Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Call of the Wild Blu-ray Movie Review

The wild, wild north.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 5, 2013

My eighth grade teacher did not suffer class clowns gracefully (or in fact at all), and one of my strongest memories of that year in school was one day when she put on a record of The Call of the Wild and I started to pantomime the narration, including dog Buck’s panting and barking, much to the delight of a girl I had had my eyes on for a little while. Before I knew it, my teacher was at my side and literally lifted me out of my desk by my ear (it hurt!), sending my desk careening across the floor, after which she led me out to the hall (by my ear—it hurt!), where she informed me I’d be spending the rest of the afternoon. (This was obviously back in the Dark Ages, when such behavior from teachers wasn’t just tolerated, it was actually condoned.) And so I never got to find out what happened to Buck and his variety of owners, at least in that narrated version of the oft-told tale. Buck is on hand in the 1935 film adaptation of Jack London’s immortal story, but screenwriters Gene Fowler and Leonard Praskins don’t make Buck the center of the story, instead making him a “supporting player” in a tale of a trio of fortune hunters in the Yukon. This was famously the last film released under the 20th Century imprimatur before its merger with Fox, and it perhaps is even more famously the film where co-stars Clark Gable and Loretta Young kept each other warm against the frigid location shoot, resulting in Young’s hushed up pregnancy and birth of her daughter, Judy Lewis, shortly after film wrapped. (Young went to rather incredible lengths to preserve her pristine, virginal image, by disappearing from film for months, taking off to England for the bulk of her pregnancy, giving birth in secret and then—most incredibly of all—having her daughter delivered to an orphanage where she later “adopted” her.) That very location shooting which perhaps contributed to the conception of the Gable-Young progeny is one of The Call of the Wild’s most distinctive features, for this was by any measure a rigorous shoot which demanded a lot of its cast and crew.

Clark Gable portrays hardscrabble Jack Thornton, a prospector who has a run of bad luck in a ramshackle gambling emporium, but who at least has the good fortune to run into an old buddy of his named, a lovable ex-con named Shorty Hoolihan (Jack Oakie). Shorty has a little “consolation prize” to help salve Jack’s gambling losses, namely knowledge of a supposedly well stocked gold mine which Shorty would like Jack’s help in locating. Shorty and Jack aren’t the only ones out to find this hidden treasure, however, as a smarmy schemer named Smith (Reginald Owen) is also hot on the mine’s trail. Smith is a nasty sort who actually wants to shoot a caged dog more or less for sport, but Jack spends money he doesn’t really have to buy the canine, who is a gigantic St. Bernard mix named Buck.

Buck initially doesn’t realize that Jack has saved him, but after a momentary drama, the two are bound together and Buck, Jack and Shorty head off to find the mine. Shorty’s knowledge of the mine came from a letter he had illegally intercepted which was from a prospector named Blake to Blake’s son. As Shorty and Jack make their way through the frozen expanses of the Yukon (actually Mt. Baker National Forest), they come across a woman named Claire (Loretta Young), who turns out to be the wife of Blake’s son. They, too, had been searching for the mine, but Claire’s husband had set off in search of supplies and food and has been missing for several days. Jack assumes he’s dead— perhaps wishful thinking, since he’s obviously attracted to the glamorously beautiful Claire.

The Call of the Wild toes a fine line between its outdoor adventure elements and the burgeoning romance between Claire and Jack. There are several standout sequences, including a harrowing trek across a river, which may remind some of a similar sequence in How the West Was Won, although unlike that much newer film (which obviously utilized rear projection), it appears that Gable and Young forded right into the rushing rapids themselves. The romantic angle actually plays out in a rather unexpected manner, at least with regard to this era of film, where things tended to be wrapped up in a tidy “happily ever after” moment by the denouement.

While Oakie’s (expected) mugging can grow a bit tiresome, Gable and Young are perfectly matched. Gable’s stalwart masculinity is perfectly on display throughout the film, as well as a perhaps more surprising vulnerability as Jack becomes more and more infatuated with Claire. Young always had a certain steely aspect beneath her graceful demeanor, and both of those aspects serve her portrayal of Claire very well. Director William Wellman manages the remote location work extremely well (no second unit directors are credited, though IMDb lists both Martin Zahn and Dolph Zimmer). The film doesn’t actually bear a lot of resemblance to London’s novel (yes, I actually broke down and read the thing in ninth grade), but on its own terms, it’s a bracing, enjoyable adventure with a rather touching romance at its core.

Call of the Wild Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Call of the Wild is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. My hunch is this was sourced from secondary elements, as evidenced by the rather heavy grain structure and occasional softness of the image, but this is not to state in any way that the image here isn't well detailed or naturally filmic. In fact for an eighty year old film, the elements are in remarkably good condition (or have been very well restored). There's really very little damage to report here, and beyond those concerns, contrast is extremely strong, helping to differentiate the sometimes minute differences in white tones when Jack, Shorty and Claire are out in the snow. Wellman and his DP Charles Rosher often tend to favor filtered close-ups of star Young, which should not be mistaken for any inherent softness in the transfer. Occasional other establishing shots also look slightly soft, but generally speaking, the bulk of this transfer maintains a nicely clear and well defined appearance with excellent fine detail.

Call of the Wild Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Call of the Wild features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which is in surprisingly good shape for its age. While there's some noticeable ambient hiss that floats through the soundstage, dialogue, score and effects are all delivered with good clarity, albeit with the narrowness and boxiness that is endemic to that era's recording techniques.

Call of the Wild Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Darwin Porter is an interesting piece full of biographical data on the actors as well as some anecdotal vignettes about the shoot.


• Theatrical Trailer (480i; 1:45) is a re-release trailer with pretty shoddy audio.

Call of the Wild Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Call of the Wild has several notable features, not the least of which is its still impressive location photography. Gable and Young make a very appealing star pair, and Oakie, while his typically ebullient hammy self, provides a bit of supporting color. Buck isn't the star here, but he has a couple of great scenes (including one in a bar that will probably cause a few laughs). Nicely directed by William Wellman, and very well shot by Charles Rosher, Call of the Wild is definitely more Hollywood than London (so to speak), but it's still hugely enjoyable. This Blu-ray sports solid video and audio, and the commentary is also quite good. Recommended.