Movie Thoughts: Nikki: Wild Dog of the North (1961)

 

• Released: July 12, 1961
  
• Directed by: Jack Couffer, Don Haldane
• Running time: 1 h 14 min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

A Malamute puppy winds up alone in the wild with nobody but a bear cub to keep him company. As they grow up together, the dog, named Nikki, hears the call of the wild. But when he once again comes into contact with humans, he has to decide where his heart lies: with being a pet or being a wild animal.

My Thoughts

This is actually an adaptation of James Oliver Curwood's xenofiction novel Nomads of the North, which I've also read and is quite good. Surprisingly enough, the movie sticks rather close to the book, though some scenes have been shortened or left out and the ending is a bit different. Still, I wasn't expecting it to be as close to the book as it was, especially with the title change.

That said, whereas the book is about both Neewa (the bear cub) and Nikki (the Malamute) but had a slightly bigger focus on Nikki, this movie is really just Nikki's story. Neewa is definitely an active player in his story, but he's not really the main character. So the title change between the book and the movie feels justified. It's the story of Nikki deciding where his heart lies after having been a wild animal for over a year. Neewa is his best friend, but not directly a main character. At least, not after the first third or so of the movie, where he fades into the background as he goes into hibernation.

As for the movie itself, yeah, it's solid. Nothing really great, but still decent. As far as "wild (wolf)dog in the cold North" stories go (e.g. Call of the Wild and White Fang adaptations, or several sled dog movies), this one is fairly good. It does feel very familiar (mostly to Jack London's works, with Nikki's struggle to be a wild animal or be a pet), but at the same time I wouldn't call it bad. The villains are very one-note, though, and just kind of boring. 

Other things it (of course, sigh) seems to suffer from is bad practice when it comes to the safety of the animal actors. And of course racism against the Native American character. Can't have a 1900s live action wolfdog-in-the-north movie without both those elements it seems sometimes. Makoki is at least a good guy, but still treated awfully by some characters because the fact that he's Native American, and there's way too many scenes where the animal actors are in dangerous situations, or clear distress. Whether it's being in a raging river, being choked by a rope tied around their neck, animals of various species fighting one another, and the list goes on.

I guess if you like the standard Call of the Wild-type (wolf)dog in the north story this movie is pretty good, not downright awful. But it does have those jarring elements that make it less good. And it also feels a bit dime-in-a-dozen when it comes to the overused tropes in this genre.