Pictured Clint Howard and Ron Howard
Uprooted from their comfortable home in Pennsylvania, James and Kate Tanner (Steve Forrest and Vera Miles), along with their sons Virgil and Andy, journey to the wild country of 1890s Wyoming to become farmers. Soon, they come face-to-face with tornadoes, bears, and wolves. But through the hardships, their love for each other endures, even when a local rancher sees the newcomers as “squatters” on his land and will stop at nothing, including murder, to drive them out. In the roles of brothers Virgil and Andy were real life brothers Ron and Clint Howard. The youngsters were already industry veterans by the time they did The Wild Country. Ron had already gained notoriety as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and would go on to star as Richie Cunningham on TV’s Happy Days before moving on to an immensely successful directing career, which included the very first Touchstone film, Splash, which brother Clint appeared in as a wedding guest. Clint first found fame as Mark Wedloe on TV’s Gentle Ben, but was no stranger to Disney. Although not seen, he hopped onto the screen as the the voice of Roo in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and the Baby Elephant in The Jungle Book. The Wild Country also marked the first time the boys appeared on film with their father, Rance Howard, making happy days for the entire Howard family.
