A Cry in the Wild (USA, 1990) 82 min color DIR: Mark Griffiths. SCR: Gary Paulsen, Catherine Cryan. PROD: Julie Corman. MUSIC: Arthur Kempel. DOP: Gregg Heschong. CAST: Jared Rushton, Pamela Sue Martin, Stephen Meadows, Ned Beatty. (Concorde-New Horizons)
When Concorde New Horizons began its direct-to-video operation, executive producer Roger Corman wisely saw the potential in family movies, and intermittently released such films to corner another market (an amusing kind of mass marketing: releasing a sex-and-violence pic one week, and a wholesome family movie the next). Corman’s wife Julie produced The Dirt Bike Kid, featuring Peter Billinglsey, an early and successful foray into the family market. A Cry in the Wild may be the most interesting and unusual picture with her name attached. In this adaptation of the novel Hatchet (co-scripted by its author, Gary Paulsen), Jared Rushton plays Brian Robeson, a boy who survives the crash of a small plane (piloted by Ned Beatty!) in the Yukon on the way to meet his father, and then must obtain food and shelter until he is rescued. This very good, well-made adventure has enough action and suspense for young viewers, yet it is refreshingly free of gushy sentimentality, so that adults can enjoy it too. There is also an interesting subtext, provided via flashbacks, that explain Brian’s domestic life, as his parents have divorced, and he is resentful of the new guy dating his mother (former Dynasty star Pamela Sue Martin, kind of a perfect addition to the Roger Corman universe). Think of this as “Farley Mowat Meets Ingmar Bergman”, as this yarn is as much psychological as visceral. Ultimately, this movie documents a child without a father figure who must become a man in order to survive. The original novel (so titled because the mother gives Brian an amazingly prophetic gift of a hatchet before his fateful plane ride… and would soon need it in the wilderness) is considered a minor classic among young readers, and those who love the book naturally detest the movie, largely because the film is harder-edged. Yet, A Cry in the Wild is perhaps more “grown up” to broaden its appeal. The narrative thread of the parents’ divorce actually adds to the already engrossing story of survival.