The Call of the Wild (1972)

A house dog is abducted and brought to the north as a sled dog.

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Federico De Urrutia (Italian version), Hubert Frank (German version),

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Michèle Mercier, Raimund Harmstorf

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	John Thornton
Michèle Mercier	...	Calliope Laurent
Raimund Harmstorf	...	Pete (as Raymond Harmstorf)
George Eastman	...	Black Burton
Maria Rohm	...	Mercedes
Juan Luis Galiardo	...	Seze
Sancho Gracia	...	Taglish Charlie
Friedhelm Lehmann	...	Charles
Horst Heuck	...	Hal
Rik Battaglia	...	Dutch Harry
Alf Malland	...	Constantine
Alfredo Mayo	...	Judge Miller
Sverre Wilberg	...	Colonel
Olov Pedersen	...	Red Sweater
Per Amvik	...	François

Storyline

A house dog is abducted and brought to the north as a sled dog.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | gold rush | wolf | dog sled | tragedy | 

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Taglines:

Jack London's epic saga of gold fever, romance and adventure.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK France West Germany Italy Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

A vadon szava

Filming Locations:

Lapland, Finland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Norsk Film, Oceania Produzioni Internazionali Cinematografiche

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Pete: I've never seen so many people.
John Thornton: And more are coming all the time. I tell ya, Pete, if this is the promised land, I'll take the open trail.

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Connections

Version of The Call of the Wild (1935)

User Reviews

A Spaghetti Northern

The Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, like the California Gold Rush fifty years earlier, was an exciting chapter of history. Prospectors would sail to the towns of Skagway and Dyea in the Alaskan Panhandle, then travel overland to Dawson City in Yukon. Gold had been discovered nearby at the Klondike River. Among them was Jack London, who ranks with Ernest Hemingway as one of the most adventurous authors. London did not find any gold, but found something else up there that made him rich and famous: stories. In 1903 he published The Call of the Wild.

Charlton Heston called it his worst film, but there are some interesting things about the 1972 version of CALL OF THE WILD. The film is similar to the "spaghetti westerns" of the era. Like them, it is a period piece set in North America, but filmed entirely in Europe with a mostly European cast and crew. Whereas those films used Spain as a stand in for the Southwestern US, this film uses Finland as a stand in for Yukon and Alaska (Two decades later, Heston would star in ALASKA, which was filmed in the state).

Buck is a family dog who gets stolen from his comfortable home in warm California and forced into the rough life of a sled dog in the cold north. People would pay high prices for such dogs during the Gold Rush. He passes between several owners, but his favorite is mailman John Thornton (Heston). Together they become known for reaching Dawson faster than anyone else. All the while, Buck is tempted by the call of the wild to join a wolf pack.

Hopefully no dogs were harmed in the making of the film, despite the fierce fight between Buck and his rival Spitz. The scenery is beautiful, but much of the music and dubbing are bad. Thornton seems to be the main character, whereas it was Buck in the novel. But it is difficult to base an entire movie on a dog, which is why the films inevitably focus more on the human characters. Black Burton, a minor character in the book, becomes the film's villain and seems based on real life outlaw Soapy Smith. One character ends up in a frozen lake, and although the film does not show how this happened, we can figure it out.

This version added a French-Canadian showgirl named Calliope, who now owns a saloon and becomes a love interest for Thornton. She spends most of her time in the saloon, which could explain why she looks well groomed while living in such a harsh environment. The beautiful French actress Michele Mercier played Calliope. The film had a British director, Ken Annakin, who had been one of the must successful directors of the 1960s.

Of course, there have been other adaptations of THE CALL OF THE WILD, such as the 1935 classic with Clark Gable and two television versions in the 1990s with Rick Shroeder and Rutger Hauer, respectively. The most recent was in 2009.