Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at the films of a silent movie star. This time I’m reviewing some of the films featuring trained animal star Teddy the Great Dane aka Teddy the Dog aka Keystone Teddy. From 1915 to 1924 Teddy starred or otherwise appeared in silent shorts as well as feature-length movies.
Rin Tin Tin would have been the obvious canine star to start with, but I prefer going with the lesser-known topics first.
TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE (1917) – This Mack Sennett short at Keystone Studios was one of two films in which Teddy actually got his name in the title. In this light-hearted affair the Great Dane plays the pet of THE Gloria Swanson.
Obviously, any silent movie with Gloria in it packs an extra cultural punch due to her much later role as washed-up silent film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. This comedy short has even more of a distinction – Swanson and co-star Wallace Beery were going through a bitter divorce during the filming.
Beery’s villain character is embezzling money from the romantic leads Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon. Teddy, the REAL star, is cute and lively, plus he bravely saves Gloria’s life in the end when Beery ties her to railroad tracks after his villainy is exposed.
Supposedly, after Swanson became a big star she HATED being asked about playing second fiddle to a dog in a series of shorts.
TEDDY’S GOAT (1921) – Our canine wonder Teddy more than carries the film in this silent short in which he costarred with child star Baby Peggy, who was the only real competition Jackie Coogan had in the child actor biz back then.
Teddy wakes up his master (Snub Pollard lookalike Charles Dorety) when it is time to deliver the bottles of goat’s milk that they get from the title goat. The Great Dane pulls the little wagon carrying the bottles for his master as they go about their business.
Our star also watches over the goat which is crucial to his and his master’s livelihood. Among his adventures, Teddy prevents a rival milk man from sabotaging the bottles of goat’s milk and prevents that rival from harming his master.
The Great Dane even plays matchmaker for his owner and the female lead (Viola Dolan).
THE NICK OF TIME BABY (1916) – Teddy had a supporting role in this, his first collaboration with Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon.
Gloria and Bobby played sweethearts, of course, and a jealous rival paid an unwed mother to leave her baby with him so he could use it in a bizarre plot to cause Bobby to lose his home and his best gal Gloria.
A MAN’S FRIEND (1916) – Teddy showed off his versatility in this western short which saw him in a more serious role. When a man saves a dog (Teddy) caught in a wolf trap, a strong bond is formed between canine and human.
Later, Teddy saves his master’s newborn daughter from drowning, carries her away from her abductor, literally kills that kidnapper in a fight and reunites the newborn with his master and his bride.
Teddy later stated he should have done more gritty roles like this one. (I’m kidding!)
OLIVE’S LOVE AFFAIR (1915) – Teddy IS Fido in this film short. The canine hero’s master Billy Jacobs is in a romance with Olive Johnson. A jealous rival tries to bring harm to Billy, but in the best “Lassie, go for help” tradition, Teddy saves the day over and over, and really convinces you he is a dog named Fido. What a thespian!
THE SULTAN’S WIFE (1917) – Also released under the title Caught in a Harem. For one last time Teddy had to carry Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon in this final Keystone Comedy. Gloria and Bobby play well to do young lovers who travel to India with Gloria’s family.
Swanson is kidnapped by a Rajah who intends to make her part of his harem. Teddy and Bobby come to the rescue, including a scene where Teddy – who always did his own stunts – climbs a ladder of human beings to reach the imperiled Gloria.
The Keystone Bathing Girls (today we would say Bathing Beauties) play the other ladies in the Rajah’s harem. After this comedy short wrapped, Bobby Vernon enlisted in the Navy to serve in World War One.
FRIEND HUSBAND (1918) – In this comedy short, Teddy gets involved in his master’s attempt to con his wealthy uncle into thinking he has a wife and baby so that the tycoon will give him a fortune.
The master manages to get a friend to lend him their baby for the uncle’s visit, but Teddy also snags a baby and brings him over as the uncle arrives. Too many babies, but all ends happily of course.
DOWN ON THE FARM (1920) – Teddy lends his comedic talents to this film in which most of his scenes are crammed in toward the beginning of the movie. He is briefly seen doing many of the chores on a farm in his usual brilliant way.
The overwhelming majority of the movie is typical rom-com nonsense involving humans like silent film comedian Ben Turpin.
A BOY OF FLANDERS (1924) – Teddy costarred with child actor Jackie Coogan in this comedy-drama that was a play on Dog of Flanders. Independent little Nello (Coogan) cares for his blind grandfather and adopts a stray dog which he names Petrasche (Teddy). Talented young artist Nello draws the dog for an art contest.
Eventually, Nello’s home circumstances are discovered, and it is decided he is to be sent to an orphanage. Nello does not want to be separated from Petrasche so the two run away. They get separated in a snowstorm but Teddy finds Nello and saves him.
The little boy wins the art contest and is adopted by famed artist Jan Van Dullan (Josef Swickard) for the happy ending.
FOR A SIMILAR LOOK AT DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS’ SILENT SWASHBUCKLER MOVIES CLICK HERE.
FOR STARLET THEDA BARA’S SILENT FILMS CLICK HERE.
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Great post 💯 Have a blessed day 🙏 I hope you follow my blog, I follow yours, so WE GROW TOGETHER. OKAY? GREETINGS from the south of Spain 🇪🇸

Thanks! And yes, I follow you, too.
Java Bean: “Looks about right to me!”
I can imagine!
I love that first one–Lap dogs only. Well, isn’t every dog a lap dog? Even my 115 pound Lab?
Ha! Exactly! Every one of them.
❤️
Thank you!
Teddy had quite a career. Sweet giant. My grandmother used to raise great danes, breed them, something anyway. I have old pictures of them. They look so loving. Incidentally, I think my grandma may have been born old.🤔 she looked the same in her 90’s as she did before I was born. I don’t think their house was big enough for danes, but they had a large yard.
It’s neat that you found out some extra tidbits about actors along the way as you learned more of Teddy.
Yeah, he looks like a real sweetheart. Loved that line about your grandmother. I had older relatives where it seemed like they were born old, too. Glad you liked some of the trivia I threw in there! Thanks for the kind words! Murph deserves to be the next Teddy!
Teddy certainly does look the sweetheart. Thank you about Grandma. She was something. Sometimes, kinda precious, isn’t it, the way some change, but others don’t? I’m stirring up plans on that with the Murph man the only way I know how momentarily. Thanks for the inspiration. I know that when I manifest it, you will be an avid supporter. Yep, it’s interesting – the little things, such as where actors/actresses found themselves after, or before milestone-type experiences. Not many left to tell about or care about their stories decades later. Time – the great eraser (without the flame-keepers, the reminders, the lets-revisit-that-ers so to speak).
Looking forward to the Murph Project! And I agree about the loss of so many great stories about these figures from the past. Ironically, the British made some terrific documentary series’ about American silent film personnel in the 1970s and 1980s, by which point many of them were already very, very advanced in age. Hollywood was the title of one of the best ones and ran for several episodes.
Hmmph… that is interesting & unexpected. Thank you. I’d like to see those episodes.
Many of them show up on Youtube or a few streaming services.
Ooh. We have these things. 😄 Will look
Great! I hope you enjoy them if you get to watch them!
I’ll let you know. Thanks again.
No problem!
Most interesting read. Thanks.
Thanks for dropping by! Always good to hear from you!
Never heard of this! Thanks for sharing!
Glad to do it!