ActionAdventureDramaFamilyWestern

The Call of the Wild

John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.

Release Date : 1972-11-30

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Norsk FilmOceania FilmUniversal Pictures FranceÍzaro FilmsCCC Filmkunst

Production Country : United KingdomGermanyFranceSpainItaly

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : John Thornton

Original Name : Charlton Heston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pete

Original Name : Raimund Harmstorf

Gender : Male

Character Name : Black Burton

Original Name : George Eastman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mercedes

Original Name : Maria Rohm

Gender : Female

Character Name : Seze

Original Name : Juan Luis Galiardo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taglish Charlie

Original Name : Sancho Gracia

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charles

Original Name : Friedhelm Lehmann

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hal

Original Name : Horst Heuck

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dutch Harry

Original Name : Rik Battaglia

Gender : Male

Character Name : Constantine

Original Name : Alf Malland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Colonel

Original Name : Sverre Wilberg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Red Sweater

Original Name : Olov Pedersen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Francois

Original Name : Per Amvik

Gender : Male

Character Name : Calliope Laurent

Original Name : Michèle Mercier

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jack

Original Name : Antonio Mayans

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Luis Barboo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Judge Miller

Original Name : Alfredo Mayo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Perrault

Original Name : Torbjørn Halvorsen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Master of Ceremonies

Original Name : Hans Stormoen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Piano Player

Original Name : Kåre Siem

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Miner

Original Name : Dan Fosse

Gender : Male

Character Name : Storeman

Original Name : Roy Bjørnstad

Gender : Male

Character Name : Con Man

Original Name : Ola B. Johannessen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Runner

Original Name : Per Tofte

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mollie

Original Name : Jennifer Roberts

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alice

Original Name : Jody Hanson

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Charly Bravo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Buck

Original Name : Buck

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2023-08-11

**_Euro version of Jack London’s classic with Charlton Heston_** During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, two mail dispatchers travel by dog sled from Skagway, on the coast of southeast Alaska, to Dawson City over 400 miles north in the Yukon. One of the sled dogs, Buck, is fresh from California with no experience in snowy weather. Thorton (Heston) unwisely makes an enemy of the town mogul (George Eastman) while getting friendly with a beautiful saloon proprietor (Michèle Mercier). “The Call of the Wild” (1972) is a surprisingly good wilderness adventure with spectacular locations that could pass for a Western in the mold of “North to Alaska” (1960), albeit minus the slapstick humor. The later “North Star” (1996) and “The Claim” (2000) also come to mind, as does “The Mountain Men” (1980) due to Heston in the lead role and the wintery Western milieu. The fact that the film includes a dog as one of the protagonists brings to mind eye-rolling Disney flicks, but this isn’t Disney-fied at all. I should point out that Buck here is a German Shepherd whereas in the book he’s a St. Bernard–Scotch Shepherd mix. The runtime is just over 1 hour, 40 minutes. Beware of versions available on streaming (e.g. Tubi and Plex) that cut a full half hour in the last act. I’m talking about the sequences involving Thorton fraternizing with Calliope at the saloon and in a Western-styled bathtub, as well as the sequences of Pete (Raimund Harmstorf) looking for gold with his half-breed guide (Juan Luis Galiardo). There’s currently a great HD version available for free on Youtube (the full version). Michèle Mercier is stunning on the female front as redhead Calliope while Maria Rohm is lovely as blonde Mercedes. Heston lamented “The Call of the Wild” as his worst film, but he was objecting more to the difficulties involved in making the flick and the Euro politics thereof, rather than the movie itself; that is, the final product. For instance, the production team had to import sled dogs since there (curiously) weren’t any in Norway and Heston had to learn the arcane art of dog sledding on the spot wherein the dogs would either run or fight each other. As far as the “Euro politics” go, this was a joint British, Norwegian, German, French, Spanish and Italian production (so expect a lot of dubbing à la Spaghetti Westerns). This forced the rogue Brit producer to hire at least two key participants from each country to facilitate distribution in Europe. Heston called the cast/crew an assemblage gathered by political committee rather than ability, a “United Nations” production. It didn’t help that Spaniard Juan Luis Galiardo (Seze) was lonely and depressed on set, which was augmented by the fact that he couldn’t speak English or the languages of the other members. The film was shot primarily in Norway, but also Lapland, Finland, with studio stuff done in Spain. GRADE: B