Gentle Giant (1967) User Reviews (3)

The bear killers should have been given more than just a $100 fine!

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 25 May 2020]

A boy's best friend is an animal, in fact any wild animal if they don't have a dog, and in Mark's (Clint Howard) case, it's a baby bear. He witnessed some hunters kill its mother and take the bear to keep in their garage. He keeps taking the growing bear outside for fresh air and grubs, and eventually, they are very close friends. Howard's parents (Dennis Weaver and Vera Miles) are concerned about missing food and eventually learn the truth when one of the hunters confronts them about his actions. Having named the gentle bear Ben, Howard desperately wants to get the bear way from the hunters whom he is sure mistreat it. When he overhears one of the hunters drunkenly bragging about how he's going to turn the bear into steaks, he decides to take drastic measures.

Bear River is the setting for this family drama that has something to entertain everyone, and for those of us who love animals, it's a reminder how gentle wild life can be when they are treated right and left in their own natural habitat. Certainly, the baby bear does follow him around like a puppy, and as it gets bigger (which in bear life isn't long), its gentility towards him continues even though its aggression towards the hunters becomes obvious. By the time Mark is ready to let Ben go free, Ben has obviously come to love him, and the scene of Mark trying to force Ben to go off into the wilderness is emotional, but not maudlin. The aftermath of a lake storm makes the parents take a serious look at the real friendship between Mark and Ben. Even if how it all turns out couldn't likely occur in real life, it is enjoyable to watch play out.

While a family film of the Disney variety, this fortunately lacks the cloying qualities that made the Disney films often irritatingly sickenly sweet. There's more of a reality to this which, mixed with the beautiful fishing lake locale, is glorious for nature lovers as well as fans of good cinematography. The conflict really keeps your attention, and Howard is enjoyable as the young hero, never overdoing the tears or pathos. Weaver and Miles have the right amount of authority as his concerned parents. It's obvious that parents can always learn a little something from their children, and the scene where Mark introduces his mom to Ben is terrific. In fact, it is Miles who gives him the name by which he is still known: "Gentle Ben", and even describes him to Weaver as a "darling bear". Look closely for Huntz Hall, "Sach" of the "Bowery Boys" series, playing the teeny-tiny role of one of the fisherman pals of the hunters (lead by the villainess Ralph Meeker). All is good here except for the last 20 or so minutes which takes the story into a disappointing direction that could have been resolved in a different way.

YOUNG LAD WITH HIS VERY OWN BEAR.

[rsoonsa · 4/10 · 19 February 2003]

Set in and filmed near Florida's Everglades, this motion picture, made essentially for children, stars Clint Howard, younger brother of Ron, as seven-year-old Mark Wedlow who, along with his father Tom (Dennis Weaver, a wildlife officer, and mother Ellen (Vera Miles) becomes involved in a series of emergency-based adventures concerning Ben, a young black bear. Mark's first contact with Ben takes place when the latter is a cub, as the boy watches from hiding as three poachers, played by veteran tough guy Ralph Meeker, ex-Bowery Boy Huntz Hall, and Clint's real-life father Rance, hunt down Ben's dam with Meeker's character killing her with a rifle shot, then capturing her offspring for future use as a source of lucrative bear meat. Based on the novel Gentle Ben by Walt Morey, this work inspired a spin-off popular late 1960's television series of the same name, also starring young Clint and Weaver, and features a series of incidents which showcases the remarkably uninhibited fondness which Mark displays toward one of the largest imaginable pets, seven feet and 750 pounds. Portrayed by an exceedingly well-trained animal, Bruno, big Ben is shipped to a zoo after an unfortunate occurrence, but escapes into the Everglades, and subsequent events, replete with family oriented scenes focussing upon a needed rapport between the youngster and animals, most non-ursine, presents cliches a-plenty but gives an opportunity to enjoy another solid performance from the fetching Miles.

You really should read the book first

[The_Light_Triton · 8/10 · 25 March 2014]

Back in the 1960's, there were a couple of TV shows and movies that bonded animals and young people together as friends. When It was Lassie or flipper, that was OK, because border collies and Dolphins usually won't kill people. Now make a show where an 8 year old boy befriends a massively sized bear while avoiding the town drunk. Ivan Tors did just that.

Set in a small Florida Fishing town, Father Tom Wedloe makes his living as a pilot spotting fish in the sea for fisherman to catch for export. however, due to a bad season, Some local residents grow so desperate, they dare to hunt on the local nature reserve...Which is where 8-year old Mark Wedloe likes to visit, despite all the dangerous animals that live there. One day, He spots the town drunk and his 2 fishing buddies shoot a mother bear, killing her, and taking her helpless cub away. Throughout the movie, Mark sneaks scraps of food to the helpless cub, who is kept chained up in a shed, and befriends him, thus turning him into a gentle giant.

I have seen this movie many times since I was about 4 or 5 and eventually, in the 6th grade, took the time to read the novel, and was kind of mad how the movie didn't follow the novel entirely. For example, Mark wasn't 8 in the novel, he was much older. His dad wasn't a pilot, he was a fisherman, and finally, Fog Hanson was named Fog Benson. Maybe the name was changed for legal reasons, but who knows.

Regardless, this is definitely a movie worth watching if you can find a copy. With a young Clint Howard, and the legendary Ralph meeker, it's a family movie with fighting, an animal attack, and a plane crash. enjoy.