The son says a couple of times that he had a feeling that he had met Wrather before. I'm curious, did this have any significance? I wondered if he was the man who shot his brother or maybe the reincarnation of his brother.
shareAs far as I understood it, Wrather was the reincarnation of the other dog – the strange one who ran away with Wag.
shareInteresting, were there any clues in the film that made you think he was Wag’s friend or is that just a guess?
shareI got that feeling too. They were both adventurous characters. There was something towards the end of the film that made me think that I was right but I can't remember...this is when I wish that I had this on DVD
'Sure we're speaking Jebediah, you're fired'
I think he has to be the reincarnation of someone the son has known. I hadn’t thought of the other dog until Rebekka said it. I can see the similarities. The only problem is that I don’t think the son would have known the other dog well enough to recognize him.
My first thought was it was someone in the Boer War because of line about colonials always reminding you of each other. However his brother is the only one I can think of who he would have known well enough to recognize who wouldn't have been a colonial.
I've probably missed something very obvious though.
Well, the first hint was that rather tended to sniff. He sniffed in a state of alertness when he met the Dean for the first time ... really like a dog meeting another one. Then after the revelation, Wrather himself said some things or expressed something that made me think he knew precisely what the Dean had said ... as if he had been there with him – I don´t remember the words. Also I did not get any hints that Fisk jr recognized him, except maybe right at the ending, where he might have understood that Wrather and the Dean knew each other, or even that Wrather was the other dog. Another hint for me was that one of the last scenes was how the Dean and Wrather stood on the street together, seeming to know each other wuite well. Also it would be a kind of poetic justice: Fisk jr and sr got each other back through the memories of the film, and it would only be fair if Dean Spanley got back his olf chap.
shareI thought Fisk Jr had said earlier in the film that he had a strong feeling that he recognised Wrather from somewhere. Although, It’s possible I got that mixed up and Spanley said that to Fisk Jr.
When Wrather was acting like a dog I thought he was joking in the same way he was when he was kept unsubtly dropping the word “dog” into the conversation. Although he did seem to go a bit far with it.
I think you’re probably right. If it was Spanley who originally said he thought he recognized Wrather then I’d be completely convinced.
My wife and I are certain that Fisk Snr said he was sure he recognised Wrather when he was helped into the wheelchair by Fisk Jnr at the seminar. In our minds there is no doubt that Wrather was the mongrel friend of Spanley's former incarnation. I also got the firm impression that Wrather and Spanley 'recognised' each other after the evening at Fisk Snrs when the full story was told. I'm sure I recall mention of an adventure. However my wife's not sure..........I agree tho that the DVD will sort this out.
shareI think Wrather is definitely the incarnation of the mongrel dog.
This is obvious throughout the film, firstly by the great interest that Wrather shows in Spanley (he provides the rare wine and he's also willing to pay 50 guineas to attend Fisk and Spanley's meetings)
The most obvious hint is that when Wrather and Spanley meet, while shaking hands, they perform a slow circle and sniff each other - like dogs do. Also there's definitely a connection there because Wrather and Spanley tend to say exactly the same things.
About an hour into the film, Spanley says to young Fisk:
Wrather, yes. I have the strangest feeling, you know, after our last encounter, that I know Mr Wrather. Perhaps from a previous life.
And bit later on, he says: Or perhaps it's his being a colonial. One often feels one has met them before.
Towards the end of the film, after the dinner:
Spanley: You know, Mr Wrather, I have the most persistent notion that we have met before.
Wrather: One often feels that about colonials, Dean.
Spanley: Yes, I have heard that said. Nevertheless...
Then they talk about Marrakesh:
Wrather: Colourful, exciting place, if you know the right people.I know the right people.
Spanley: Something of an adventure , I imagine.
I saw this film last night and loved it. My husband and I both thought that Wrather was Wag's mongrel pal.
shareI thin it is the way they go through the slightly ajar gates together while speaking of 'adventure' just like they did as dogs.
shareWrather is indeed the unnamed dog with whom Wags had the grand (and last) adventure, for all of the reasons that have been mentioned above AND the line that Wrather says to Young Fisk when he and the Dean are leaving Senior Fisk's house...paraphrasing..."I'll make sure the Dean gets home safely THIS TIME". And they exit thru a gate, just like when as dogs they first met up. Also, Brown's makeup and hair are highly suggestive of the dog who played Wag's friend.
I adore this movie. I saw it finally on Starz here in the US after hoping furiously it would open in an independent theater. I did buy the Region 1 version on Amazon Canada, pricey but so worth it. I just wish they had included at least some of the interviews and so on from the Toronto Film Festival, and perhaps the director's commentary. Or even better, as on The Winslow Boy's DVD, several of the actors talking about making the movie.
It's a disgrace Peter O'Toole did not get more recognition.
There is a consistent theme in the film of "plucking" thoughts right from another's mind. It happens first to Fisk Sr. during the seminar when the Indian guru mentions "the ante-room of eternity". Then again when Wrather mentions "...pulling a scholar away from his studies...". It tells us to anticipate the connection between the three long before Dean Spanley begins recounting his adventure.
I love this film...my life is enriched for having watched it.
I thought it was clear that Wrather was Wag's pal, the terrier. For one thing, the way the camera would switch to his face when the dean was talking about his dog frined. Then Wrather's appearance and personality, and his ranging around over the world seeking out interesting things, including the wine that Spanley enjoyed so much.
shareI will join the others in identifying Wrather as "the other dog," the friend of Wag the dog.
I am indebted to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Plunkett,_18th_Baron_of_Dunsany for giving a name to the genre of "club tales," improbable stories told in a comfortable setting. I immediately recognized Arthur C. Clarke's Tales From the White Hart as being of this genre (Wikipedia tells us that, in an essay on Dunsany, Clarke suggests that anyone finding a similarity between his stories and Dunsany's "Jorkens" stories need not fear getting a letter from his, Clarke's, solicitor. I also recognized the genre from the travesty of S.J. Perelman's "The Idol's Eye," in https://archive.org/stream/bestofsjperelma00pere/bestofsjperelma00pere_djvu.txt.
The object of all this kind of story is to instill in the reader a sense of, "Oh, that couldn't be... Or could it? ... Nah ... Well, maybe ...??"
I think that it's pretty clear that there's a definite and intended parallel between the colonial, traveled, adventurous, Wrather on the one hand, and Wag-the-dog's mongrel, traveled, adventurous friend on the other, especially as shown in the line in which Wrather invites his new friend Spanley on an adventure. (The relationship between Spanley and Wrather, or their previous avatars, reminds me of that between Mole and Rat, and later between Rat and the Sea Rat, in my favourite book, The Wind in the Willows.
(( know that the question has been asked and answered, but I thought that maybe I could add a bit of perspective...)