Oh, Heavenly Dog!
There are times when after moving on, we may feel the need to go back to conclude some unfinished business. That’s the premise of the movie Oh, Heavenly Dog!.
Browning, a private investigator, was killed while investigating the murder of a young lady. When he arrived on the other side, he asked for a chance to go back to finish his job. He was granted his wish but not exactly the way he thought it would be.
In 1980, Joe Camp, the creator and director of Benji movies, was backed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation to direct Oh, Heavenly Dog!, another successful silver screen depiction of Benji, the dog of indeterminate origins that became a star. This time the story was written by Rod Browning. Chevy Chase was put in the lead role as Benjamin Browning, a private investigator, who died early on in the movie. Benjean, the daughter of Higgins who played the original Benji, then took over as Benji, the re-incarnation of Browning. Jane Seymour provided eye candy as Jackie Howard, a magazine reporter who was Benji’s owner.
Higgins, who played the original Benji, was a dog rescued from an animal shelter in Burbank, California. It was believed to be a cross between a miniature poodle, a cocker spaniel and a small terrier, possibly a miniature Schnauzer or a Border terrier. Eventually it turned out that Benji was a combination of outstanding acting abilities and superior learning capabilities.
Frank Inn, the animal trainer, was Higgins’s mentor, so to say. Frank had also been responsible for the acting successes of Orangey, the cat in the movie Rhubarb and Arnold Ziffel, the pig in the television series, “Green Acres”. When Frank died in 2002, at the age of 86, he was buried together with the ashes of Higgins, Orangey and Arnold Ziffel.
The movie Oh, Heavenly Dog! started in a most un-Benji-like manner. There was no sign of Benji at all. There was only Benjamin Browning, a private investigator. Although he should be in bed with a very bad cold, he went ahead to look for clues which might shed some light on the death of a young lady. Apparently, somebody wanted to keep the circumstances surrounding the death in the twilight zone. So Browning was killed as well.
Next scene showed Browning in a place where the dear departed were in transit either on their way to heaven or hell, as the case might be. Browning asked to be sent back to Earth to finish the job he started. He got his wish granted and was re-incarnated as a dog. Benji, no less.
From this point onwards, the movie became pure poetry for Benji fans and lovers. While Benji was rather adept at solving the case, it was just the sight of the canine star that was the main attraction of the movie. Although, this time, the star was not the original Higgins but rather his daughter, Benjean, the sterling qualities of the sire were obvious in the offspring. Chevy Chase stayed on in most of the movie as the vocalized thoughts of Benji. Benji did not speak but his, or rather her, expressions spoke volumes.
Towards the end of the movie, Browning was given the choice to continue with his travel in the astral plane but he chose to stay on as Benji to close the file on his investigations by making sure the culprit was brought to justice. Job done, Browning was now doomed to spend the remainder of his mortal existence as a dog.
The last scene showing Benji trotting along a canal with head and tail down was rather pathetic. Was this the reward for someone who gave up his place in more lofty realms to see justice done? Watch the Oh Heavenly Dog DVD to find out what was in store for Benji.
Hint: what has a lot of fur and eight legs?
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