A film with a truly unique premise. A dog trained to attack black people is hit by a car driven by an aspiring actress. She takes him in and the dog even saves her from a burglar/rapist. But when the dog attacks her black co-star on the sets of a film and makes her boyfriend uncomfortable, the actress takes him to the owner of an animal training ranch. The owner of the ranch (a great Burl Ives) directs the actress to an animal trainer (Paul Winfield) who is black but agrees to cure the dog of its racism.I am surprised the makers couldn't find a better leading lady than Kristy McNichol. She was alright, but I am sure there were better actresses in the 1980s who would have been interested in working with Fuller. I liked the scene where Ives character takes a dig at Star Wars by throwing an arrow at the Star Wars robot target. Paul Winfield had great screen presence. The dog also looked sinister as hell with its sharp teeth and long tongue.Morricone's score is terrific. But it was best suited for one of those intense Italian movies of the 60s and 70s.The film had so much potential. But writer-director Samuel Fuller and co-writer Curtis Hanson messes up. Many of the scenes lacked weight. The plot developments were unimaginative.This is a film that seems to have garnered a cult following based on its unique premise, rather than what the writer-director actually realized.

Anyone - and I mean anyone - who has seen this film knows that it is not racist in any way. As so many people have hastened to add, it is anti-racist and very much so. It seems almost unimaginable that "White Dog" was banned but we are discussing people in the United States who have never even seen it but are quite willing to prevent it from being seen. It's a sad example of American "pride of ignorance" that puts us both part and behind in the world. The music by Ennio Morricone is fabulous. From the opening credits we have a rather simple musical format with piano and light strings but reinforced by 'celli, all to appear musically "three dimensional" and cluing us into the idea that the film goes well beyond the surface. Yes, it is anti-racist but its message goes deeper. Sam Fuller has made the point that racism is learned (and taught) to the extent that it is extremely difficult to eradicate. The message is crystal clear.Curtis Stotlar

The movie White Dog is definitely a hidden gem. It is so sad that this movie was not shown in the theaters at that time. The movie absolutely had nothing to do with promoting racism. Opposite of it, movie is anti-racist and white dog is a metaphor for racism in the society. Is racism curable? Can you unteach racism to a person who is brainwashed by racism? Movie concerns with these social issues. Movie not only raises some important questions about racism, but also entertains its audience. There are some very thrilling scenes in the movie. I am sure that the movie would have a great box office success if it was released in the theaters. Most of the movies which appeal to a large audience is not concerned with any social or any other issue. And most of the movies which are concerned about social issues do not appeal to a large audience. White Dog is one of few exceptions. The movie would effect a whole generation to think about these issues if it was released those days.Banning such movie by the claim of racism is absurd. It made me doubtful about the freedom of speech in the US. Why did they banned the movie? Authorities of the time were so illogical to think that the movie is racist? Or they just did not want this movie to point some of social issues to the large audiences? I think there is no way a person can think this movie is racist. So, there can be only one reason why did they banned such movie...

Samuel Fuller directs this film to reflect racism through a dog's perspective. Not at all is the film racist, on the contrary Fuller's main objective is to communicate a point across during that era. I think that this film portrays what was and is still occurring. The movie is not about "ohh look how cute is that dog". it's about a dog that has been mislead and taught to do the wrong thing. The white dog has been taught to attack black people. As a puppy the dog learned that because he had a bad experience with black person every other black person was the same. However, he was just poisoned by the very owner that had a hate for black people. Julie Sawyer one of the main actresses confronts the dog's ex- owner and speaks out her mind about how he had done such a hard to the dog. Racist people that spoil the rest of the bunch should be put a stop to because categorizing people according to their skin color isn't fair. This movie raises suspense but at times the music is too over the top, overall this film contains a greater meaning.