Baker's Hawk (1976)

6/10

bkoganbing30 December 2009

The Baker of Baker's Hawk refers to young Lee Harcourt Montgomery who is the son of Clint Walker and Diane Baker who finds an injured hawk in the forest. Montgomery takes what he thinks is a chance and goes to the cabin of Burl Ives who has the reputation of being a crazy man. In truth he's just an old hermit who likes animals a lot better than people and the people around his part of the west don't give him any reason to feel differently. But he does warm to young Montgomery and the two of them work on mending the hawk and maybe training it.

The adults have some problems of their own. Clint Walker is standing up against a town who wants to form a vigilante committee because they don't like certain elements coming into their area.. All under the guise of law and order, mind you. The head vigilante is of all people Alan Young who plays a storekeeper, but who really has no idea what he's starting. Eventually Walker becomes the deputy for the town to county sheriff Taylor Lacher and that sets everything up for a final confrontation.

Baker's Hawk is a nice family film with some good teachings about taking the law into your own hands and the consequences that can result. It's got some nice location cinematography in a couple of national forests located in Utah. And the scenes with Ives and Montgomery and the animals are the best part of the film.

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6/10

A KID AND HIS HAWK

mmthos3 July 2021

Basic story of the Law (Clint Walker) reining in vigilantes who are running foreigners out of town. Walker is extremely earnest as lawman and father. The good part is a boy (Lee Montgomery) and the Crazy Old Man of the Mountain (Burl Ives) raising an injured hawk together. All of their scenes are terrific and heartfelt, a real showcase for both their talents. But I wonder, will a trained hawk defend it's master the way a dog will, and as Baker's Hawk does in this movie? Anyway, makes for an affecting movie experience.

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6/10

I'm a jelly heart too when it comes to nature movies and wildlife.

mark.waltz19 February 2021

Warning: Spoilers

Certainly not a great movie and more like an extended "Little House on the Prairie" episode, this focuses on young Lee H. Montgomery who finds an injured hawk chick and with the help of the jelly hearted "crazy man" Burl Ives nurses it back to health. Montgomery's idealistic parents Clint Walker and Diane Baker refuse to kowtow to local bigwigs, lead by shopkeeper Alan Young, who are determined to keep their community safe by acting as vigilantes to any newcomer they deem a bad fit to their community. Even though he has apparently been living in solitude in the mountains for years, Ives is considered one of them harassed by the youngsters and threatened by the adults and his friendship with Montgomery is affected by this unneighborly behavior.

Having seen red tail hawks in Central Park, to see one up close and being handled by humans is amazing, as it is a truly majestic bird. Having seen other wild creatures in their habitat living in the country, I can appreciate their beauty from afar and certainly respect people like Ives who take care of them when injured and release them back into the wild. Ives has fixed the injuries of two owls and let them go, but they refuse to leave, showing the loyalty that animals have when they know that a human is truly kind.

The storyline involving the vigilantees is violent and disturbing, and it takes a lot of guts for Montgomery's parents to stand up to the townsfolk for the sin that got Sodom and Gomorrah into trouble. The scene where Walker insist that Montgomery stays away from Ives and Baker stands up to him has a nice twist, but it's obvious that Walker's character had more than an influence of Charles Ingalls on him, although he reminds me of "Little House" costar Merlin Olsen in his speech. Look for Danny Bonaduce as one of the town bullies who harasses Ives and Montgomery.

While the film was obviously made on a low budget, it does have quite a bit to recommend about it, mainly the scenes between Ives, Montgomery and the hawk. There's a bit of heartbreak in the scene where Montgomery realizes that he has to let his bird friend go, just as Ives did with a fawn earlier after admitting that deep inside, he found it difficult to let them go but had no choice. Made at a time when filmmakers outside of the Hollywood studios went into nature to make films like this just for children, they are mostly forgotten today, but when discovered, are nice surprises. This has elements that are maybe not for young children as they show humanity in not a favorable light, yet that's rectified when the hawk comes to the rescue of its human friends.

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Low-rung, outdoorsy '70's film with decent cast.

Poseidon-36 January 2003

Some attractive scenery and a handful of nice moments among the cast are about all this family-oriented film has going for it. To say that it is a TV-level production is a bit of an insult to such beautifully mounted TV westerns as "The Big Valley", for nowhere in this film can there be found music, lighting or direction to match that or many other fine series. Montgomery (a child actor of some note in the '70's for his work in "Ben" and "Burnt Offerings") is a young boy in love with nature's animals, but caught in the adult relationships around him (mostly concerning local land ownership.) Walker plays his father, a level-headed man at odds with the mob mentality of the local townspeople. Baker plays the boy's mother and gives a decent performance considering the circumstances. Montgomery comes across a wounded young hawk and takes it to eccentric loner Ives for repair. Unfortunately, the townspeople (headed by Young) don't want Ives, along with several others, around their territory and conflict is brewing. The film would like to be another "Night of the Grizzly", but has neither the style, nor the budget to accomplish that. Though the shots of the mountains and terrain are good enough, most of the cast is filmed without proper lighting, thus former dreamboat Walker appears bleak and obscured by shadow. (Really......What would a piece of board covered in white cloth have cost to bounce a little more light off these people?!) Still, he puts a lot of thought into his role and shares a nice relationship with Baker and Montgomery (and eventually gets to show a little strength near the end.) Young is a bit of a liability as one of the hood-wearing raiders in the town. The long time co-star of "Mr. Ed" doesn't exactly instill fear in the viewer (though he does invest his role with some acting talent as well.) Buried without fanfare in the cast (tenth-billed!) is Bonaduce who, only a couple of years before, was a sensation on "The Partridge Family". Here he is second banana to an actor who immediately went into voice-work after this and he doesn't even rate billing in the opening credits. There is an embarrassing picnic sequence in which a bunch of extras in period drag attempt to act as if they are 19th century settlers (a lame attempt to crib a joke from "The Music Man" is included as well.) The film is likely too dull and colorless to entertain children and is too cheap-jack, dopey and tiresome to enthrall adults. Though the cast tries, they are undone by the material, the budget and the direction.

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2/10

Worth a look only for Burl Ives.

rsoonsa29 January 2002

This poorly made production features Clint Walker as Dan Baker, a homesteader in 1876 Utah who refuses to join a local vigilante organization, led by the town dry goods grocer (Alan Young), and the resultant effects his independent actions have upon his son Billy (Lee H. Montgomery). Ancillary plots involve Billy's nurturing of a wounded fledgling hawk, abandoned from the nest, and the boy's friendship with Mr. McGraw (Burl Ives), a recluse whose vocation is the preparation of damaged wildlife for their return to freedom. It is not possible to include a kind word about the direction, screenplay and editing, as all are at levels which might, at best, approach that of student-made cinema. The acting is wooden, due largely to the rambling script and weak direction, with Montgomery embarrassingly inept, and only Ives rises above his shrunken material, giving some meaning to his scenes. Although there is precious little to like about this film, the scenery is remarkably beautiful, as the production was located within two of Utah's National Forest regions.

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10/10

Love and Irony

Aaron-441314422 February 2021

Loved the film. I used to live in those mountains 25 years ago. Liked the storyline. Brings back Great memories! I'm a sucker for wildlife and wilderness. It's home.

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