Based on the beloved YA novel by Jean George, director James B. Clark's 1969 My Side of the Mountain stars Teddy Eccles as Sam, a 12-year-old boy who, following his muse Henry David Thoreau, leaves home to live in the Canadian wilderness because like H.D. he wishes “to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach.” Armed with only--to quote another naturalist philosopher, Babaloo Bear--the “bare necessities” (and a pet raccoon named Banjo), Sam carves out a self-sufficient ecological niche in Quebec's Laurentian Mts., training a peregrine falcon, conducting algae experiments, and pretty much living a Boy Scout Wilderness Badge-worthy life, until he's visited by rural song collector Bando (Theodore Bikel) who--regardless of our 21st century pedophile alarm bells--turns out to be a genuine friend to Sam (along with the local town librarian, Miss Turner--played by Tudi Wiggins, whose next two films, incidentally, were Hot Pants Holiday and Hot Resort). Today, the notion of a preteen taking off for the better part of a year (with no repercussions) and interacting with adults who neither abuse him nor alert the proper authorities does seem a wee bit farfetched (though when I first saw this in 1969 at the age of 13, I confess I was ready to load up on the Oscar Mayer wieners and go confront the wild myself--of course, being a Compton, CA lad, I would not have lasted two days in 50-degree weather, let alone the freezing blizzard that young Sam survives). Presented in a very handsome widescreen transfer on an extra-less disc (not even a trailer), this value-priced family film is a strong optional purchase. (R. Pitman)
My Side of the Mountain
Paramount, 100 min., G, DVD: $14.99 Volume 19, Issue 4
My Side of the Mountain
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