Challenge to White Fang

Challenge to White Fang
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lucio Fulci
Written by	Lucio Fulci Roberto Silvestri Roberto Gianviti
Starring	Franco Nero Virna Lisi
Music by	Carlo Rustichelli
Cinematography	Silvano Ippoliti
Edited by	Ornella Micheli
Distributed by	Titanus
Release date	October 25, 1974
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Italy, West Germany, France
Language	Italian

Il ritorno di Zanna Bianca (The Return of White Fang) is a 1974 Italian adventure film directed (and co-written) by Lucio Fulci, produced by Canadian Harry Alan Towers. It was internationally released as Challenge to White Fang. It is the only official sequel to the 1973 Italian adventure film Zanna Bianca. It starred Franco Nero, John Steiner and Virna Lisi.

Set in the Northwest Territories, Canada, in 1899. Mitsha (Missaele) (the young boy from the first White Fang movie), is working with his wolf-dog and two fur traders when Beauty Smith (John Steiner) and two henchmen appear and raid the traders camp shooting all of them, including Mitsha, and escapes in a canoe with all their equipment. Several hours later, the wolf-dog is found by John Tarwater (Harry Carey Jr.) a grizzled old trader who buries the dead Mitsha, and takes the hound back to a nearby town which is his home. The wolf-dog befriends another young boy who is John's orphaned, 10-year-old grandson Bill Tarwater (Renato Cestle). After looking for a name, Bill gives White Fang his name by yet again from the beasts ivory-white teeth. At a local saloon, White Fang helps John Tarwater win some money at a card game from a crooked card-shark, and a fistfight breaks out between the swindler and his victims as John casually counts his money, while White Fang and Bill take cover behind the bar. John then embarks on one of his periodic expeditions to discover gold.

Meanwhile, Beauty Smith is alive and well, and again exploiting the people of the very town where John and Bill live. Smith lives under the alias 'Charles Forth', a local businessman, and fakes a crippling injury by confining himself to a wheelchair with his two henchman always at his side. Sister Evangelina (Virna Lisi) is now running a new mission hut in the town to convert into a hospital. She decides to ask 'Mr. Forth' for funding to operate her hospital despite warnings from the townsmen that 'Mr. Forth' is a businessman and won't give her any money unless she gives him assurances that she will repay the loan, with interest, within 60 days or less. Sister Evangelina neverless goes to meet with him, and she recognizes the villainous man immediately.

Sister Evangelina contacts novelist Jason Scott (Franco Nero) who's on a book tour down south and agrees to come to her assistance. Scott also meets with his old friend Kurt Johnson (Raimund Harmstorf), now working as a local mines inspector to help out. Together, the three of them take their accusations to the town's police chief, Inspector Leclerq (Renato de Carmine), who is actually on the payroll of Beauty Smith and he claims to have known the crippled 'Mr. Forth' for six years. Leclerq's wife Jane (Hannelore Elsner), is pressuring her husband to accommodate Smith's nefarious plans in return for more bribe money he gives them in exchange for protection since Smith is now a wanted fugitive.