"The Claim" tells the tale of a '49er (Mullen) with the glitter of gold in his eyes who swaps his wife and baby for a claim in the rugged California Sierra-Nevada mountains. A beautifully filmed period piece which attempts to portray the difficulties and realities of the time with fidelity, "The Claim" offers excellence in all aspects of the film though it may be too austere, too Spartan to have broad appeal. A great film for realists into stories of the old West.