Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend

This is another example of how Susan Orlean can write about the stated topic (in this case, a dog), but also about, oh, so much more. Obviously, this is a biography of TV star Rin Tin Tin and the man who found him and made him a star. But we also learn about dogs in war, how Americans felt about dogs then and now, the movie industry and how it treated animals then and now, how animals on TV started out as noble, brave, lesson-teaching characters but then became laughable, ridiculous characters like Mr. Ed and Arnold Ziffel on Green Acres, how the image of the German Shepard changed in 1963 with the publication of photos of civil rights activists clashing with police.
The ending of the whole story is sad - fortunes lost and lawsuits show more galore. As one quoted magazine writer said about famous dogs, "Success, like a chicken bone, is bad for dogs." Moreso, in this case, for the humans devoted to preserving the image and legacy of Rin Tin Tin. show less

If you follow Susan Orlean on Twitter (@susanorlean), as I do, then you're aware that her new book, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend (Simon & Schuster, 2011) hits bookstores this week. It's been fascinating to watch this book work its way through the production process from the author's perspective, and because of that I feel oddly connected to it in a way I don't feel with most books (excepting those I've assisted with the research for). It's a nice feeling, and it's so exciting to see the book actually "in the wild" now, after all this time.

It's a spectacular book, simply put. As someone who's too young to have experienced even the most recent t.v. iteration of Rin Tin Tin, I probably approach this book differently from those who show more grew up with the television show or those who can remember the earlier films: for me it's less about connecting with a past I remember, and more about learning about something I never knew. Orlean has brought her prodigious talent for telling a good story fully to bear, and the result is, truly, unputdownable.

Orlean leaves no corner of the Rin Tin Tin story unexplored: she goes to France and locates (with some difficulty!) the small town where soldier Lee Duncan found the young pup he would name Rin Tin Tin in the waning days of World War I. She follows Duncan and his superbly-trained dog to Hollywood and describes how "Rinty" became a star. She profiles those humans who devoted their lives to the dog, and to the idea that there would always be a Rin Tin Tin: original owner/trainer Lee Duncan, his partner and successor Bert Leonard, and many other players in the story.

In telling the story, Orlean seamlessly integrates supplementary material on the history of dog breeding in general and of German shepherds in particular, of dog training and canine military units in the world wars, of early Hollywood animals and the fierce competition between their human teams for commercial success and advertising sponsorship. As much as it's the story of Rin Tin Tin, it's also the story of the American entertainment industry, from the days of the silent movie to the rise of HBO.

Orlean describes her own memories, of watching Rin Tin Tin shows and of lusting after a Rin Tin Tin toy belonging to her grandfather. And (one of my favorite aspects of her books) she offers glimpses of her research process and experiences: here, some of the most poignant scenes for me were her descriptions of how she felt as she read through the archival collections of Duncan and Lambert's papers (the latter being located in a storage locker).

A heart-touching story of devotion and persistence, told by one of the masters of contemporary American writing. Recommended very highly indeed.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-rin-tin-tin.html show less

I was one of the heathen. As a Generation Xer, I had never seen a Rin Tin Tin movie or even knew a television series existed. Yes, the name was familiar, but as a cinematic legend up there with Chaplin, Chaney, and Fairbanks. After reading this wonderful journey of a dog, his owner, and all of the people connected to his name, I immediately jumped to YouTube for clips of the original Rinty silent movies. Now, I'm a member of the family.

[a:Susan Orlean|45374|Susan Orlean|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1316565913p2/45374.jpg] captures the essence of 'yearning' in this account of how the silver screen's greatest canine star (not you, Lassie) changed the lives of people who needed a flagpole in their lives. Her first description of the dog, show more "the resigned and solemn air of an existentialist", lets us know this wasn't a modern-era cloistered dog but a disciplined orphan who brought hope to his discoverer and trainer, Lee Duncan. Whether she is comparing orphanages to pawnshops or explicitly telling the reader exactly what the Brits did to the thousands of family dogs donated to the war effort in WWI, Orlean gives us a page-turner as each decade opens a new tale with new people. The solemn dog born on a wretched battlefield in the War To End All Wars was a companion for the companionless, and this rule holds true throughout the book.

She also lets us understand how quickly the role of the dog changed in western households, thanks to Rin Tin Tin. When he was born, German Shepherds were still a new breed, strong and fluid. As Rinty's popularity soared worldwide, everyday people wanted the same dog and the resulting breeding miscues have now provided a breed that suffers painful hip dysplasia and shorter lifespans. The fame of Rin Tin Tin also meant that dogs started progressing from outside rural farm workers to indoor urban pampered pets, and this drastic change moved rapidly with the end of WWII and the beginning of the Baby Boomers.

As I read this, I realized just how much a dog can affect a person. A three-legged canine, who came with the name of "Tripod", entered my own life when I accidentally agreed to take on a rescue dog no one else wanted. My life changed because I had to adapt to his special needs. As I walked this strange dog (German Shepherd/Lab/Lucifer), a new world opened to me. People who previously walked by would stop to talk to him and learn his story (I think he cut off his own leg). Since we lived in La-La Land, I received weekly cards from film industry scouts who were desperate to sign him (I still have a box with dozens of the requests). Tripod was friend to all, foe to none. He had a special affinity for comforting those in need, whether it was a wandering Alzheimer's patient who believed Tripod had landed with him during D-Day or an elderly widow who woke up early each morning to sit with Tripod and talk about his late wife (to the dog, never to me), the dog taught me not to worry about the past or the future. I could only stand by in bemusement as complete strangers told us their life stories, unasked. When he died, the world he had opened to me closed forever.

And I'm not even a dog person. Thank you, Rinty, the dog who saved Hollywood and a few human souls. And thank you, Susan Orlean, for such a treasure.

Book Season = Year Round (help an unwanted doggy) show less

Rin Tin Tin as "dog" is a minor part of the story. The people who loved him, his story, and what they felt he stood for are at the center of the marvelously researched tale. It begins with the adoption of a war dog puppy in World War I and ends in obsession and, in the American Way, in litigation. Orlean includes herself in those obsessed by the Rin Tin Tin phenomenon, and it has led to a true treat of a book for all of us.

In the beginning, there was an orphaned German Shepherd puppy in the war-torn fields of World War One France, and a young American soldier who had spent a lot of his life lonely and isolated, and part of it in an orphanage. The young soldier was Lee Duncan; the orphan puppy became Rin Tin Tin, a leading canine actor of the silent movie period.

It’s easy to misunderstand that last bit, today, when animals in movies almost always play a comic role and are foils for the human actors. During the silent era, animal actors were on a much more equal footing with human actors, because neither had the advantage of speech. Rin Tin Tin, along with other dog actors, played a range of dramatic roles comparable to a human actor, and Rinty, as Duncan show more called him, was a major movie star. He was smart, highly trainable, and learned to express a wide range of emotions. Duncan took him home from France (an adventure in itself), trained him, and eventually started making the rounds of the movie studios, campaigning for a “break” for his beloved dog.

Orlean gives us the very human story of Duncan’s mostly isolated childhood, his pre-war happy employment in the gun department of a sporting goods store, and, after his return home from the war with the puppy Rin Tin Tin, his discovery that the experience of war had made him permanently uncomfortable around guns. He needed to find another way to support himself, and time spent with his dog was the surest way to ground himself and remain functional. (Many soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have had remarkably similar experiences, including the steadying benefits of a companion dog, whether brought home from the war zone or not.) Rinty gets his chance, becomes a big star, and he and Duncan are living the good life.

Then Rinty gets older, less able to do his really athletic stunts, and the Depression hits. Lee Duncan was, as a businessman, honest and naive, and got hurt badly by the financial crash. But he never gave up, and he believed in the idea of Rin Tin Tin as much as in the specific dog he brought home from France. This is also the story of the descendants and maybe-descendants of the original Rin Tin Tin, and Duncan’s dedicated efforts to keep the idea and the ideal of Rin Tin Tin alive. This includes the incarnation of Rin Tin Tin that both Orlean and I knew as children: the tv show set in the American west, decades before the original Rin Tin Tin was born. That tv show was created by producer Bert Leonard, who became as dedicated a supporter of Rin Tin Tin as Duncan himself.
Both Duncan and Leonard experienced success because of Rin Tin Tin, but also paid a real price for a dedication that went beyond the pragmatic and, in business terms, beyond the sensible. This is a fascinating look at not only the dogs who were Rin Tin Tin, but the people around them, and the impact this dog had on their professional, personal, and family lives.

Recommended.

I bought this book. show less

Before this book, my one vague memory of Rin Tin Tin was that short scene in 101 Dalmatians where the puppies are watching it on TV. Yet, I somehow knew that Rin Tin Tin was a dog, and even had a blurry picture of a German Shepard in my mind, and knew that he was a famous dog actor back in the day. So even me, who was born decades after Rin Tin Tin was last on the air, knew of him.

I found Orlean's dedication to her research and her ability to bring back to life the history of Rin Tin Tin and those around him remarkable. I sped through most of the book in one sitting, and probably would have finished it then if the plane hadn't landed.

After reading the book I found that a) I wanted to watch some of the original Rin Tin Tin silent movies, show more and b) get a German Shepard. Despite not having grown up with Rinty, Orlean made me fall in love with the dog and want to be a part of his legacy.

A great book for any dog lover, or any movie history buff.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Goodreads First Reads program. show less

In World War I, a young soldier named Lee Duncan found a litter of puppies in a ruined kennel on a battlefield in France. Lee managed to bring two of the puppies home, and one of them grew up to become the famed movie-star dog Rin Tin Tin. I had heard the name before, but knew nothing else about him. This book depicts pretty clearly what was so remarkable about the dog and how he became so famous. Coming from a rather lonely childhood, Lee bonded closely with Rin Tin Tin and trained him to follow detailed commands. The author does a great job at noting how different society and the role of dogs in America was back then- most dogs were working animals, didn’t live in the house, and were not trained- not even to the basic “sit”, show more “come” or “heel”. Rin Tin Tin was not only well-trained but had a very expressive face, this combined with his intelligence and aptitude for physical feats- leaping long distances, clearing obstacles, pulling items, etc- made him a star in silent films where his roles were central, just as much as the human actors. Apparently he embodied the values of bravery and loyalty to the public, caused german shepherd dogs to become wildly popular, and even led to the obedience training of household dogs to become common. Lee was enraptured with his dog and worked to breed Rin Tin Tin, selling the puppies then selecting and training a suitable inheritor for the dog’s role. Because of course the dog got old and eventually died, but one of his offspring took his place.

A lot of the book is about the show business, how the dog’s popularity waxed and waned, how it went from being one particular famed dog to a famous character portrayed by many dogs, about the people who took care of him, trained him, wrote scripts for him, and fought over rights to his image. How the character portrayal and management of dogs acting for Rin Tin Tin diverged from the actual canine descendants that were bred. The clash between Rin Tin Tin and Lassie for popularity, and how Rin Tin Tin the movie dog differed from the TV show. About people who collected Rin Tin Tin memorabilia, or longed for one of the german shepherds descended from him, and on and on. At times I thought I would get tired of this book because it was so much about the people and circumstances surrounding the dog, more than Rin Tin Tin himself. But in all it was pretty darn interesting, especially the cultural aspects, I learned things about American history I didn’t know before, especially in regards to the filmmaking industry, dog breed clubs and shows.

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