Never Cry Wolf

1983, Drama/Adventure, 1h 46m

19 Reviews 5,000+ Ratings

The League of Gentlemen

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Broadway Danny Rose

The African Queen

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Never Cry Wolf Photos

View All Photos (11)

Movie Info

Research scientist Tyler (Charles Martin Smith) is sent to the desolate Canadian tundra to find out whether the local wolf population is responsible for decimating Canada's caribou herds. Helped by Ootek (Zachary Ittimangnaq), a local Inuit native, Farley manages to establish an observation post and, while braving the harsh climate, begins to study a family of wolves, as well as the caribou. He eventually determines that the greatest danger to the caribou doesn't move on four legs.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Drama, Adventure
Original Language:

English
Director:

Carroll Ballard
Producer:

Lewis M. Allen, Jack Couffer, Joseph Strick
Writer:

Curtis Hanson, Sam Hamm, Richard Kletter
Release Date (Theaters):

Oct 14, 1931 original
Release Date (Streaming):

Sep 7, 2004
Runtime:

1h 46m
Sound Mix:

Surround, Stereo

Cast & Crew

Charles Martin Smith
Farley Mowat, Tyler

Brian Dennehy
Rosie

Zachary Ittimangnaq
Ootek

Samson Jorah
Mike

Carroll Ballard
Director

Curtis Hanson
Screenwriter

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Never Cry Wolf

All Critics (19) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (19)

Full Review… Richard Schickel TIME Magazine

Full Review… Ronald Holloway Variety

Full Review… Time Out

Full Review… Vincent Canby New York Times

Full Review… Dave Kehr Chicago Reader

Full Review… Octavi Marti El Pais (Spain)

Full Review… Common Sense Media Editors Common Sense Media

Full Review… TV Guide

Full Review… Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Full Review… David Kaplan Kaplan vs. Kaplan

Full Review… Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS)

Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com

View All Critic Reviews (19)

Audience Reviews for Never Cry Wolf

May 28, 2016

Some time spent whimsically in the frozen Arctic checking to see how it is that the caribou population is mysteriously vanishing: could the local wolves be the problem? Charles Martin Smith is our amiable guide is this Disney produced (read: there's never really going to be much of a problem) adventure, running around naked (read: "see, I'm close to Nature") so that developers don't suck the life out of life.

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
Feb 05, 2012

Never Cry Wolf looks, sounds and feels like a DisneyNature film, for the most part. A desolate location, focus on animals, minimal dialogue...though the movie never quite knows what it wants to be. Initially, there are hints of comedy, then "man against nature" drama, then documentary and so on. By not picking one genre to play in, Never Cry Wolf borders on lacking focus. Charles Martin Smith plays well against the frigid backdrop and the occasional humans he runs into, but this is really about the place and the animals. An episode of Planet Earth is, arguably, more interesting.

Jason V Super Reviewer