The Giant of Thunder Mountain

The Giant of Thunder Mountain is a 1991 drama film starring Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me) and Noley Thornton (Beverley Hills, 90210). Bart the Bear also appeared in the movie. The screenplay was jointly written by Richard Kiel, Chrystle Fiedler, and Tony Lozito. It was directed by James W. Roberson.

Plot summary

In the town of Waterton, signs of a circus are going up. Reports of a man-eating bear-like creature have prompted several hunters to buy some new bear traps. Meanwhile, at a country house, a group of boys are holding a meeting. Several are telling a story about a giant creature supposedly inhabiting the nearby Thunder Mountain, but the others don't believe them. Later that evening two of the boys, Tommy (Chance Michael Corbitt) and Ben (Ryan Todd) set out to find the mountain, but they get caught in a thunderstorm and barely escape getting hit by lightning (this is what gives Thunder Mountain its name). They take refuge inside a supposedly abandoned house. Whilst there, they find mysterious statues and paintings, one of which is in the shape of a bear and the other in the shape of a giant. Suddenly, the owner of the cottage returns. They boys try to hide from him but he flips open the table they are hiding under and they escape back into the woods. When they reach home, they tell their family their amazing story, but no one believes them. The next morning, they set out with another boy, Zeke MacGruder Daniel Pipoly) to go back to the cottage and find the answer to what the giant is. Their younger sister, Amy (Noley Thornton) follows them, but almost gets caught in a bear trap. The boys tell her to leave but she persists and continues following them.

Eventually they reach the cottage and Amy manages to make first contact with the surprisingly friendly owner, Eli Weaver (Richard Kiel). They help him with his chores including chopping wood and getting water, and while they are there he explains to them that a curse is residing in Thunder Mountain. He also says he makes statues of monstrous creatures he supposedly sees while in the woods. The kids leave the cottage and return home, and as the boys try to picture what the monster creature is Amy goes to the general store of Hezekiah Crow (Jack Elam) to buy some food for Eli, but she has no money. An old man named Doc (Foster Brooks) gives her money and tells her that Eli can use this to help him buy food (as Eli has lived his whole life away from civilization). Returning to Eli's cottage, Amy gives him the money and he asks her what money is. After she explains, he thanks her and she wishes him good luck. Developing a relationship with Amy, Eli makes a statue of her in return for helping him.

That night, Eli stops by the Wilson's house and thanks the family for helping him. They invite him to dinner and whilst there he tells stories of the giant of Thunder Mountain and says that it appears out of nowhere and kills or takes people into the woods, where they are never seen again. He advises the family to be careful and reports of the creature are becoming more and more common. After Eli leaves the house, he walks through the dark woods and supposedly witnesses the giant hunting and killing a deer, disappearing as quickly and mysteriously as ever, into the woods. The next morning, the circus the village was preparing for arrives, hosted by Zeke's father, Mr. Macgruder (Ed Williams). The circus's many performers include a juggling act, a trained lion, a boa constrictor, a long-legged clown act, a camel, a high-jumping acrobat, and two white horses.

The final act arrives, a trained black bear act. This reminds Eli of the day that a giant grizzly bear (Bart the Bear) suddenly appeared out of nowhere and killed his father. His mother rushed out with a loaded shotgun and took a shot at the bear, but her shot only enraged the animal and it killed her too. As the circus continues, Eli tells Amy the frightening story, but she says the menace is long gone. After the elephant act ends, Amy plays some games and wins a doll in a contest. Amy's mother than appears and scolds her for being with a stranger, taking her home. The town becomes angry at Eli thinking he is a big mean stealer and they begin teasing him about his ugliness. To get back at them, Eli crushes the doll's head with one squeeze and warns the town not to mess with his strength. Amy tries to tell him to stay, but he says that he will not visit a town that's disrespectful to him and storms off. The next scene is at a bar, where several men (including old man Doc) are playing a card game. The men talk about Eli and begin to believe that he himself is the monster of Thunder Mountain. Meanwhile, at the cottage, Eli becomes so unhappy about his humiliation that he ends his friendship with Amy out of sadness, destroying her statue.

Despite these events, Amy and the boys have sympathy for Eli, and in an attempt to renew their friendship, Amy stops by the cottage again to bring him food. He accepts, Amy admits her mistakes about bringing him to the village, and the two are friends again. While Eli is taking Amy to Thunder Mountain, Eli asks Tommy and Ben to guard his cottage. However, three thieves led by Doc come to Eli's cottage, knock out the boys, and begin stealing the statues and possessions of Eli. Meanwhile, at Thunder Mountain, Eli shows Amy the biggest tree of them all, a huge sequoia. Eli explains that this tree has been in the family for generations and will continue to bloom as long as he is alive.

Just then, a giant grizzly bear appears out of nowhere and attacks them. Eli reveals that this and the tree are the "giants" of Thunder Mountain and orders he to run. As she takes refuge in a tree, Eli fights off the bear with a stick and knife, but is wounded in the process. The bear chases Eli for a while before giving up and walking away, Eli orders Amy to continue without him. Meanwhile, the cottage raiders have taken all the statues and are about to leave when Amy arrives. Amy tells them to give the statues back but they refuse and tie her up along with her mother who comes by to help her. They then go on a hunt for Eli as they think he a ruthless monster who deserves to be killed. Unable to outrun them, the wounded Eli's only defense is to bury himself with leaves and play dead, hoping to fool the men. The plan barely works, with the men just missing Eli buried in the leaves. The leader gets caught in his own bear trap, giving Eli time to escape. Eli takes his gun and has a chance to kill the man, but due to what Amy has taught him about friendship he refuses and lets the man go. Impressed by Eli's act of mercy, the hunter orders his men not to pursue Eli and they head back to the village, release Amy and her mom, and care for the wounded Tommy and Ben.

However, when Tommy tells his story of how he and his friends got to know Eli, the villagers mistakenly think that Eli was the one who injured Tommy (the men who did lie about it), and, believing Eli is a threat to the village, burn down his house. Amy agrees to find Eli a new home farther away from the villagers and the twos set off again. Meanwhile, Doc and the other thieves wrest a confession about Eli from Zeke (who lies that Eli was killed in the fire) and threaten to kill him and his family if they don't answer. However, Eli and Amy arrive and mount a rescue operation. Eli manages to trick Doc into thinking that he's surrendered and forces Doc to run out of the house in fear. As Eli and Amy untie Zeke and his family, Doc goes into the woods to follow Eli but is captured. When Eli threatens to feed him to the grizzly but doesn't, right in front of the other men, they develop sympathy for him and arrest Doc for lying and burning Eli's home. Later that evening Amy and her family say goodbye to Eli as he leaves to find a new home, but Eli promises Amy that they will meet again sometime. The movie ends with Amy telling (as an adult, narrating), that she will never forget Eli as a friend.

Cast

The Townsmen

The Boys Club

The Vigilantes

Production notes

The film was shot in Yosemite National Park and North Fork, California. It was released in the U.S. in March 1991, and at the Cannes film market in France, in May 1991. The films production company was American Happenings and Herklotz Enterprises. The distributors were Castle Hill Productions and Plaza Entertainment, with special effects by FX West.

The real-life owners and trainers of Bart the Bear (who played the bear), Doug and Lynne Seus, have cameos in the film as Eli's father and mother in a flashback.

Reception

The film received positive reviews, although it grossed only $126,911 at the U.S. box office.

References and external link

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