Like another reviewer, I saw this film at a drive-in and was completely captivated by it. Even seeing it on cable a few years back, I was sucked in again. The plot, by now, you know but "bear" with me. Sorry! Clint Walker and Martha Hyer, with their three kids (one is a niece), start a ranch, with designs on raising cattle. But a monstrous grizzly bear soon makes that impossible. It's true that some of the bear-effects are somewhat quaint by now, but it doesn't make the movie any less enjoyable. Clint is his usual stoic self, like his Cheyenne character only on the big screen. Martha Hyer is fine (and fine to look at!) as his wife who tries to be understanding about "Big" Jim's (Walker) dreams of owning his own ranch, but understandably blanches when the bear starts to make life a terror, not only for them, but for every farmer/rancher around. Also as said by a reviewer, Leo Gordon is terrific in this film as the human villain, someone from Big Jim's past, when Jim was a lawman. This is an action-packed Western, but also makes room for good character moments and comic relief, mostly in the form of Jack Elam as a local character and soon-to-be family friend, and Nancy Culp as the local store owner. There is a great sequence with a dance in town, with kids pulling pranks, Keenan Wynn's sons getting into trouble, and Elam taking care of some of the pranksters. Also providing fun is Big Jim's youngest daughter, who gets into trouble with a certain "kitty" and some wet bloomers. But the bear provides the real goods, with the marauding beast killing not for food, but for the pure joy of it. Having seen it so many times, I truly wish that it would be released on DVD. Other, lesser films have been on DVD for years, yet here is a film that truly deserves a good transfer.
Review of The Night of the Grizzly
