Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Timothy Shary I really enjoyed this film when I saw it at the Saturday matinée during its release, and remember that experience vividly, but watching it now nearly 40 years later, I can appreciate that it has not aged well at all. This was clearly re-packaged to capitalize on the mountain adventure movies of the time, and to that end it has some gorgeous photography, but the story-- and especially the ham-fisted narration-- are just too hackneyed to bear. Even if it's based on truth, which the film clearly asks you to question, especially with its grossly fake documentary stylings, I can't imagine kids today would enjoy its slow pacing, stiff acting, and real animals. If you want to study it as an artifact of truly typical fare for the '70s, it does have its curiosities-- and for that matter, you could look at the "Benji" films too. But there's a reason why the "Benji" films are not considered classics, which is that they were simply bad. So is this.There are far better films from the era to enjoy, even for children.

ari_levy not sure this movie deserves the criticism above. innocent Disney-like rendering of a real-life incredible tale. also not sure that the ending was meant to convey that trapper committed suicide--listen carefully, and you'll hear that they never found a trace of him the next spring....i was led to believe (at least the kid in me was!) that he camouflaged his once-again escape.i purchased this movie after googling it for the theme song, which has been running in my head for *31 years.* got the film and found the tune was correct!!!! wish in real life the trapper had also died free (i guess he did so, in a way, but at the end of a rifle)....

dav07dan02 Director: Tay Garnett, Ford Beebe, Cast: Mike Mazurki, Vic Christy, Fritz Ford, Tay Garnett.Based on the number of comments I see on IMDb, this seems to be a forgotten movie. This seems rather ironic to me because it is actually one of the first movies that I remember. My mom took me and my little brother to see this film at The Garland theater in Spokane when it first came out in the mid 1970's and I still remember it.I am going by memory here but I believe this move is about a trapper who was accused of a crime which he did not commit and the law goes after him. I believe it to be set in 1800's Alaska. A narrator tells the story of the trapper played by Mike Mazurki. Really, this is a very good film with a great setting. It could be compared to the 1981 film Death Hunt with Charles Bronson. The two films have a very similar story line. The main difference between the two is Death Hunt is an adult orientated film whereas Challenge is a family friendly film. Mike Mazurki and Tay Garnett were both rather old when this movie was made which I find rather impressive when one considers that this movie was filmed on location in the wilds of Alaska. This was the last film made by Tay Garnett before he died which was just a few years later. They both had been around since the silent era.

Cale Barthold "Challenge to be Free" was one of the first films I saw as a child. It was also one of the first VHS tapes that I owned. I hadn't seen the movie in years, so yesterday I decided to stick the tape in and watch it. Wow. The story is as powerful now as it was the first time I saw it. I think now that I am older I can better apreciate the values that are implanted in the movie. (Self-reliance, The value of Freedom, and the love of nature) It is a "B" movie, to be sure, but it's one that you'll remember for years, especially if you see it as a child.