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.

---

Plot Keywords:

german shepherd | dog | sled dog | gold rush | wolf | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Adventure | Family

---

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

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his autobiography "The Actor's Life - Journals 1956-1976", Charlton Heston wrote, "We're faced with the endless problems of organization, personnel, dogs, publicity . . . I fear I've fallen in with amateurs and con men. This had not been a picture really but a production deal, patched together with incredible adroitness and negotiating skill--and no filmmaking talent whatsoever."

---

Quotes

John Thornton: You hit that dog one more time, I'm gonna kill ya.
Hal: Go to hell! He's mine and I'll do what I like with him.
John Thornton: I shot four varmints already this morning. One more don't matter none to me.

---

Connections

Version of Call of the Wild (1935)

User Reviews

Good Version

Call of the Wild, The (1972)

*** (out of 4)

A house dog is stolen from its owner and sold to a group of men who abuse him and eventually sell him as a sled dog. The sled owner (Charlton Heston) soon grows attached to the dog and we see their adventures in Alaska, which includes hunting for gold. This version of the famous story isn't as good as the 1935 version with Clark Gable and Loretta Young but this one does remain entertaining throughout. There are some major problems with the film that keeps it from being great but even through there are problems there's still a wonderfully touching movie here. What doesn't work is that the film really appears to have originally been three hours and then edited down to its 100-minute running time. I say this because there seems to be some rough editing and there are various parts of the film that seem rushed. This becomes rather annoying but the real star here is the dog. The dog used in the film does a remarkable job and really makes his role a real character and not just an animal doing tricks. Heston gives a pretty good performance and his actions with the dog are a lot of fun to watch but there are moments when the actor goes over the top and brings a few laughs, which certainly wasn't intended. Michele Mercier is good as Heston's lover and George Eastman makes for a great villain. The film was shot in Finland, which leads to some terrific visuals and the movie remains entertaining all the way through. The love story between Heston and his dog is beautifully captured but some should be warned that there are a lot of scenes of animal abuse, which will certainly bother some.