The Wild Country

This is a good Disney family film about the Tanner family: Jim the father (Steve Forrest), Kate the mother (Vera Miles), Virgil the older boy (Ron Howard) and Andrew the younger boy (Clint Howard). They take on farming in the West in the late 19th Century or early 20th Century. There is a tornado in the movie. There is a fight over irrigation water, and it seems the father got killed in it. The Wild Country is based on the book "Little Britches" by Ralph Moody. Ralph Moody's parents lived in New England and moved to the Littleton, Colorado, area, where there was an irrigation fight and Ralph's father died of bad health. Ralph wrote a number of books about his life, including "Horse of a Different Color," which tells about his experiences in the cattle feeding business in the McCook, Nebraska-Oberlin, Kansas area.

Steve Forrest and Vera Miles star in The Wild Country about a family named Tanner with their two sons Ron and Clint Howard who homestead west from Pennsylvania to Wyoming territory to work a piece of farm land they've bought. At a dirt cheap price I might add.

Of course the reason it came cheap was because a very mean and nasty neighbor played by Morgan Woodward regulates the water flow. The Tanners struggle with Woodward is the main plot line.

Other than that The Wild Country shows a lot of problems that pioneer folk went through in settling the west. Among the many trials they endure is a tornado, admittedly not as well staged as in Twister, but I won't complain.

There are a couple of nice performances from Jack Elam and Frank DeKova as a pair of rustic characters with DeKova once again an Indian who help the Tanners out.

The Wild Country is a nice family product from the Disney Studio.

A family moves from Pittsburgh to Wyoming to become farmers in the late 1800s. They face the expected amount of hardships, including a tornado and a murderous rancher. Wilderness family adventure movies are usually fun to watch. This one doesn't break any new ground, even for 1970, but it'll keep your attention. It's enjoyable even if it's stuff you've seen before. Steve Forrest and Vera Miles are the parents. He's for the pioneer life but she wants to move back to civilization. Ron Howard is the teenage son anxious to be a man. Clint Howard is the annoying little brother who likes to make pets of all the animals. Jack Elam is lots of fun as a goofy mountain man and Frank DeKova has another of his Indian roles he was known for. Dan Haggerty has a blink-and-you'll-miss-him background part. Surprisingly violent for a Disney movie. Tornado scene was very well done. Beautiful scenery is a plus. Worth checking out if you're a fan of such movies.

All Cast and crew members were exceptional. Making a film takes team work. The crew on this film were the best of the best. Location Manager Austin Jewell & Auditor Nick Humphrey provided support and financial know how that made this an easy film to work on. Bob Totten, Director was a genius. Jack Elam was so good that you could almost smell him . Steve Forrest & Vera Miles turned in great acting performances. The Jackson Hole location with the Grand Teton mountains were a big hit with all, made the movie real. Rate this movie a 10 plus. Bob Clatworthy, Art director provided a artistic touch that rates at the top of the list. When we arrived in Jackson Hole in August 1969 and the Grand Teton mountains still had snow on them that lasted until we left. The town people of Jackson Hole were very nice and would help were ever they could. Many were hired as extras and rented vehicles and equipment to the production.

Steve Forrest and Vera Miles leave Pittsburgh with their sons, Ron and Clint Howard and move to Jackson Hole to farm. However, despite friendly Mountain Men, the big rancher won't let them have any water, and their farm starts to dry up.

It's an agreeable movie to spend a couple of hours with, with some spectacular scenery shot on actual location, but despite the competence of everyone, it looks like they were striving for something and missed it. Was it director Robert Totten, the man whose the previous year's DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER was the birth of Alan Smithee? Cinematographer Frank Phillips, who compositions show so much baby-blue sky that you don't see the people? The Howard brothers, who performances are monotonous? The post-Walt habit Disney had of reducing everything to blandly heartwarming? I'm not sure, but miscalculations like that turn what could have been a fine movie into one that is good.