AllMovie

Produced at the old Mack Sennett studios by Sol Lesser's low-budget Principal Distributing Corp., this dog melodrama featured not one but two canine "stars," -- Captain and Lady. Mistreated and left to die in the desert by evil real-estate agent Joe Gilmore (Eddie Phillips), the dogs are forced to raid the local henhouses for food. Chased into the wilderness by a farmer (Bruce Mitchell), Captain later saves young lawyer John Z. Blake (Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton) from drowning in the river. Blake repays the gesture by successfully defending the dogs in a court trial. Produced solely for the juvenile trade, Fighting to Live suffered from poor photography and the miscasting of Pendleton, an actor better known for playing oafish supporting roles. Former all-American fullback Reb Russell made an inauspicious acting debut in this film, playing a mailman.