Rescued by Rover

Sound On/Vision Off. Cover the screen and ask pupils to listen carefully to the soundtrack (before showing the film for the first time). List what images the soundtrack might suggest. Also note any feelings suggested by the soundtrack. Then watch the film and compare notes.
Stop the film at the point where the villain has the baby in the attic. Predict what will happen next with explanations for ideas.
Watch with a focus on the camera. Note how little it moves (no pans, zooms or tracking shots). What techniques does the film use instead to bring the action in front of the viewer? (Instead of the camera moving it is the characters who move towards the camera.)
Freeze-frame the buildings and the interiors – discuss their compositions. Observe the final freeze-frame shot, what clues do we get about the status of the people?
Watch the scene where the woman steals the baby. Discuss how drama and tension is created through lighting and exaggerated body language. Then watch the scene in the loft, where the lighting comes through the window and the room is half lit. What comment could this be making about her character/personality?
Discuss how direction of action creates drama and meaning in a film by comparing the scenes of the dog running and swimming towards the audience with the kidnap scene where the nanny walks away from the camera.
Make a list of all the causes and effects throughout the film.

Who is the hero? How do we know? What type of character is the villain? Was this unexpected? Why? What was the motive of the woman who stole the baby?
Discuss the class stereotypes in the film. For instance, you could discuss body language and framing of characters and argue whether this reinforces certain class ideals (the nanny is always lower in the frame than the mistress, the master stands tall in the final scene).
Explore examples of symbolism in the film: for example, the use of the bottle as a symbol for both the villain and the baby. Is the dog a symbol? If so, for what? Discuss the significance of the river (could it perhaps represent class divisions?). See if pupils can find any other symbols or binary opposites in the settings, costumes and characters.
How does this film illustrate the phrase ‘A dog is man’s best friend’? Make a list of other films or stories this is similar to and identify similarities/differences.

* Download the film and re-edit it, with new soundtrack, as a news broadcast report of the kidnap.

* Compose, record and add a new musical soundtrack for the film.