Robert Blake had been out of the public eye for a decade when, in 2005, he stood trial for and was acquitted of the murder of wife Bonnie Bakley. The trial renewed public interest in both his life and film career, and quite a few long-forgotten Blake films began to make their way to the home market. One of these was the 1947 film THE RETURN OF RIN TIN TIN, which starred the then-thirteen year old Blake in a standard "a boy and his dog" story.

As a movie, THE RETURN OF RIN TIN TIN isn't bad, but neither is it anything to write home about. The story concerns Paul (Blake), a war orphan, who is sent to live with "kindly Father Paul" (Donald Wood)--but the traumatized boy proves unreachable until he encounters canine star Rin Tin Tin (the third German Shepherd of that name.) Unfortunately, no sooner does Rin Tin Tin lure Paul out of his shell than the dog's true owners come to call.

At present the film is only available to the homemarket via a release by Digiview. The DVD case describes the film as "digitally remastered," but don't you believe it. The color is bleached and the picture is so fuzzy that it is often difficult to tell whether you are looking at Blake or at Rin Tin Tin! And in terms of atrocity the sound isn't far behind. No matter how inexpensive the price may be, THE RETURN OF RIN TIN TIN isn't worth it. Avoid it like the plague.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer