Not sure if it could be called a "spoiler", but the ending of this movie, even right now when I think about it, has forever kept me in tears. I have seen it maybe only 3 times in all these years (am 53 now), and it still never failed to have me so emotional at the end. And even today, when ever I go to a pet store with dogs (even cats now), or when I went to a pound twice to get a new pet, I can not stay in there for long before my voice breaks and I start shedding tears. This movie had such a profound, and ever lasting effect on me, and will till the day I pass away. I LOVE this movie more than anything I have ever seen, and wish it were available on DVD, or even VHS! Yes, even a guy can cry too.

The tagline here on this IMDb home page makes this sound like a really sweet, nice and enjoyable movie. "A picture as human and heart-filling as the love of a boy for his dog." Hey, I'm a sentimental guy, so that sounded good enough for me to spend a few bucks on the rental about a dozen years ago. Well, I guess I went "barking" up the wrong tree: the movie stunk. But - yes, it was still a "nice" film and I wouldn't knock it for that.What I am knocking it for is having to listen to this (politically-correct) pair of boys (one black, one white) overact for the entire film and moan and groan and weep constantly over the fact that they can't get their dog to hunt. They are trying to make the pooch into a champion and the dog is semi-retarded, or just not into that sort of thing.So.....the kids moan and groan, moan and groan and overact....too much to sit through.

something brought this film to my mind today..and i can still remember seeing it when i was child..a long,long time ago. i remember the ending and how moved i was as an eight year old and to this day i still feel that choked up feeling when i think of it..i have never caught it on any tv movie chanel..

"The Biscuit Eater" (Paramount, 1940), directed by Stuart A. Heisler, pre-dates all those sentimental "boy and his dog" tales so popular on 1950s television and Walt Disney family dramas (such as "Old Yeller" in 1957), but I feel this is one of the best of the litter. It features a cast of actors not known for playing lead roles but perform their parts as if those viewing this are watching actual people. Billy Lee (1929-1989) stars as the little boy, Lonnie, accompanied by his best friend, Text (Cordell Hickman), who is black. They take an unwanted dog from a litter of puppies and hope to train the animal into a champion bird hunter. Richard Lane is featured as Lonnie's father who feels the dog, named Promise, is no good, and doesn't want it around. Of course Lonnie proves Dad wrong as well as everyone else, but something happens to change all that. Others featured in the cast include: Helene Millard (Mrs. McNeil); Lester Matthews (Captain Ames); and Frederick 'Snowflake' Toones (Text's Dad). The actors, even the animals, are all believable as well as excellent. As Bob Dorian, former host of American Movie Classics cable channel where "The Biscuit Eater" played regularly from 1994 to 1999, says the movie was filmed on location (something rare in those days) in Albany, Georgia. "The Biscuit Eater," at 81 minutes, makes good family viewing. However, the brief scene in the everglades where Lonnie and Text try to retrieve their dog, Promise, from a very old and zombie-like Negro, might scare some younger viewers. "The Biscuit Eater" was later remade by Walt Disney in 1972 with Johnny Whittaker (Jody of TV's "Family Affair") and George Spell. Thus far, the 1940 original has never turned up on video cassette or DVD. What a pity. (***1/2)