King of the Grizzlies (1970)
G | 93 mins | Drama | March 1970
Cast:
John Yesno, Chris Wiggins, Hugh Webster [ More ]Director:
Ron KellyWriters:
Jack Speirs, Rod Peterson, Norman WrightProducer:
Winston HiblerCinematographer:
Reginald MorrisEditor:
Gregg McLaughlinProduction Companies:
Walt Disney Productions , Robert Lawrence ProductionsAn item in the 26 Jun 1968 Var announced that principal photography began that week, on location between Banff and Calgary, Alberta. Shooting was done along the eastern approaches to the Canadian Rockies, in areas of British Columbia as well as Alberta. Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, the Kananaskis Forest and the Kananaskis River, Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park, Bow River, and the Stoney Indian Reservation all served as locations. Financial backing came from Walt Disney Productions, although physical production was handled by an all-Canadian, twenty-two-man crew “totally under the responsibility of Robert Lawrence Productions,” a commercial and industrial film company based in Toronto, Canada. Previously, Robert Lawrence Productions had made, under contract with Disney, a “360-degree Telephone Pavilion film” for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition (a.k.a. Expo 67) at the Montreal World’s Fair. Although a five-week shooting schedule was cited, the 28 May 1969 Var later stated that filming had been ongoing for two years.
The picture was originally titled Biography of a Grizzly, after the 1903 Ernest Thompson Seton novel upon which it was based. The title was changed to King of the Grizzlies by early 1970, according to the Var review published on 28 Jan 1970. A preview screening was held on 3 Feb 1970 at Walt Disney Productions’ annual stockholder meeting at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, CA, and theatrical release took place the following month.
The 15 Oct 1970 NYT review noted the picture was playing at local theaters on a double bill with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959, see entry). ...
An item in the 26 Jun 1968 Var announced that principal photography began that week, on location between Banff and Calgary, Alberta. Shooting was done along the eastern approaches to the Canadian Rockies, in areas of British Columbia as well as Alberta. Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, the Kananaskis Forest and the Kananaskis River, Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park, Bow River, and the Stoney Indian Reservation all served as locations. Financial backing came from Walt Disney Productions, although physical production was handled by an all-Canadian, twenty-two-man crew “totally under the responsibility of Robert Lawrence Productions,” a commercial and industrial film company based in Toronto, Canada. Previously, Robert Lawrence Productions had made, under contract with Disney, a “360-degree Telephone Pavilion film” for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition (a.k.a. Expo 67) at the Montreal World’s Fair. Although a five-week shooting schedule was cited, the 28 May 1969 Var later stated that filming had been ongoing for two years.
The picture was originally titled Biography of a Grizzly, after the 1903 Ernest Thompson Seton novel upon which it was based. The title was changed to King of the Grizzlies by early 1970, according to the Var review published on 28 Jan 1970. A preview screening was held on 3 Feb 1970 at Walt Disney Productions’ annual stockholder meeting at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, CA, and theatrical release took place the following month.
The 15 Oct 1970 NYT review noted the picture was playing at local theaters on a double bill with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959, see entry).
Moki, a Cree Indian in the late nineteenth-century West, works as a foreman on the ranch belonging to his former Army commanding officer, Colonel Pierson. Moki wears the sign of the tribal totem on his hand--a four-toed track, the mark of the grizzly bear. A grizzly bear invades Pierson's land and kills a steer, and Pierson shoots the bear and one of her cubs, missing the other. The surviving cub falls over a cliff and into a river and is swept downstream. Moki searches for the cub and learns that it has only four toes on one of its feet. He names it Wahb, which means four-toed grizzly, captures the bear, and sets him free on the outskirts of Pierson's land. Wahb survives and grows to maturity. At 3 years of age, Wahb appears and frightens a ranch hand, whereupon Pierson orders Moki to trap the bear; but Wahb avoids capture. Several years later, Moki encounters Wahb in the mountains. As the bear does not harm him, Moki concludes that a mystical tie binds Wahb's destiny with his own. Wahb reappears on the Pierson ranch at roundup time and stampedes the cattle. Pierson sets out to kill Wahb, but the wily bear doubles back and begins to track his pursuer. Moki attempts to warn Pierson of his danger but to no avail. Pierson meets the bear head on; his horse rears and Pierson is thrown. Wahb is about to attack Pierson when Moki intervenes and makes the Cree sign of friendship to the bear, causing him to lumber off. Pierson raises his rifle to shoot, but Moki stops him when he notices Wahb scratching a mark on a nearby ...
Moki, a Cree Indian in the late nineteenth-century West, works as a foreman on the ranch belonging to his former Army commanding officer, Colonel Pierson. Moki wears the sign of the tribal totem on his hand--a four-toed track, the mark of the grizzly bear. A grizzly bear invades Pierson's land and kills a steer, and Pierson shoots the bear and one of her cubs, missing the other. The surviving cub falls over a cliff and into a river and is swept downstream. Moki searches for the cub and learns that it has only four toes on one of its feet. He names it Wahb, which means four-toed grizzly, captures the bear, and sets him free on the outskirts of Pierson's land. Wahb survives and grows to maturity. At 3 years of age, Wahb appears and frightens a ranch hand, whereupon Pierson orders Moki to trap the bear; but Wahb avoids capture. Several years later, Moki encounters Wahb in the mountains. As the bear does not harm him, Moki concludes that a mystical tie binds Wahb's destiny with his own. Wahb reappears on the Pierson ranch at roundup time and stampedes the cattle. Pierson sets out to kill Wahb, but the wily bear doubles back and begins to track his pursuer. Moki attempts to warn Pierson of his danger but to no avail. Pierson meets the bear head on; his horse rears and Pierson is thrown. Wahb is about to attack Pierson when Moki intervenes and makes the Cree sign of friendship to the bear, causing him to lumber off. Pierson raises his rifle to shoot, but Moki stops him when he notices Wahb scratching a mark on a nearby tree. Moki interprets the tree-marking as a sign that the bear will never again return to Pierson's ranch.
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