Harrison Ford Movie: **** Call of the Wild (2020)

 This movie is about the dog, Buck, and Bob Thornton (Harrison Ford) who inherits the dog when his master insists on overworking the dogs and making them travel a treacherous river that the ice is breaking up.  But I am ahead of myself.

Buck is a city dog; a big dog none the less and prone to getting into trouble.  He is Judge Miller's (Bradley Whitford) dog in Santa Clara County, California.  There is a need for dogs in the Yukon and people buying dogs; so Buck is stolen and sent upstream.  (Harrison Ford narrates).  Buck is tamed with a club, but he still manages to get away.  He is a very strong dog.  But the club tames him.  When he gets north he is purchased by Perrault (Omar Sy) and his wife Francoise (Cara Gee).  Buck has to learn what to do, but he eventually takes over as the lead dog; and he is able to help them get the mail to the Yukon on time.  However as they arrive, they are informed by telegram that the mail will no longer run to Yukon and they are to return south for reassignment.  They have to sell the dogs, and Hal, (Dan Stevens) buys them.  He is leading his sister, Mercedes (Karen Gillam) and her husband, Charles (Colin Woodell).  They over load the sled and let the runners freeze and stick to the road.  Thornton and Hal have several run ins, including about the treatment of the dogs, and the location of gold.  

Thornton is in the north trying to refind himself after his son passed away.  His son always wanted to travel in the north.  He is drinking.  He advises Hal not to take the dogs on the river that it is breaking up.  Hal insists.  Buck refuses to go.  In the book they do go and all drown when the river breaks up.  In the movie it is unclear, other than that Hal comes back alone and says the dogs ran off.  We assume Charles and Mercedes are lost.  

Buck and Thornton travel into the back country.  The find an abandoned cabin and make a life.  Buck meets a lady wolf and they have a courtship.  Thornton finds gold in the giver, and collects quite a bit, when Hal shows up seeking his revenge.  He shoots Thornton, and then Buck attacks him; even with a clube.  In the struggle a fire had been started in the cabin and Buck pushes Hal into the fire.  Thornton succombs to his wound, and Buck returns to the wild with his female wolf.  

Book Review: Jack London: Five great Short Stories

Five great Short Stories, by Jack London, Dover Publications, New York, 1992.
These stories are well titled, they are great.  They are taken from some of Jack London's books, Tales of the far North, South Sea tales and The Night-born.  It shows London was a much broader writer than just the Klondike north, although that is were he produced his best work.  The characters in these stories are fascinating.  He writes of the South Pacific, and he writes of the Mexican Revolution, as well as the far North.  He tells the story of a Native, whose wife is stolen and spends his life trying to find her, and when he does, she does not want him back, of two men who are bound to kill each other, of the death of another man on the winter trail, of the guiding of a boat which is on fire, and lastly of a young revolutionary.  I was drawn into to each of the stories and enjoyed them.