Rabid dog


Did they actually kill a dog? The dog behavior was very similar to an actual rabid dog.

Every man has two nations, one of them is France. (B. Franklin)

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Yes, Atticus killed it

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hahaha! And where did they get the rabid dog?

Every man has two nations, one of them is France. (B. Franklin)

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Doubt it, even back then they had ways to film animals without causing actual suffering.

First, the dog was filmed from far away. It looked like the dog was doing the same movement over and over, which suggests a looped footage.

Second, the dog was limping. They may have got a dog that already limped, or they got one which was trained to limp.

Third dogs can be trained to play dead on command. The trainer calls out and the dog falls over, then gets a treat for doing a good job.

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You're points are valid. However, it does appear they may have shot a dog because you can see the moment of impact of the bullet hitting the dog, it would be very difficult to recreate that impact without causing serious injury to the dog. I think it is quite possible the director was able to find a dog that was sickly and needed to be put down.

~ I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right! ~

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No, they did not shot an actual rabid dog. The bullet impact shot you are referring to was added in. The scene of the Sheriff and Atticus arriving was filmed and possibly another scene of them talking and Atticus firing the gun. The dog's scenes were filmed and then the all the scenes were put together and then the sound effect of the gunshot was added in last.

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[deleted]

It looked to me (and I've seen this movie dozens of times) that they simply pulled the dogs back leg then the camera pans away. Along with the sound effect and the build up, your mind imagines the rest.

I can't imagine shooting a dog for a movie effect, first of all someone would have to be a good shot, the sick dog would have to stand still, and then you'd have to worry about the Kennedy effect, and then if you needed to do another take, get another dog that looks like him, jeez,,,

Ephemeron.

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Hang on.
Doesn't anyone know for sure?
So far, all has been speculation.
I wanna see facts... first-hand, or references... not guesses.
I'm watching it right now, with my finger on the pause button.
I don't think special effects were that far along back in the early 60s... nor was the budget there for sfx.
I doubt training was the answer... now maybe they tied a dog's leg or something, so it would jump around, but for it to drop like that? And yeah... I know all about editing... but watching it frame-by-frame, I'm just not convinced.
Anyone know for sure?

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I'm watching this movie for the first time right now. Looks to me that they pulled a string that was tied to the dogs leg.

_
Every person that served can be called a veteran, but not every veteran can be called a Marine.

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yeah... I've shot,some dogs... 4-legged and 2-legged... and I've done a *beep* of pro editing. I'm saying that in the early 60s, without a big budget, you're not gonna have much time spent, pre or post production, and sfx were shotty without a good budget (and sometimes with).
I'd like to hear from someone who actually knows for sure.

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If they had actually shot a real dog and killed, this would have become known and the movie would not have the fine reputation it does have. You do not need facts or first hand references. All you need to do is think of how, even back then and especially today, the movie would be viewed if it was known that a real dog was killed. And it would become known.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
I try doing this with my posts

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[deleted]

No. When Atticus fires the rifle the camera pans to the dog a rope pull the dogs feet, cut. Actually I think there's a clip on YouTube that shows it or at best has a clip of the scene and you can slow it down and see. Also, back then (and today) all big film sets are insured all employees, technical and actors, unions like IATSE and SAG. There would be NO way of having a rabid dog on set!!

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No but they really did shoot Tom Robinson when he tried to run away.

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It looks like they tied a string to the dog's leg and someone outside the frame pulled it. It'd be considered animal cruelty today.

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That's exactly what it looks like and I'd be very surprised if that wasn't what happened.

It never looked like a dog was shot to me, it looked like someone pulled the leg out from under a dog, presumably with a string tied to its leg.

Doesn't hurt the quality of the film or anything, best they could do for simulating a shot dog I guess.

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It was filmed at a distance, so they were able to use a midget stunt man wearing a dog suit. He was paid $100.00 for ten minutes work on the film. That's the same as $1,000 today.

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