There are some brilliant things in CALL OF THE WILD, such as the vivid portrait of frontier life at the turn of the century. This is, though, largely a disappointing version of Jack London's novel. Much of his anti-capitalism is here, but reduced to the emotional progress of Clark Gable. The theme of tame/wild is invoked - dog, woman, nature - but the crucial Buck plot is sidelined and made cute. The acting irritates in its refusal of depth, although Loretta Young's entrance could be straight out of Cocteau. The landscape is beautiful to look at, but there is little sense of nature as devouring or malevolent.
Review of Call of the Wild
