Watch 'Rescued by Rover', 1905

One of the first major films, when released in 1905 'Rescued by Rover' was so popular in demand that it had to be re-shot in it's entirety as the original film wore out, and then again as the first remake wore out!. It was made by Cecil Hepworth and starred his family too - his wife played the part of the mother, and his daughter the child that gets kidnapped. It is considered one of the first films to use paid actors (for the soldier and the kidnapper), and also gave fame to the world's first dog film star - Blair, the Hepworth family dog. Interestingly the now common, even stereotypical name of 'Rover' for a dog came about due to this film, as it wasn't particularly common beforehand. The wikipedia entry for the film contains a good deal of information here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescued_by_Rover and you can watch the film on the link below