Cold River

Name: Cold River
Genre: Adventure
Duration: 1 h 34 min
Rating: 5.6
Cast: Suzanne Weber, Pat Petersen, Richard Jaeckel

1982
PG
1h 34m

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

165

YOUR RATING

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Adventure

Based on the novel Winterkill, by William Judson, Cold River is the story of an Adirondack guide who takes his young daughter and step-son on a long camping trip in the fall of 1932. When wi... Read allBased on the novel Winterkill, by William Judson, Cold River is the story of an Adirondack guide who takes his young daughter and step-son on a long camping trip in the fall of 1932. When winter strikes unexpectedly early (a natural phenomenon known as a 'winterkill' - so named b... Read allBased on the novel Winterkill, by William Judson, Cold River is the story of an Adirondack guide who takes his young daughter and step-son on a long camping trip in the fall of 1932. When winter strikes unexpectedly early (a natural phenomenon known as a 'winterkill' - so named because the animals are totally unprepared for a sudden, early winter, and many freeze or s... Read all

Director
- Fred G. Sullivan
Writers
- Edwin Corley
- Fred G. Sullivan
Stars

See production, box office & company info

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

165

YOUR RATING

See more at IMDbPro

Alternate versions
The US DVD version is cut by several minutes, including the scene where Reuben Knat tries to rape Lizzy.

Connections
Referenced in The Beer Drinker's Guide to Fitness and Filmmaking (1987)

Soundtracks
Winter Nights
Lyric by Jim Wann & Michael Gibson
Music by Michael Gibson
Sung by Cass Morgan

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

Understandably obscure

One of the last releases by Pacific International Enterprises (the folks behind the WILDERNESS FAMILY movies), COLD RIVER seems to have been a troubled production. Many of the tell-tale signs can be seen in the closing credits, which list a 1979 copyright date and an unusual number of assistant directors and photographers. It's also evident in the movie itself, mainly from a present day prologue and epilogue. These bookends not only barely connect with the events in the main body, but has no real satisfying conclusion - just like the main story told between them!

The rest of the movie is pretty unsatisfying as well. Despite being almost completely shot outdoors, the movie is surprisingly dull to look at, due both to dark and murky photography and bland locations. It also moves at a pace that's slow as our protagonists trudging through the snow. The kids don't have that much dialogue (that's of real substance, anyway), so it's hard to get involved in their hardship and struggle. Robert Earl Jones does add a little life temporarily when his character appears.

I haven't read the novel this movie is based on (which must be popular, because it's still in print after about three decades), but I'm pretty confident fans of it will be disappointed with this adaptation.

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