Jump to content

Guardian of the Wilderness

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guardian of the Wilderness
Mountain Man
Yosemite Valley
Directed byDavid O'Malley
Screenplay byDavid O'Malley
Karen C. O'Malley
Story byCharles E. Sellier Jr.
Produced byCharles E. Sellier Jr.
StarringDenver Pyle
Ken Berry
John Dehner
Ford Rainey
Norman Fell
Cliff Osmond
Narrated byKen Berry
CinematographyHenning Schellerup
Edited bySharron Miller
Music byJohn Cameron (composer and conductor)
Don Perry (music supervisor)
Bob Summers (conductor)
Yosemite Theme:
Music by Bob Summers
Lyrics by Penny Askey
Production
company
Release date
  • December 1976 (1976-12)
Running time
1 hour 52 minutes (112 minutes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
The Grizzly Giant of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias discovered by Galen Clark (people visible at bottom of photo for scale)
Galen Clark standing in front of the Grizzly Giant tree in the Mariposa Grove circa 1858

Guardian of the Wilderness is a 1976 theatrical narrative film (often alternatively titled Mountain Man) directed by David O'Malley about the true story of Galen Clark, an explorer who successfully campaigned to have the Yosemite area set aside from commercial development, the original forerunner of the American national parks system.[1] Clark was prompted by his dedication to preserving places like the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, which he discovered, from being destroyed by loggers.[2] The cast features Denver Pyle as Galen Clark, John Dehner as legendary naturalist John Muir and Ford Rainey as Abraham Lincoln. Clark was eventually appointed Superintendent of Yosemite, a position in which he served for more than two decades during which he defined the concept of an American park ranger; his varied history with the valley ranged across 55 years.[3]

A book written by Mark S. Rinehart in 2009 titled Abraham Lincoln on Screen: Fiction and Documentary Portrayals on Film and Television and published by McFarland & Company states that the sequence of the film involving Abraham Lincoln never took place nor did Clark ever travel to Washington D.C.[4]

The film's supporting cast includes Ken Berry, Cheryl Miller, Norman Fell and Cliff Osmond.[5] The screenplay was written by David O'Malley and Karen C. O'Malley from a story by the film's producer Charles E. Sellier Jr. loosely based on the actual events. The music was composed and conducted by John Cameron and the song "Yosemite Theme" features music by Bob Summers and lyrics by Penny Askey. The film was rated "G" and thereby deemed suitable for children, and was shot on location by cinematographer Henning Schellerup, edited by Sharron Miller, and released in the United States in December 1976 with a running time of 112 minutes.

Cast

[edit]

Denver Pyle as Galen Clark
Ken Berry as Zachary Moore
John Dehner as John Muir
Cheryl Miller as Kathleen Clark
Ford Rainey as Abraham Lincoln
Norman Fell as Doctor
Cliff Osmond as McCollough
Jack Kruschen as Madden
Don Shanks as Teneiya[6]
Melissa Jones as Heather
Brett Palmer as Joey
Prestiss Rowe as Forbes
Hyde Clayton as Chairman of Legislature
Coleman Creel as Senator John Conness
Michael G. Kavanagh as General Carson
Tom Carlin as Harold Lawson
Earl Benton as President's secretary
Michael Ruud as Officer
Lynn Lehman as State Representative

See also

[edit]

Galen Clark
John Muir
John Conness
Mariposa Grove
Giant sequoias
Yosemite National Park
National Park Service

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Clark, Galen (1904). Indians of the Yosemite valley and vicinity, their history, customs and traditions. Yosemite Valley, Calif: G. Clark. OCLC 65664888.
  • Clark, Galen (1907). The big trees of California, their history and characteristics. Yosemite Valley, Cal: G. Clark [Redondo, Cal: Press of Reflex Pub. Co.] OCLC 344915.
  • Clark, Galen (April 1909). "Yosemite: Past and Present". Sunset.
  • Clark, Galen (1910). The Yosemite Valley, its history, characteristic features, and theories regarding its origin. Yosemite Valley, Cal: N. L. Salter. OCLC 4721921.
  • Clark, Galen (1964). Early days in Yosemite Valley. Los Angeles. OCLC 4175271.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Originally published as "A Plea for Yosemite" in Yosemite Nature Notes (February 1927), from a manuscript written c. 1907.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Galen Clark - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service)".
  2. ^ "Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias" (PDF). National Park Service.
  3. ^ "Yosemite Tales: Galen Clark - Guardian of Yosemite".
  4. ^ "AFI Catalog - Guardian of the Wilderness".
  5. ^ "Guardian of the Wilderness". IMDb.com.
  6. ^ "He got a job - acting". The Deseret News. January 21, 1977. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guardian_of_the_Wilderness&oldid=1247075018"