Newfoundland Dogs in the Dramatic Arts

This 1803 play is the first dramatic work I'm aware of that specifically calls for and features a Newfoundland dog. The dog is one of the significant elements of the play, for this work pushed the boundaries of "special effects" for its time by having flowing water on stage, representing the ocean, then having the Newfoundland jump into the water to rescue a child thrown into the sea by one of the play's villains. Audiences loved the effect, making this a rather successful — and notorious — play. Click the link above to be taken to a brief discussion of the play, with all the passages referencing the dog, as well as to a discussion of how this work became infamous in the "culture wars" of its day.

A Newfoundland gets a rave review in The Times (London) for its performance in a stage adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic 1719 novel about the adventures of a shipwrecked sailor.

In his collection of sketches entitled An Uncommercial Traveller (published 1861 - 1865) Dickens includes some remarks on a play, never identified, which he saw one evening. His account of the role played by a Newfoundland dog is one of the humorous highlights of Newfie culture. (This work is also listed in the "Literature" section of The Cultured Newf.)

Click the title for a brief discussion of the film version of this famous dog story.

This is, to my knowledge, the very first movie to actually feature a Newf on screen — and it also marks the film debut of the well-known "singing cowboy" Tex Ritter.

This Laurel and Hardie film has been said to feature a Newfoundland (as in a review of the film from the June 4, 1938, edition of the New York Times, which refers to "the battle of wits between Laurel and the Newfoundland dog, who resists all efforts to obtain his brandy-keg"). The dog is certainly meant to suggest a Saint Bernard, given the brandy keg and its brown-and-white coloring (keeping in mind this is a colorized version of a film originally shot in black and white), though at least by today's standards it does not appear to be a purebred Saint. My best guess would be that it's a Newf/Saint mix. (Contra the movie review, Stan Laurel does indeed manage, after about 4 minutes of effort, to get hold of the brandy keg.) Check it out on Youtube, beginning about 26 minutes into the film.

This short Looney Tunes animated comic film introduces us to a number of dog breeds, first of which is the Newfoundland — immediately followed by the Oldfoundland.

Click the title for a brief note about this comic play.

The first Police Academy appeared in 1984; since then there have been 6 sequels and two spin-off TV shows, as far as I can determine. I'v not seen this film but have read on NEWF-L that Police Academy 2 featured a brown Newf, Kodiak (VN Ch. Riptide’s Brown Kodiak Bear, CD, WRD, DD) who was trained for filmwork by Rob Bloch and Kim Lindemeon.
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American TV series. The same Newf that appears in Backdraft [see below] appears in one episode of this CBS reality TV show hosted by William Shatner. (Thanks to Joan Greenwald for this info.)
[ IMDB.com page ]

British TV comedy series. A Newf, called "Dripping" in the show, appears in one episode; the dog was owned by Karen Swarbrick of Telscombe Cliffs, UK. Thanks to Lars Erup for this information.
[ IMDB.com page ]

A Landseer appears briefly in an early scene.
[ IMDB.com page ]

This documentary by Ken Burns mentions (once) that the Corp included a Newfoundland, and in one (recreated) scene a Newf is shown, silhoutted against the skyline along w/ other members of the Corp. No mistaking that Newfie silhouette!

This movie does feature a Newf, which even appears in the trailer for the film.
[ IMDB.com page ]

This movie features multiple scenes with a Landseer Newfoundland, who in real life was "Pappy" (Starrs Papillon) owned by Les and Erlene Whitehead. Click the title for images and more info.
[ IMDB.com page ]

This film has a black Newf who appears at approximately one hour and one minute into the film: the dog is seen (through a window) getting out of a car with his owners (screen time: 2-3 seconds), then about a minute later is seen again (still through a window) for 8-10 seconds, sniffing at the trunk of a car (which contains a dead dog). This film, directed by Curtis Hanson, has quite a recognizable cast: Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Toby McGuire, Robert Downey Jr. and Richard Thomas, among others.
[ IMDB.com page ]

Based on the novel (by Claire Cook) of the same name, in which the featured dog is a St. Bernard. Using a Newf instead of a St. makes this movie "Revenge of the Newfoundlands," who finally get justice for the Disney version of Peter Pan substituting a Saint for a Newf.
[ IMDB.com page ]

An ABC television series in which, I have been told, one of the characters has two Newfoundlands, which make occasional appearances. more info at Wikipedia

A "You know when it's real" theme in this commercial at one point contrasts a Landseer Newfoundland (total screen time: 3 - 4 seconds) with a black-and-white dog stuffie. This commercial can be seen on YouTube.

An animated short film about the relationship between a blind boy and his service Newf, created for an MFA Thesis by Erin Lee; the website for the project appears to be defunct, unfortunately, and I cannot find this video elsewhere. Attempts to contact the creator have gone unanswered — a real shame, as this is an absolute gem.

Netflix series starring James Spader. A Newfoundland appears briefly (onscreen for perhaps 8-10 seconds) in approximately the middle of this episode. The dog (never seen very clearly, though unmistakeably a Newf) is seen walking off-lead in the woods with its owner; fetching a stick its owner has thrown, the Newf uncovers a recently buried human body. Blurry screengrab here.

Film featuring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and John Goodman, among others. The opening scene briefly shows a Newf being walked in a large city at Christmastime; the dog does not figure into the storyline and does not appear again. movie information at IMDB.com

Not to be confused with the 1998 movie of the same name. In one of the dog-park scenes, not quite 12 minutes into the film, a large white-and-black dog can be partially seen, for a few seconds, lying on the ground behind the park bench on which the main character is sitting. A few second later, that same dog is seen walking slowly in the background while the main character remains on the bench. At this point it's clear the dog is a Landseer. Click here for screenshot and comments.

In the opening shot of this episode a black Newfoundland is shown lying on the floor beneath a dining table set for a party; the dog is visible onscreen for 7-8 seconds. Just about halfway through the episode the dog appears again very briefly, perhaps 2-3 seconds, trotting across the screen, slightly out of focus in the foreground while a young girl's parents sing "Happy Birthday" to their daughter. While the dog appears to be a member of this family, it has never been referred to up to this point in the series, and is not seen again in this episode, although in the season finale (episode 13, "Eye of the Storm") the Newf appears again in a photograph which is featured prominently in the episode; the Newf, alas, is referred to only once, and only as "the dog."

This animated children's movie features a Newf (or Newf mix — commentators do not agree, and I've not seen this film) as one of its characters. Since the animals are not drawn in a strictly realistic style, it's pretty much impossible to tell just from looking at Duke, the large brown Newfie character, whether he's supposed to be a purebred or not. Click this link to see what Duke looks like. (He'll be the large brown one on the right - can't miss him.)

This 30-second ad prominently features a Newfoundland whose owner learns about the advantages of shopping at Chewy.com, the online pet store. (This ad is also known as "Tucker's New Ride.")

This episode, from the December 12, 2021, edition of the CBS news show 60 Minutes, is about the economic revitalization of Fogo Island, an island off the northeast tip of Newfoundland. Just past 2 minutes in, a large handsome Landseer can be briefly seen seated in front of a man in a hotel lobby. The dog is completely incidental to the story, and is onscreen for only a couple of seconds, but is impossible to miss. This link will take you to "An Island Off an Island" on YouTube.

Except in this case — as you might have guessed — the "Bear" is a beautiful brown Newfoundland (in real life named "Oliver" and owned by Sabrina Sweeney-Garcia; thanks to Susan Garrett for that info). Check it out here on YouTube.

This brief (8 min.) video provides a delightful overview of the history and fame of the Newfoundland. Check it out here on YouTube. Part of the "Canadiana" series of web videos celebrating all things Canadian.

Thanks to those who have sent in suggestions and corrections: Bonnie Tischler, Annie Milliron, Hope Taylor, Susan Aspeotes, Joan Greenwald, Cindy Ames, Danielle Bingham, and others.

If you know of any other movies or TV shows that should be listed here, or if you see something that needs correction, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Newfs on Stage and Screen