Croc-blanc

White Fang (1973)

*** (out of 4)

Jack London's classic story is brought to the screen in a rather good adaptation from director Lucio Fulci. Most people know Fulci for his graphic horror films starting with ZOMBIE and continuing throughout the 1980s. A lot of people seem to forget that he also directed comedies, action films, Westerns, giallos and even family movies.

WHITE FANG is certainly a family movie, although there are enough dark spots to where even the adults are going to be entertained. We have Franco Nero playing the good guy who befriends White Fang and an orphan Indian boy. John Steiner plays the villain who also wants the dog but for a different set of reasons. Then there's Fernando Rey as Father Oatley and Vima Lisi plays Sister Evangelina.

I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. The cinematography is quite good and there's no question that you really do feel as if you're in the Alaskian wilderness, although the opening scenes with White Fang in the trap were obviously filmed on a set. The performances are very good and we're also given a good amount of action throughout the picture. There are some dog fights that are pretty violent but they're also quite intense and well-done.

Fulci proves here that he was able to do more than just throw graphic violence and gore at the screen. The film certainly contains some flaws but for the most part it's a very entertaining movie.

This is a follow-up to "The Call of the Wild" the year before with Charlton Heston, but there is no Charlton Heston here and also very little left of Jack London. "Beauty Smith" of the novel is a base, vulgar ooh rough hoodlum who turns Indians into alcoholics making money of it, while here he is transformed into a grotesque parody of a sophisticated gentleman inhumanly profiting on ordinary people's credulousness and greed for gold, not hesitating to deliberately ruin them all to then walk on to infest another town with corruption. The greatest scene here is the final conversion of the priest Fernando Rey, while of course the star of the film is the dog. Virna Lisi and the Indian boy are two other characters that Jack London never could have dreamed of including in an exaggerated melodrama like this, and on the whole, Italians should not meddle with Jack London. You recognize Raimund Harmstorf from "The Call of the Wild" as Charlton Heston's best friend and companion, while here he is resurrected (which Charlton Heston is not) to make another glorious partner to Franco Nero instead. It's too rough for a family entertainment, there is too little left of Jack London, the script is almost loaded with only clichés, the direction is awkward and almost pathetic, and not even Carlo Rustichelli's music is enough to save the film, although his melody theme is what you might remember from this film.

Fulci's 'White Fang' is a struggle both in terms of its plot and audience participation, the horror maestro bringing his sadistic brand of storytelling to bare upon an overlong tale of an Inuit boy who befriends a wild wolf.

Picturesque but regularly brutal, Rey is a standout as the immoral priest, Brit expat Steiner plays his usual brand of cool, calm and ultimately sadistic villain and Italian siren Lisi features in the supporting role of a nun whose travelled to the gold fever town of Dawson to offer medical services. Also good to see the big Bavarian Raimund Heimstorf as Nero's faithful companion and French-American Carole Andre playing his somewhat tainted love interest.

The savage dog fight between White Fang and Battaglia's prize hound Satan is uncomfortable to watch even if it's perhaps not entirely what it seems, but the bear vs dog fight that soon follows is just plain barbaric.

Fulci's White Fang '73 (followed by 'Challenge' a year later) is little more than a violent spaghetti western set in the Yukon and despite some vague allusions to a positive new frontier theme, it's dark, sombre tone and bloody body count proves you can take the boy out of horror, but not horror out of the boy.

Virna Lisi, not very young and beautiful like in the '50 and '60s, 37 years old here, in the role of a nun, looking even older, Franco Nero as a good guy, a journalist, friend of Raimund Harmstorf, another good guy, John Steiner villain as usual, Rik Battaglia right hand of the villain, and Fernando Rey as a drunk coward priest, who becomes brave in the end. The best "actor", the one who is actually the whole movie, is the dog.

This movie makes an adult go back to childhood. Honesty, love or respect for animals, and justice of course is what Lucio Fulci wants to emphasize in this great movie. Yes, it contains some violent scenes but unfortunately, violence is part of our lives and children must know it to try and avoid it in the future.

Great performances from all the actors. John Steiner performs perfectly the bloody villain. Franco Nero is wonderful as always and White Fang is adorable, the dog that everybody would like to have.