User Reviews

I am interested in the comments so far on this film as I was on the crew for the latter part of production. I've said this is a spoiler, but it doesn't really deal with plot.

I hate to break this to those who thought this was a documentary, but it was a staged production. The majority of shooting was done in compounds, some quite large so you don't see the fencing.

Dick Robinson was also the owner of the company that did the actual production, and was brilliant at working with the animals. At the time I worked there we had 175 animals ranging from bears and cougars to jaguars and wolves. We even had a chimp, Wilhemina.

We worked on a compound in the Kanaskis region of Alberta, as well as shooting other films near Canmore, and Utah/Arizona/Mexico.

The animals were treated well, and there were professionals looking after them, including former zoo-keepers. In fact, the animals were often treated better than the crew! Those of us on the film side were expected to walk animals, etc when we weren't working on production.

I have some fantastic memories of this company, but left as work was beginning on 'Grizzly Adams' in 1973. Turns out it was a good thing as Dick got into a major dispute and lawsuit with the financier, Pat Frawley - which ultimately saw the company broken apart.

Dave

Again, as to usefulness, I'm leaving a comment with decidedly mixed use... I received a 16mm print of this film from an ebay seller, not that I have seen it to the end, but I saw the beginning and can't help but wonder about the mother wolf in this film. Was she really the victim of a random shot from a plane? There's a big "G" rating before the film begins, and then a scene of violence and incomparable loss... Then the cubs do indeed appear separate from their mother as orphans in Mr. Robinson's cabin.... Is this a documentary? What happened to the cubs' mother? Don't tell me she was on the set throughout the production playing the interfering stage mother... oh, maybe she was... dizozza600@cs.com thank you...

UPDATE: I've seen the entire film. It really is an independent film made in Canada, apparently over the course of three years. It will enhance your appreciation of life away from civilization and the balance in nature. We confront breeds of our domestic pets in the wild. Yes, this film is very much worth seeing and discussing.

A mountain man named Sam Monroe (Dick Robinson, who also directed this movie*, voiced by Leon Ames) saves four wolf cubs after their mother dies. Somehow, against the odds, they form a pack and protect one another. Thirty other animals appear in this movie, all handled by Robinson.

Written by John C. Champion (Zero Hour!) and John C. Mahon (who produced Chariots of the Gods), you may wonder, "Why would Sam care about this movie, much less write it up for me to read about?"

Because this is a Sun International Picture.

This was four-walled into theaters, taking the kind of movies that they felt the American public wasn't getting - which would be wildlife pictures and the kind of UFO and conspiracy shows that are now on basic cable, but in theaters and drive-ins - and selling it directly to them. Toklat came before this and is incredibly similar, with Robinson tracking a bear that he knew as a cub with Ames doing the voiceover.

Later known as Sunn Classics and Schick/Sunn Classics, the ultimate expression of their outdoorsman against the odds movies would be The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.

*Robinson also made or worked on the similar movies Birth of a Legend, Cougar Country, Toklat, Mountain Charlie, Buffalo Rider, The Rogue and the Grizzly and did the animal sequences for Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot.

My fiancé saw this movie (Brother of the Wind) when it first came out. I want to purchase it for her as a wedding present. Is it available in VHS or DVD? Will it ever be on the tube or in theaters again? We recently watched, "Where the red fern grows" and began discussing other animal movies. If this movie had have been made 30 years earlier, it would have had stars like Gregory Peck. Another movie by the same author was, "My Summer Of Monkeys". One of my favorites was "Iron Will". There are so few quality family movies available. Searching out these kind of movies is sometimes difficult. I spent years researching where to find a copy of "Song of the South". If anyone out there knows of a website to find movies like this, I would appreciate seeing a posting. I'm not sure why this website requires 10 lines on a commentary, but I am trying to comply and I hope they accept this posting. Thanks, David