The Littlest Hobo
| The Littlest Hobo | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Charles R. Rondeau |
| Written by | Dorrell McGowan |
| Starring | Buddy Hart Wendy Stuart Carlyle Mitchell Howard Hoffman |
Release date | 1958 |
Running time | 77 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
The Littlest Hobo is the title of a 1958 American film directed by Charles R. Rondeau, written by Dorrell McGowan, and starring Buddy Hart, Wendy Stuart, Carlyle Mitchell and Howard Hoffman. It is also the title of two Canadian-produced television series based upon it. The show first aired from 1963 to 1965 and was then revived for a popular second run on CTV from 1979 to 1985.
Concept
All three productions centered around a stray German shepherd that wandered from town to town helping people in need. In the 1958 movie the dog was tethered to a lamb for most of the story. Although the concept was similar to that of Lassie, the Littlest Hobo did not have an owner and despite the attempts of many people to adopt him, he preferred to be on his own and would head off by himself at the end of each episode. Never actually named on-screen, the dog is therefore often referred to by the name Hobo (though he was often given a name by one of his multitude of temporary owners). Although there were recurring actors in the 1960s series, the only constant was the dog. In the 1979-1985 series, there were no regularly appearing human actors.
1963-1965 series
Following the 1958 film, the 1960s TV series was aired in syndication around the world, and is best remembered for a scene (later included in the closing credits of most episodes) showing the dog actually riding a parachute. (This was before animal treatment regulations outlawed such activity in film productions).
The German shepherd dogs featured in the 1960's series were owned and trained by Charles "Chuck" Eisenmann. The primary star was London, but some of London's relatives, including Toro, Litlon and Thorn, also played scenes as the Hobo. Eisenmann recounts many stories from the filming of the series in his 1968 book Stop! Sit! and Think
Selected episodes of the 1960s series have been released on DVD in North America.
1979-1985 series
In 1979, CTV revived the series, which unlike the previous series was shot on videotape rather than on film. Over six seasons the New Littlest Hobo (as it was sometimes called) featured many big-name Hollywood guest stars (such as Alan Hale, Jr., DeForest Kelley, and Henry Gibson) and plotlines that ranged from traditional "dog helps boy" stories to outlandish secret agent-type tales. Its theme song, "Maybe Tomorrow", was sung by Terry Bush. John Crossen provided the music. The song was commercially released in 2005 by Terry Bush as part of his debut album, also entitled "Maybe Tomorrow".[1]
The dogs that starred in the two series were both named London though it's not known if they were actually related to the dog from the earlier series, although they were of the same breed.
Tributes
Corner Gas
An episode of the popular Canadian sitcom, Corner Gas, paid tribute to The Littlest Hobo in the episode "The Littlest Yarbo" that first aired in October 2005. In this episode, a German shepherd mysteriously arrives in show's fictional setting of Dog River, Saskatchewan and begins intervening whenever someone gets into trouble. Hank, the town's resident dimwit, is convinced this dog is The Littlest Hobo from TV. The episode ends with "Hobo" locking Brent and Hank in a shed and stealing a steak off a barbecue while Brent yells "This isn't very Hobo like!". The dog then hops onto the back of pick-up truck heading out of town, as "Maybe Tomorrow" plays over the episode's closing credits. (The dog used in this episode differed from London, however, in that he was golden colored, compared to the salt-and-pepper coloring of the original.)
Spaced
An episode of the British sitcom, Spaced, used a version of the theme song in a scene in which the main character's dog, Colin, wandered off.
Trailer Park Boys
Ricky, one of the protagonists of Trailer Park Boys, a popular Canadian television program, watches The Littlest Hobo on his run-down television. Ricky sings along with the program's theme song.
Dogbarked
In James O'Shea's play Dogbarked, the two main characters, Roland and Baxter, have a lengthy exchange about the program in an effort to try to recall the name of both the program and the title character. The dialogue wraps up when they sing a brief excerpt of the theme song.
Bret McKenzie makes a tribute through an interview with HBO on Youtube.
