The Legend of Amaluk
Cast & Crew
James P. Connor
Lorne Greene
Amaluk
Sivalu
Kala
Ootak
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the Yukon, Amaluk, a young Eskimo, sets off alone on a quest, in order to prove his manhood and earn the right to hunt with the men and marry Sivalu, his sweetheart. While attempting to harpoon a seal, he is set adrift on an ice floe, separated from his dog team and carried to a remote region far from home. When his dogs return to his village without him, Sivalu and Amaluk's grandmother Kala, fearing for his life, hang up a pair of his boots to see if they swing, which is their way to divine whether he is alive or dead. Meanwhile, Amaluk is near death, when he is rescued by reindeer herders, who nurse him back to health. After he has recuperated, Amaluk hunts down and kills marauding wolves as a way to repay the debt he owes his rescuers. When he is ready to return to his village, the herders present Amaluk with a kayak and provisions. After many adventures, he is almost home, when he encounters the men of his tribe preparing for a whale hunt. They invite him to join them and, during the hunt, Amaluk harpoons a forty-five ton whale. Returning to the village with his prize, Amaluk is accorded the respect of his people and the right to claim Sivalu as his wife.
Director
James P. Connor
Cast
Lorne Greene
Amaluk
Sivalu
Kala
Ootak
Ominak
Accibuk
Piulu
Piulu
Crew
A. Correlle
Ken Dyson
Jerry Fairbanks
William Lieb
Victor R. Marsh
Michael Perham
John Primm
Leo S. Rosencrans
Robert Rosencrans
Carson Shade
Paul T. Smith
Jack Spicer
Jack Steely
Frank Whaley
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The cast list and summary are based on the film producer's fact sheet. Although the film was copyrighted in 1972 and was released for one week in Los Angeles in October 1973, a November 17, 1975 Box Office review reported that the film was released in October 1975. Throughout the film, Lorne Greene provides voice-over narration to explain the Eskimo's lifestyle. The cast, all non-professional actors recreating their lifestyle for the film, speak little dialogue and only in their native language, according to the Los Angeles Times review.
The Los Angeles Times review praised the film as being "more educational than your typical Disney man-against-nature documentary and just as entertaining." According to a September 1973 Daily Variety news item, the film received an award form the Southern California Motion Picture Council.
