MovieChat Forums > The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) Discussion > OK--WHAT is that dog food commercial at ...

OK--WHAT is that dog food commercial at the end about?


Seriously--why was that in there? It has nothing to do with the rest of the film!

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It was to exemplify the cheapness of a Hollywood life--that all in Hollywood is commerce, business and money.

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And even moreso the deluge of hungry dogs all attacking the one can of dog food can mean how Hollywood is full off people willing to exploit every commodity to its fullest and then throwing it away once they got what they needed

" How 'bout some chocolate pain, bitch"
Formerly qoa2
AUNTIE TAIWO RIP

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I think seeing the guy getting shot dead would have worked better. But thank u both for explaining it to me. It seems so out of step with the rest of the film.

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It is out of step,and hypocritical; I wonder how many people involved in this turkey grabbed as greedily at the goodies as the ones they are trying to criticize.

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Robert Aldrich must have had something against dog food ads. In Whatever Happened to Baby Jane we see Anna Lee and her on-screen daughter watching an old Blanche Hudson movie which is interrupted for a dog food commercial.

It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

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The Choirboys IS pretty bad, but The Frisco Kid comes close.

It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

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I believe it is the same actor that delivers the commercial in both films!

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A commentary on dog-eat-dog Hollywood. The version that precedes in references a similar commercial in Aldrich's far superior WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?

"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."

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I agree that this scene reads metaphorically as a reference to the "dog-eat-dog" atmosphere of Hollywood, and reminds me of the frenzied climax of "The Day of the Locust."
The similarity between the Barkwell commercial and the earlier, "When your dog says, 'WOOF-WOOF'" spot speaks more to Aldrich's views on the distribution of Hollywood movies.
It's ironic that so many of us have only experienced these films (movies!) on what we are still quaintly calling "TV." For all of the work and high ideals that go into their making, great or small, ultimately all movies were just props to be used to market dog food.
Huge amounts of money were made from TV distribution deals, with no consideration given to the creatives whose contractual ties to the films had been concluded years ago. There was money being made before the term, "syndication rights" was ever coined.

This final scene was a direct nod to those of us watching the movie on television.

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[deleted]

[deleted]

I agree that this scene reads metaphorically as a reference to the "dog-eat-dog" atmosphere of Hollywood, and reminds me of the frenzied climax of "The Day of the Locust."


I am stunned because I thought of The Day of the Locust just a minute ago as I began reading this thread.

Bingo!

Anyone who has never seen John Schlesinger's film of the Nathanael West novel, starring Donald Sutherland and Karen Black: Drop everything and watch it at once. (Makes a good "Anti-Hollywood" double-bill with Elia Kazan's film of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon starring Robert DeNiro.)

Doctor Mabuse, Evil Genius, King of Crime

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LOL--the other day when someone on Facebook was talking about dog food, I posted both this clip AND Kanine Krunchies ("101 Dalmatians")!

:) Laura


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The dog food commercial is a metaphor:

The dog food in the can = Elsa Brinkmann (the raw material).

The dog food in the bowl = Lylah Clare/Elsa Campbell (product ready for consumption).

The dogs fighting over it were all the Hollywood guys looking to cash in on Lylah Clare/Elsa Brinkmann/Elsa Campbell's good looks and/or talent.

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Its just very strange because it's supposed to be a commercial for dog food and it's a horror show! It's supposed to be on tv selling something and it would sell nothing. Rosella imagining it would work maybe.

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