My Side of the Mountain (film)
| My Side of the Mountain | |
|---|---|
Denys N. Coop | |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Wilfred Josephs |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
My Side of the Mountain is a 1969
Plot
The story revolves around twelve-year-old Sam Gribley (
Sam's immediate companion is Gus, his pet
Sam wants badly not to have to feel needful of the urban and modern world, however, the sight of a falcon overhead inspires his curiosity about falconry. He journeys back to Knowlton and to the local library, where the librarian and bird-enthusiast Miss Turner (Tudi Wiggins) supplies him with books on falconry. He steals a chick from a local falcon's nest. It, whom he names Frightful, becomes his new best friend and food supplier, after he teaches it to hunt.
One day, returning to his tree home, he finds an older man there. Bando (Theodore Bikel) is a wandering folk singer traveling the world in search of folk songs and traditions. They share survival ideas, lore with one another, and enlighten each other's worlds. They enjoy each other's pancake recipes. (Sam makes acorn pancakes and Bando makes great syrup.)
Sam and Bando bond over the summer, but as September's cold air approaches, Bando tells Sam that he has to leave before winter comes on. They climb the nearby mountain together and Bando says his good-byes. Sam is lonely.
Frightful is killed by an insensitive hunter. Sam is devastated, but still manages to survive as winter sets in. His bright demeanor returns as he witnesses the local fauna playing in the winter snow. He also has the warmth of his tree home in place after building a makeshift chimney out of clay from his pond.
Sam and Gus sleep by the fire as a terrible blizzard sweeps in. Soon their tree home is blanketed in snow, and without air they will suffocate in the smoke-filled chamber. Panic-stricken, Sam begins to dig his way through the snowed-in doorway to the outside air. Luckily, Bando and Miss Turner have decided to pay him a Christmas visit. They help dig him and Gus out. The four have a Christmas celebration and sing "Good King Wenceslas" over Bando's guitar playing.
Bando shows Sam newspaper reports of his parents' concern over their missing son. He decides that he should go home, knowing that he accomplished even more than he set out for. The four head off around the side of the mountain.
Cast
- Teddy Eccles as Sam Gribley
- Theodore Bikel as Bando
- Tudi Wiggins as Miss Turner
- Paul Hébert as Hunter
- Cosette Lee as Apple Lady
- Ralph Endersby as Boy in Soda Fountain
- George Allan as Boy in Soda Fountain
- Dan McIlravey as Little Boy on Bus
- Frank Perry as Mr. Gribley
- Peggi Loder as Mrs. Gribley
- Karen Pearson as Prudence Gribley
Production
The film was shot on location at
Bikel said in his autobiography, Theo, "What was unusual about this production (My Side of the Mountain) was that they asked me not only to sing and play, but to write the songs as well. With the exception of one French-Canadian tune, 'Un Canadien Errant,' for which I wrote the English lyrics, for all the others I wrote the words and music."[5]
Home media
The film was released on VHS by Paramount Home Video in 1985. It was re-issued on VHS in 1995, under the Paramount Family Favorites label. The film was released on DVD as part of the Paramount Widescreen Collection in 2004.
See also
- List of American films of 1969
- Survival film, about the film genre, with a list of related films
References
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15
- ISBN 9780870234828. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ISBN 9780195138634. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ "Knowlton becomes site of Hollywood Movie, 'My Side of the Mountain'". Granby Leader Mail. 1967-09-20. pp. 8, 10. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Theodore Bikel, Theo. Harper Collins, 1995, page 308.
