The Call of the Wild

• Director: Jerry Jameson
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Children's/Family
• Movie Type: Animal Picture, Adventure Drama
• Themes: Survival in the Wilderness, Prospectors and Land Rights, Man's Best Friend
• Main Cast: John Beck
• Release Year: 1976
• Country: US
• Run Time: 100 minutes

Plot

Unlike the 1935 film version of Jack London's 1897 novel Call of the Wild, which devoted most of its running time to a romance between Clark Gable and Loretta Young, this 1976 TV-movie version wisely remains faithful to the source. The star is a magnificent dog--part St. Bernard, part German shepherd--which is kidnapped from its home in California and spirited away to the Yukon. The dog is sold to two greenhorn prospectors (John Beck and Bernard Fresson) who name the animal "Buck". Though faithful to his new masters, Buck shows inclinations of succumbing to the "call of the wild" and running off into the woods at any moment. James (Deliverance) Dickey adapted the London novel for this TV version, which was filmed in the Sierra Madres and the Grand Tetons. Call of the Wild premiered on May 22, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

John Beck - John Thornton; Dennis Burkley - Stoney; Billy Green Bush - Redsweater; Rene Enriquez - Cook; Bernard Fresson; John McLiam - Prospector; Marvin Miller - Narrator; Donald Moffat - Simpson; Raymond Singer - 1st Man; Penelope Windust - Rosemary; Michael Pataki - Stranger; Johnny Tillotson

Credit

Jerry Jameson - Director, Peter Matz - Composer (Music Score), Art Stolnitz - Producer, James Dickey - Screenwriter, Jack London - Short Story Author

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White Fang; Nikki: Wild Dog of the North; White Fang; Zanna Bianca; White Fang to the Rescue; The Great Adventure