from going bankrupt. “Won Ton Ton: The Dog Saved Hollywood” takes that approximate concept – a dog becoming a bigger star than most human actors – and adds to the plot a would-be actress (Madeline Kahn) who’s the only person to whom Won Ton Ton will listen. Bruce Dern plays the aspiring director whose career takes off thanks to the dog, Art Carney is the studio head, and Ron Leibman gets a lot of laughs out of his role as Rudy Montague, a very thinly-veiled version of Rudolph Valentino, but the real fun of the flick comes from the number of old-Hollywood stars who make cameos. Indeed, “Won Ton Ton” might actually beat “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” for the number of guest stars, though it’s a little sad to realize that, in 2008, only real cinemaphiles will appreciate how cool it is to see a cast which includes…wait, let me take a deep breath…Johnny Weismuller, Victor Mature, Rudy Vallee, Walter Pidgeon, Ann Miller, Ann Rutherford, Peter Lawford, the Ritz Brothers, Andy Devine, Alice Faye, Dennis Day, Broderick Crawford, Cyd Charisse, Fernando Lamas, Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Lamour, William Demarest, Jackie Coogan, Phil Silvers, George Jessel, Edgar Bergen, and even Stepin Fetchit. “Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood” isn’t a true classic of the ’70s, but when it comes to films which provide opportunities to say, “Hey, look, that’s (INSERT ACTOR HERE),” it’s in a league of its own.
