Monday, October 7, 2024

On this day in movie history - Alien Nation (1988):


Alien Nation

directed by Graham Baker,
written by Rockne S. O'Bannon,
was released in the United States on October 7, 1988.
Music by Curt Sobel.


Cast:

James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevyn Major Howard, Leslie Bevis, Peter Jason, Conrad Dunn, Jeff Kober, Roger Aaron Brown, Tony Simotes, Michael David Simms, Ed Krieger, Tony Perez, Brian Thompson, Francis X. McCarthy, Keone Young, Don Hood, Earl Boen, William E. Dearth, Robert Starr, Bobby Sargent, Bebe Drake, Edgar Small, Thomas Wagner, Abraham Alvarez, Harri James, Frank Collison, Tom DeFranco, Angela O'Neill, Seth Marten, Kendall Conrad, Brian Lando, Tom Morga, Regis Parton, Jessica James, Tom Finnegan, Doug MacHugh, Lawrence Kopp, Alec Gillis, Shuko Akune, Stephanie Shroyer, Frank Wagner, Clarence Landry, Van Ling, Mark Murphey, Kirsten Graham, George Robotham, Debra Seitz, James De Closs, Douglas Cameron, Jasper Cole, Lorenzo Gaspar, Eric Kay, Dee Giffin Scott.

Never Cry Wolf (1983) - a REAL walk on the wild side:


Never Cry Wolf

This Disney production, directed by Carroll Ballard, released in the United States on October 7, 1983, is a somber and beautiful nature movie, set in the snow-bound Canadian wilderness.


Charles Martin Smith plays Tyler, a Government biologist, sent to the harsh and unforgiving region to ascertain whether wolves are responsible for the alarming decline of the Caribou herds.

On the outset of his mission, Tyler encounters Rosie (Brian Dennehy), who initially seems friendly – even though borderline psychotic, but later emerges as an astute fortune hunter.
Symbolizing the worst of mankind, Rosie is there only to destroy the habitat in a money-making enterprise.

Early in the story, Tyler is rescued and befriended by Ootek (Zachary Ittimangnaq), and learns about the lifestyle of the indigenous Inuit people.


Never Cry Wolf is a visual feast; the landscape scenery is breathtaking, and Mark Isham’s music score is haunting.

It’s based on the autobiographical book by Farley Mowat, presented here as the character, Tyler.

The slow and thoughtful pace of the movie is lightened with the comic scenes of Tyler drinking tea by the gallon, and urinating around his base camp, scent-marking it as the wolf establishes his territory.
It turns into a battle of the wills and bladders between man and wolf, until the wolf finally accepts the boundary of Tyler's territory.

Later, Tyler learns the wolf is not the culprit and vital to the balance of nature: culling only the injured and slowest Caribou – effectively keeping the herd strong.
The wolves’ main food is the multitudes of field mice – of which Tyler also chows on as an experiment, after the mice swarm his tent and his own food reserves are depleting.


I believe in conservation and I love the wolf in particular.
Never Cry Wolf is delicately compelling and melancholic.
I empathized with Tyler, and appreciate the necessity to conserve and protect this beautiful planet: our home.

One of my favorite scenes is near the end: Tyler, with the heavy snow and the brutal winter set in around him, sits at the edge of a lake and blows hard on a bassoon.
The sound is heard by a distant wolf pack, and they howl back, acknowledging the distance between them, a declaration that neither Tyler, nor the rest of mankind, belong there.


Never Cry Wolf moved me with two reflective and potent realities of the region: sadness and silence.

Everything there seems to be on an inexorable path towards extinction: the caribou, wolves, Inuit people, and even the habitat itself.

The illusion of a place where the only things to cut through the silence are the howl of a wolf, or the wind, is that time appears to stand still.


Charles Martin Smith and Brian Dennehy played great roles.

However, like the wilderness, this movie belongs to the wolves.


One particular line resonates with me, and I hope it never becomes prophetic of the wolves and the plight of the natural world:

I believe the wolves went off to a wild and distant place somewhere, although I don’t really know, because I turned away and didn’t watch them go.
– Charles Martin Smith, as Tyler.

On this day in music history - Dog & Butterfly, by Heart (1978):

The album Dog & Butterfly,
by Heart,
was released on October 7, 1978.

On this day in movie history - Rolling Thunder (1977):


Rolling Thunder

directed by John Flynn,
written by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould,
based on a story by Paul Schrader,
was released in the United States on October 7, 1977.
Music by Barry De Vorzon.
Song San Antone performed by Denny Brooks.


Cast:

William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, Carol Sowa, James Best, Dabney Coleman, Luke Askew, Lawrason Driscoll, Lisa Blake Richards, Randy Hermann, James Victor, Charles Escamilla, Pete Ortega, Cassie Yates, Jordan Gerler, Jacque Burandt, Paul A. Partain, James N. Harrell, Jane Abbott, Jerry Brown, Anthony Castillo, Rudy T. Gonzales, Robert K. Guthrie, Ray Gutierrez, Michael Nakamura, James Conner, Cheyenne Rivera, Robert Raymond Reyes, Arturo R. Tamez Jr., Bob Tisdale, Autry Ward, West Ward, William Vance White, Michael R. Witte, Alan Wong, Janet Quist.

On this day in movie history - Monte Walsh (1970):


Monte Walsh

directed by William A. Fraker,
written by David Zelag Goodman and Lukas Heller,
based on the novel by Jack Schaefer,
was released in the United States on October 7, 1970.
Music by John Barry.


Cast:

Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitchell Ryan, Jim Davis, G.D. Spradlin, John Hudkins, Raymond Guth, John McKee, Michael Conrad, Tom Heaton, Ted Gehring, Bo Hopkins, John McLiam, Allyn Ann McLerie, Matt Clark, Charles Tyner, Jack Colvin.

On this day in movie history - The Last Ride (1944):


The Last Ride

directed by D. Ross Lederman,
written by Raymond L. Schrock,
was released in the United States on October 7, 1944.
Music by William Lava.


Cast:

Richard Travis, Charles Lang, Eleanor Parker, Jack La Rue, Cy Kendall, Wade Boteler, Mary Gordon, Harry Lewis, Tod Andrews, Leah Baird, Eddy Chandler, Clancy Cooper, Ross Ford, Eddie Foster, Jack Gardner, Creighton Hale, John Harmon, Howard Hickman, Al Hill, Stuart Holmes, William Hopper, Bill Kennedy, Hank Mann, John Maxwell, Frank Mayo, Dolores Moran, Jack Mower, Pat O'Malley, Virginia Patton, Harry Strang, Charles Sullivan, Elliott Sullivan, Harry Tenbrook, Norman Willis.

On this day in movie history - Meet the Girls (1938):


Meet the Girls

directed by Eugene Forde,
written by Marguerite Roberts,
was released in the United States on October 7, 1938.
Music by Samuel Kaylin.


Cast:

June Lang, Lynn Bari, Robert Allen, Ruth Donnelly, Gene Lockhart, Wally Vernon, Erik Rhodes, Constantine Romanoff, Jack Norton, Emmett Vogan, Paul McVey, Harlan Briggs, Carol Adams, Billy Bevan, Ralph Brooks, James B. Carson, Alan Davis, Larry Dods, Lester Dorr, Dick Elliott, Allen Fox, Jack Gargan, Creighton Hale, Harry Hayden, Robert Emmett Keane, Milton Kibbee, Fred Kohler Jr., Stanley Mack, David Newell, William Newell, Tom O'Grady, Arthur Rankin, Jack Richardson, Harry Strang, William Wagner, Bruce Warren, June Wilkins.