Behave Yourself (1951)

A young married man (Farley Granger) is followed home by a friendly Welsh Terrier that his wife (Shelley Winters) mistakes for an anniversary present. Little do they know that the dog is part of a lethal smuggling ring and soon the bodies start piling up! Co-written and directed by George Beck, this fluffy farce may be silly at times but I found it rather charming and there's a terrific cast of familiar character actors doing what they do best. Shelley Winters and Farley Granger are hardly the first names one thinks of when it comes to farce but Granger makes for an amusing straight man and Winters does an amusing lightweight version of the later shrews that would mark her later career. It's a piffle really and not a laugh out loud comedy (though I did laugh out loud twice) but the kind of comedy where there's a constant grin on your face. The wonderful supporting cast includes Elisha Cook Jr., Lon Chaney Jr., William Demarest, Sheldon Leonard, Allen Jenkins, Glenn Anders (LADY FROM SHANGHAI), Marvin Kaplan, Francis L. Sullivan, Margalo Gillmore and Archie stealing scenes as the dog.