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The Boy-the Dog-and the Painter

A few weeks ago, I had an experience you and your family will soon enjoy: I saw an advance
showing of A DOG OF FLANDERS, a picture of rare and haunting beauty. Its story begins, as all
good stories ever have, with . . . once upon a time.

By Quentin Reynolds

O NCE UPON A TIME, in a small Flemish village, there grew up a boy named Nello. Nello
lived with his grandfather, Jehan Daas, in a humble cottage and with them lived the great
yellow dog Patrasche.

Now Flanders is a land where the sea is as close as a brother; where great windmills stand
like castles in the fields; where poppies grow the size of saucers. It is also a land whose people
worship fine painting with a passion second only to their love of our Lord.

Perhaps in all of Flanders, there was no one who loved painting as devoutly as Nello.
And of all the great Flemish painters Nello loved one above the rest, the master Rubens. To
paint as Rubens painted, this would be heaven itself!

As is clear by now, this is a love story. There is the love of Nello for Rubens; there is the
love of Patrasche for Nello; there is the love of Jehan Daas for them both. In addition, there is
the love of the artist, Pieter Van Gelder, for painting and for his lovely model, Corrie.

Out of these simple, timeless elements—a boy, an old man, a yellow dog, a great faith
and a dream—came a story that has cast its spell over generations of readers. A DOG OF
FLANDERS was written in 1872 by a gifted English woman who called herself Ouida. It is a
simple tale of great power and great tenderness and from it has been made a surpassingly
beautiful motion picture.

The story was filmed in Flanders, a land which has seen little change since Ouida first
wrote it. The camera achieves a magnificent eloquence. Flanders is a region of rich colors and
Director James B. Clark has captured them magically in CinemaScope and De Luxe Color. And
behind the photography, urging the camera at all times, is the story which reaffirms all faiths and
cherished values, reminding us that dignity, courage and decency endure.

I envy those who see this picture for the first time. Their hearts will warm to the simple
humanity of its leading characters as portrayed by David Ladd, Donald Crisp, Theodore Bikel
and Monique Ahrens. A DOG OF FLANDERS will live in the family album of pictures that glow in
the memory. A 20th Century-Fox release.

480—20th Century Fox The Boy The Dog And The Painter