''Big Red'' is a 1962

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

from

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

. Based on a 1945 novel by American author

Jim Kjelgaard James Arthur Kjelgaard (December 6, 1910 – July 12, 1959) was an American author of young adult literature. Early life and education Kjelgaard was born in New York City, New York on December 6, 1910. Jim's father, Carroll W. Kjelgaard, was a p ...

and adapted to the screen by American screenwriter Louis Pelletier, the film starred

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

. Filmed in the province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, "Big Red" is an

Irish Setter The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...

that would rather run through the woods than be the perfectly trained and groomed

show dog A show dog might refer to any dog entered into a dog show. More specifically, a ''show dog'' is a dog which has been specially bred, trained, and/or groomed to conform to the specifications of dog shows, so as to have a chance of winning. Often ...

his sportsman owner (Pidgeon) wants. A ten-year-old orphan boy (Payant) helps look after the dog and rebels against his owner's strict discipline of "Big Red."

Plot

Big Red is a Champion Irish Setter; his new master Mr. Haggin wants him to be a show dog. Rene, an orphaned boy hired to take care of the dogs, gains the love and respect of Big Red. When Mr. Haggin realizes that Big Red now sees Rene as his true master, he separates them and forbids Rene to see Red. Rene asks Emile, the other dog handler, why he has separated him from Red. Emile tells him that Red has to obey his master or he will not win at the show, and if he does not win Mr. Haggin will sell him ... just like that. Rene asks Emile if he could just see Red for one minute, to say good-bye. When Emile will not let him, he waits until it is dark, then goes to the window, tells Red good-bye and then walks away. Red tries to get out of the house and finally jumps through a window, but he is cut by the glass. They bandage him up but Mr. Haggin tells Emile to put him to sleep. When Emile comes back the dog is gone; Rene has taken Red to his cabin deep in the woods. Rene nurses Red back to health and then returns him to his master, who offers to give Rene his job back, but Rene refuses. When Mr. Haggin sees that Red has scars and will not be able to be a show dog, he says that he can use him to breed, but then changes his mind and decides to sell Red and the she-dog, Molly, that he had bought to go with him. But on the train, the two dogs escape. When Rene hears about this, he sets out to find them and he later encounters Molly giving birth to the puppies inside the

maternity den A maternity den, in the animal kingdom, is a lair where the mother gives birth and nurtures the young, when they are in a vulnerable life stage. While such dens are typically subterranean, they may also be snow caves or simply beneath rock ledges ...

. Mr. Haggin goes looking for Rene but has an entanglement with a

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

. And after Rene and the dogs save him, Mr. Haggin makes a deal with Rene to come and live with him and keep the dogs. Rene agrees and they go home.

Cast

as James Haggin *Gilles Payant as Rene Dumont *

Émile Genest Émile Genest (July 27, 1921 – March 19, 2003) was a Canadian actor. Career Born in Quebec City, Quebec, as a young man Genest served with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. At war's end, he worked for a time in radio in his hometown ...

as Emile Fornet *

Janette Bertrand Janette Bertrand (born March 25, 1925) is a Quebec journalist, actress, educator, and writer. Biography She was born in Montreal, grew up there, and studied journalism at the Université de Montréal. She began work at the ''Petit Journal'', wor ...

as Therese Fornet *Georges Bouvier as Baggageman *

Doris Lussier Doris Lussier (15 July 1918, Fontainebleau, Estrie, Quebec – 28 October 1993) was a French Canadian comedian and actor, and political activist. He was for many years the personal secretary of Georges-Henri Lévesque, but became famous as a com ...

as Farmer Mariot *Rolland Bedard as Conductor *Teddy Burns Goulet as Engineer

Production

Filming partly occurred in

Big Bear Lake, California Big Bear Lake is a small city in San Bernardino County, California, located in the San Bernardino Mountains along the south shore of Big Bear Lake, and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. The city is located about 25 miles (40& ...

References

External links

* *
''New York Times'' review
{{Sherman Brothers 1962 films 1962 directorial debut films 1962 drama films American children's drama films Canadian children's drama films Films about dogs Films based on American novels Films directed by Norman Tokar Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Oliver Wallace Films set in Canada Films shot in Big Bear Lake, California Films shot in Quebec Walt Disney Pictures films 1960s English-language films English-language Canadian films 1960s American films 1960s Canadian films Films about cougars