Night of the Wolf

***Night of the Wolf*** is a made-for-television film produced by Animal Planet in association with Alpine Media and Hallmark Entertainment. It premiered on April 15, 2002.

## Plot

Claire McNichol is a widow running a cattle ranch with her headstrong son Jesse and their workhand Purly Owens. Claire has been struggling to run the ranch and raise Jesse by herself since her husband was killed in an accident and left to a pack of wolves years prior. The experience has caused Claire to become overprotective of her son and view the wolves as a threat to her family's livestock and livelihood, whereas Jesse, who desperately wants to prove himself a man, shows appreciation for them and other wildlife. Their relationship is further strained when Jesse learns that Claire plans to sell the ranch and move back to San Francisco for a better life. Jesse, who prefers living and working on the ranch and having grown fed up with Claire's overprotective and controlling behavior, accuses her of just giving up and refuses to go. Meanwhile, a game warden is murdered when confronting Crawford and Rucker, a pair of poachers residing in a cabin belonging to the McNichols, for their illegal trapping, and Crawford dumps the body in the woods.

After a talk with her friend Rose, Claire decides to take some time off alone at the cabin to think about her decision, leaving Jesse alone the house while Purly takes a load of hay into town. During the ride, Claire is spooked by a wolf and thrown from her horse, breaking her ankle in the process. Seeing the wolf has been ensnared in a trap, Claire tries to put it out of its misery but can't bring herself to kill it and instead gives it food and water before trying to leave on a makeshift crutch. When the attempt proves too much, she returns to the wolf for company. Jesse finds Claire's horse having returned without her and, fearing that something has happened, leaves a note for Purly and rides his horse out to find her.

Claire spends the next five days letting the wolf grow accustomed to her presence while at the same time struggling to keep herself alive. They are eventually joined by the wolf's pups and mate, a moment which brings Claire to rethink her initial views about them. She also writes a note in her journal to Jesse saying how much she loves him. Meanwhile, Jesse runs into and is caught by Crawford and Rucker but manages to escape. Crawford and Rucker follow him to ensure he cannot identify them to the authorities. Jesse tries to slow them down by freeing their horses, forcing them to follow him on foot until they catch up and cause him to fall off a small cliff; assuming him to be dead, they leave. Jesse survives the fall and returns to set their camp on fire, distracting them long enough for him to keep looking for Claire. Purly returns to find Jesse's note and calls the Sheriff's department to form a search party.

After Crawford and Rucker are heard shooting a bobcat, Claire frees the wolf from the snare before confronting them about their illegal activities and knocks Crawford's gun away when he tries to shoot the wolf's mate. They are about to kill Claire when Jesse arrives and shoots Rucker before forcing Crawford down at gunpoint, saving Claire's life and the rescue party, having been alerted by the gunshots, arrive to arrest the poachers and bring Claire in to be treated for her ankle. Claire's journal is later published as a book that becomes a best-seller, and Claire, following her experience with the wolf and seeing how Jesse has grown up, decides to keep running the ranch with her son.

## Cast

* Anne Archer as Anne McNichol
* Robert Urich as Purly Owens
* Michael Shamus Wiles as Crawford
* Peter Dobson as Rucker
* Sally Kirkland as Rose Handy
* C. Thomas Howell as Sheriff Wade Messer
* Zach Bostrom as Jesse McNichol
* Stephen Wesley Bridgewater as Wayne Handy
* Norman Alden as Carl Casey
* James Lashly as Vernon Bartlett
* Michelle Nordin as Missy
* Monty Stuart as the Game Warden
* David Atkinson as the Mechanic

The film is one of Robert Urich's final roles before his death, which occurred just one day after its initial premiere.