MOOCH
(aka Mooch Goes to Hollywood)
With: Higgins the Dog (Mooch), Vincent Price (Himself), James Darren (Himself), Jill St. John (Herself), Jim Backus (Himself), Kim Hamilton (Nurse), Gino Conforti (Hairdresser), Jerry Hausner (Producer), Bert Holland (Attendant), Grace Albertson (Lady with Cat), Jay Jostyn (Man with Duck), Lynne Lipton (Voice of Mooch), James Harding (Dr. Hackett), Bettye Ackerman (Herself, uncredited), Marty Allen (Himself, uncredited), Richard Burton (Narrator, uncredited), Phyllis Diller (Herself, uncredited), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Narrator, uncredited), Sam Jaffe (Himself, uncredited), Rose Marie (Herself, uncredited), Dick Martin (Himself, uncredited), Darren McGavin (Himself, uncredited), Edward G. Robinson (Himself, uncredited), Cesar Romero (Himself, uncredited), Mickey Rooney (Himself, uncredited), Wild Bill Tucker (Animal voices imitator, uncredited), David Wayne (Himself, uncredited), Frank Inn (Studio Security Guard, uncredited)
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Plot Outline: Mooch the pooch wanders the streets of Hollywood and Malibu beach looking to make the right connections to become a star. During her adventure, she encounters several stars, as well as some Sunset Strip characters. Two Hollywood heavyweights, Vincent Price and James Darren, take the dog to the same Beverly Hills veterinarian, but Mooch escapes both times. First, the canine heads to the beach, and then sneaks into a movie studio where she encounters Jill St. John in her dressing room. The actress orders her hairdresser to give Mooch a new hairdo. The dog visits another studio where she eventually meets up with Jim Backus who takes her to a producer’s party where Price, Darren, and St. John admire the pooch that crossed their paths in a 24-hour period. Mooch, however, is laughed at and falls in the producer’s pool, but escapes again to another Beverly Hills mansion, and on this occasion, finds a master who will love her for the dog she is. Zsa Zsa Gabor serves as the film’s narrator who serves as Mooch’s inner voice in guiding the mongrel to meet the right people to become a star.
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Synopsis: Mooch Goes to Hollywood , a television movie, serves as a promising forerunner to Benji, the 1974 major motion picture and entertaining children’s film, which also featured Higgins the dog. At the time Mooch aired, Higgins was well known for his stint on the CBS-TV sitcom, Petticoat Junction, as the mutt who played Uncle Joe’s foil, but yet adored by Kate and her daughters.
MOOCH begins with the pooch wandering the streets of Hollywood, guided by the advice of narrator Zsa Zsa Gabor whose role is never explained, but appears to be the dog’s inner voice. Through Ms. Gabor’s advice, the dog heads to the famous Brown Derby Restaurant where she encounters Vincent Price who takes Mooch for a ride in his jeep. The scene of Price and the mutt riding in the vehicle is, no pun intended, priceless.
Meanwhile, the dog thinks the horror film actor is the person to make her dreams come true. In a scene reminiscent from Blake Edwards’ 1979 film, 10, where Dudley Moore is filmed in slow motion running on a beach to meet Bo Derek, Mooch dreams of running on a beach into the waiting arms of Price.
The legendary actor, however, takes her to the Bev Air Vet Clinic, and the waiting room scene between Mooch, a cat, and a bird will put a smile on your face. The strange-looking veterinarian eventually assists Price and the pooch, but Mooch is weary of the "evil" vet, and hits the road again only to wind up encountering singer/actor James Darren at an auto shop. The mutt wins over the star of ABC-TV series from the 1960's, The Time Tunnel, and a more recent show that aired on ABC in the 1980s and early 1990's, T.J. Hooker. Darren takes Mooch to Malibu where the two hit the beach on the celebrity’s motorcycle.
The actor meets up with friends and asks some beachcombers to watch the dog. The tandem eventually get back together, and Darren heads to the Bev Air Vet Clinic to drop Mooch off for two weeks due to a film shoot. The "evil" vet has the mutt locked in a cage, but somehow Mooch gets the key and hightails it out of there!
Needing to get the eye of a producer or major star, Mooch then sneaks into a film studio only to be stalked by her real life trainer Frank Inn who portrays a studio security guard. She finds Jill St. John in her dressing room, and instantly the star of the James Bond flick, Diamonds Are Forever, is smitten by the mutt. While she is called to do a movie scene, she has her hairdresser give Mooch a new hairdo!
Then, the mutt heads off again, and this time, meets up with Jim Backus, the voice of Mr. Magoo and who is also known for his portrayal of Mr. Howell on the CBS-TV hit from the 1960s, Gilligan’s Island.
Determined to include Mooch in his new film, Backus, like Vincent Price earlier in the film, takes Mooch for a ride - not to the Bev Air Vet Clinic, but to a producer’s mansion in Beverly Hills. Mooch is introduced to the California jet set, including Price, Darren, and St. John who remember Shaggy, Sunshine, and Princess (three separate names given to the mutt by the three actors) from the past 24 hours.
Somehow, Mooch ends up in the pool, and becomes the laughingstock of the California cool. Undaunted, the dog continues to seek the pot at the end of the rainbow, and next encounters a polo player driving to a match in Beverly Hills. The canine jumps in, and lo and behold, it is the "evil" vet Dr. Hackett who suddenly realizes he has met this mutt before. Nevertheless, love wins over, and Mooch and Dr. Hackett realize they are made for each other!
Mooch did not make it in pictures, but she made a life in Hollywood! Zsa Zsa would be proud!
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The television film features cameos by several film stars from a generation ago including Dick Martin (Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In); Comediennes Phyllis Diller and Rose Marie; Actor Darrin McGavin and Comic Marty Allen.
Sonny Curtis, who sings the film’s theme song, is known as a member of Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets, as well as the writer of the rock anthem, I Fought the Law, a hit by the Bobby Fuller Four in the mid-1960s. In addition, Curtis wrote the Everly Brothers hit, Walk Right Back. The prolific songwriter also wrote jingles for clients including McDonald’s, Buick, Western Airlines, Mattel Toys, Honda and Bell Telephone. In addition, he wrote and sang the theme to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love Is All Around. Curtis was selected to the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1991.
Richard Erdman, the film’s director, has appeared as an actor in several films including Tora! Tora! Tora! and The Brothers O’Toole.
The film’s Co-Writer and Co-Producer Jerry Devine served as a writer for several 1960s television programs such as The Doris Day Show, It Takes A Thief, and Bewitched.
VHS/DVD Availability: VHS and DVD (various, including Brentwood's "Kid's Favorite Animal Movies" and a Unicorn Video 2005 release, paired with White Fang the Hunter)
(1971, U.S.) color 52 minutes
Jim Backus-Jerry Devine Productions/Mooch Limited Partnership
Screenplay: Jim Backus, Jerry Devine
Music: Don Piestrup
Cinematography: Allen Daviau
Editing: Larry Heath
Title Song sung by Sonny Curtis
Lyricist: Ann Nicolaysen
Animal Trainer: Frank Inn
Mooch's Costumes: Frederick's of Hollywood
Associate Producer: Andrew Babbish
Produced by Jim Backus and Jerry Devine
Directed by Richard Erdman
