The Great Adventure (1975)

Set during the American Gold Rush era, this is an unforgettable tale of an orphaned boy and his wild dog who must battle against the Yukon wilderness and human greed to help save a frontier town.

Director:

Gianfranco Baldanello

Writers:

John Fonseca (screenplay), Elliot Geisinger (screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Palance, Joan Collins, Elisabetta Virgili

Cast

Credited cast:
Jack Palance	...	William Bates
Joan Collins	...	Sonia Kendall
Elisabetta Virgili	...	Mary Chambers (as Elizabeth Virgil)
Manuel de Blas	...	John McKenzie
Fernando E. Romero	...	Jim Chambers (as Fred Romer)
Remo De Angelis	...	Hank McKenzie
Ricardo Palacios	...	Charlie - Barkeeper
Attilio Dottesio	...	Jim and Mary's father
José Canalejas	...	Bates Henchman
Enzo De Toma	...	Buzz - Raftsman
Achille Grioni	...	Bates henchman
Filippo La Neve	...	Tom Jarrell - Lawyer
Boris Zanardi
Emilio Mellado	...	Fatso - Bank robber
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mario De Barros	...	Bates henchman

Storyline

Set during the American Gold Rush era, this is an unforgettable tale of an orphaned boy and his wild dog who must battle against the Yukon wilderness and human greed to help save a frontier town.

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Plot Keywords:

spaghetti western | italo western | gold | newspaper | sabotage | 

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Taglines:

They Stood Together and Changed the Destiny of an Entire Frontier

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The storyline is a pastiche of Jack London's works, loosely based on "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".

User Reviews

This film was perfect....perfectly awful

The makers of this bilge should be ashamed. I'll wager Jack Palance's face still turns red when this turkey is brought up in his presence. I would say the same of Joan Collins, but this movie could well be the high point of her pathetic career. The budget couldn't have gone much over a few grand, and most of that was very likely spent on dog food. Come to think of it, dog chow is all any of the cast and crew deserved. The film was constructed entirely of jerky, disconnected scenes chock full of some of the most cornball, juvenile dialogue I've ever had the bad luck of viewing. And the wolf attacks! Why do these adventure shows always have those stupid wolf attacks? At least there were no stupid bear attacks. The story was a familiar one in which an evil scumbag gains control of Dawson City, Alaska during the gold rush days. He hires a gang of toughs to strike fear in the gutless townsfolk by stomping or murdering anyone dumb enough to question his authority. Why didn't some enterprising soul with a good rifle simply pop the ornery tinhorn's chops from a dark alley one night? The sorry creep has a good set-up going until a handsome stranger [who fell in love with the bad guy's "tramp with a heart of gold" saloon girl in about 4 seconds flat] and a couple of kids with a wild German Shepherd [whose bark was strangely like that of a Pomeranian] came to town and upset his apple cart. This bomb opens up whole vistas of opportunity to give new meaning to the term "not worth a tinker's damn". Ten year olds may like this junk, but I have to wonder about even that.

Details

Country:

Italy Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Great Adventure

Filming Locations:

Avandaro, Valle de Bravo, Estado de México, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dunamis Cinematografica, Estudios Cinematográficos Roma, Professional Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)