THE CALL OF THE WILD

US, 1972, 104 minutes, Colour.
Charlton Heston, Michele Mercier.
Directed by Ken Annakin

The Call of the Wild is a Jack London story of the North and has been filmed several times. A 30s adaptation starred Clark Gable and Loretta Young. An international remake starred Charlton Heston and was directed by action director Ken Annakin (Those Magnificent Men films, The Battle of the Bulge, Paper Tiger). This TV version is entertaining, directed very much to the home audience and focuses on the beautiful locations, a fair amount of action and the interaction between man and animal. An entertaining if very popularised version of the classic novel (although Charlton Heston blamed international lack of collaboration in production to make it the worst film he ever made).

A 1993 version starred Rick Schroder and Mia Sara.