With America in the depths of the Great Depression, families drifted apart when faraway jobs beckoned. This is the setting for The Journey of Natty Gann, which was released on this day in 1985. Natty Gann, a courageous young girl (Meredith Salenger), confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her extraordinary odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf and a hardened drifter (John Cusack). During the film’s release, Meredith Salenger, the teenage actress who portrayed the title role, recalled some similarities between herself and her character. “I understand her love for her father, her determination and her sensitivity. There’s a lot of me in her,” she said. Yet she also recalled, “I’m not as tough as Natty and I’ve never been a tomboy. That’s why I took the boxing lessons. I had to learn how to be tough, and I had to learn how to throw a punch.”