Wonderful Westerns: ‘Man in the Wilderness’ (1971)
In my last installment of Wonderful Westerns I talked about the Sydney Pollack/Robert Redford film Jeremiah Johnson (1972), a movie about a former soldier seeking refuge in the mountains of Colorado and escaping society. This time around, we’re going to talk about a movie that came out a year earlier and is almost the exact opposite story-wise — Man in the Wilderness (1971). The reason for picking this less-than-well-known film is because it seems appropriate to follow the last one, and its story (the life of Hugh Glass) is also the plot to the upcoming film The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (the most recent recipient of the Best Director Oscar) and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.
Man in the Wilderness is the story of a fur trapper named Zachary Bass (played by Richard Harris — the original Dumbledore) who is part of a group of other hunters and trappers lead by Capt. Henry (John Huston). During an expedition in northwestern United States, Bass is attacked, mauled by a bear, and left for dead. Unbeknownst to Henry and his company, Bass actually survived and is now on a quest for revenge.
One of the film’s strongest aspects is its mood and atmosphere. Director Richard C. Sarafin and his crew put so much detail into every little thing. The highlight of this is the 1820s keelboat that Henry and company are heaving and hulling across the wilderness through the mud and the snowy hills. One could interpret it as a symbol for not only how long and challenging the profession of fur trapping was, but the load of guilt that probably plagued many of the crew members for leaving Bass behind without knowing whether or not he’s dead.
While this is technically a revenge story, the man on whom Bass is seeking revenge (Henry) is not portrayed as a cartoonish bad guy. During one scene with another crew member named Fogerty (Percy Herbert), he has a very nice moment that gives you more insight into the character and how he first met Bass.
But of course, the real highlight of the film is Richard Harris’ performance as Zachary Bass. Some of you may find it hard to believe that the actor who played the first version of the Headmaster of Hogwarts was in a Western, but believe it or not, this man starred in several Western movies including Major Dundee (1965), A Man Called Horse (1970), and the Clint Eastwood masterpiece Unforgiven (1992).
Throughout the film, the audience follows Bass on his personal vendetta as he regains his strength and grows more determined to kill Henry. The audience also sees Bass go through a spiritual journey along with physical journey. There are several scenes where he’s seen reading passages from a Bible and has flashbacks to birth of his child, and it’s through these scenes we see Bass’ character. His motivation eventually changes to where he just wants to go home. It’s this arc along with a many other details that really make this a worthwhile film.
