My Side of the Mountain (film)
| My Side of the Mountain | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | James B. Clark |
| Produced by | Robert B. Radnitz |
| Screenplay by |
Ted Sherdeman Jane Klove Joanna Crawford |
| Based on |
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George |
| Starring |
Teddy Eccles Theodore Bikel Tudi Wiggins |
| Music by | Wilfred Josephs |
| Cinematography | Denys N. Coop |
| Edited by | Alastair McIntyre Peter Thornton |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2 million (US/ Canada rentals) |
My Side of the Mountain is a 1969 film adaptation of the 1959 novel of the same name, by Jean Craighead George. It was directed by James B. Clark.
The story revolves around twelve-year-old Sam Gribley (Teddy Eccles), a devotee of Thoreau (as many were back in the 1960s). He decides to leave Toronto to spend time alone in the Canadian woods to see if he can make it as a self-sufficient spirit after his parents' promised summer trip doesn't pan out. He also wants to work on an algae experiment while he is there.
Sam's immediate companion is Gus, his pet raccoon, which lives with him in the city. He gathers supplies at a local store, hops on a bus, and heads down the 401 with Gus to what he calls "the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec". In actuality he ends up in the picturesque town of Knowlton, Quebec, southeast of Montreal, in the Notre Dame Mountains Range of the Appalachians. Here he finds the perfect mountain stream and pond location to build a home in an old dead tree. He begins his long-planned algae experiments and proves his ability as a solitary young Thoreau living off the land and communing fully with nature.
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.
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