Day of the Wolves
Encyclopedia
Day of the Wolves is a 1971 heist movie starring Richard Egan and directed, written and produced by Ferde Grofe Jr.. It was the first movie to be made on location in the new town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona
.
respectively), who gets him fired. His warnings that the town is vulnerable to a criminal takeover were also considered scaremongering.
At the same time as this is happening, a group of thieves are being anonymously summoned to a ghost town in the desert by a criminal mastermind. Each of the thieves is promised a minimum of $50,000 for their participation in a heist, and arrives wearing a beard to disguise their appearance. The thieves are assigned a number (number #1 being the mastermind), and asked to wear gloves for the duration of the exploit, so as not to provide evidence that could lead back to them. They are shown a map of the town of Wellerton and told that they will fleece it. The criminals use the ghost town to train for the heist.
Back in town, Pete Anderson hands off the running of the police department to his deputy (played by John Lupton
), and seeks the comfort of his Wife Maggie (Martha Hyer
) and his young son Will (played by Steve Manone). Disillusioned by events, Anderson takes to drinking and ponders his future.
The "wolves" fly to the outskirts of Wellerton, and overcome a farmer and his wife (played by character actor Percy Helton
and local amateur actor Elizabeth Thomas respectively). They then proceed to blow up the bridge that provides access to the town of Wellerton, and cut phone and power to the town. They surprise the new Sheriff and his deputies, and lock them in the town jail.
Maggie Anderson tips off Pete that the town is being invaded by criminals and he drives into town and starts a running gun fight with the wolves, killing wolf #2 (played by actor and singer Frankie Randall
) and wolf number #3 (actor Andre Marquis
), and also injuring wolf #4 (Rick Jason
). Anderson is also superficially wounded in the fight.
Wolves numbers #1, #5 (Philippines actor Zaldy Zshornack
), #6 (Henry Capps) and #7 (singer/actor Smokey Roberds) escape back to their plane. They take off and parachute to separate locations, shave off their beards and change their clothes, burying the old clothes and parachute. We see wolf #6 buying a greyhound ticket, and heading off into the night.
Back in Wellerton, the region sheriff (played by veteran actor Sean McClory
) arrives in town to collect wolf #4 for interrogation. The Town's mayor visits Pete Anderson and offers him his old job back, which he refuses.
In hospital, the injured wolf #4 is pressured by the Sheriff and a detective (played by Biff Elliot
) to give information about the mastermind and other criminals, but all he can tell them is that they had numbers and beards. On the TV in his room a children's show plays in the background, with a clown amusing the kids. Wolf #4 recognizes the voice of the clown as that of wolf #1. The clown tells the children a story that's an allegory of the heist they just pulled off. Wolf #4 starts laughing uncontrollably as the sheriff and detective look on.
More recently, the film has achieved minor cult status (see below) with its increasing availability.
, founder of the band The Music Machine
. The score and title song are
frequently cited in reviews as being integral to the appeal of the movie. The music was recorded at Original Sound Studios on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California in September 1971, with the little-known LA band "Green" performing together with Bonniwell on vocals.
The title listing for the score is:
. Filming made use of meager town locations, but completely omitted using the semi-completed London Bridge
. Interior shots of the wolves hideout were taken at (then) abandoned apartment construction, now "Acoma Apartments" at the intersection of Acoma Avenue and Mesquite Avenue. Other scenes used the old airfield on the island area, and several locations on McCulloch Blvd.
The Farmhouse scenes were shot at a former alfalfa farming area, Planet Ranch, and the ghost town scenes at the old Swansea
mining town, both located East of Parker, Arizona
. The bridge scenes were filmed at the Bill Williams Bridge, located midway between Parker and Lake Havasu City.
Pickup scenes were filmed several months after principal photography wrapped in or around Los Angeles at Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Malibu and LAX.
(SAG). This was made possible because Arizona is a Right to work state.
Local actors were recruited through the Lake Havasu Theater Guild by its president, Floyd Hamilton. Hamilton worked on the film both as a production assistant and on screen in the roles of pilot and chauffeur (he can be seen opening the door of the station wagon for Rick Jason on his arrival at the thieves hideout).
In some respects the film has become synonymous for the use of stage beards as much as the story: for example, in 2008, the Austin Facial Hair Club held a special showing of Day of the Wolves at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to raise funds to attend the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
by Ferde Grofe's Balut production company for the (now defunct) US distribution company Goldkey Entertainment as a TV movie for US consumption. It was also shown theatrically in some parts of Europe and the rest of the world. In the US, it was also widely shown in the early 1970s as an inflight movie. In the UK it was shown as a TV movie. Although frequently shown on US television in the 1970s and early 1980s, it's rarely found on TV now probably due to its hitherto uncertain copyright status that has only recently changed (see below). It was available in the 1980s on VHS tape, but has essentially been unobtainable until public domain
versions started to become available.
the Library of Congress
(LOC) when it was made by either Gold Key Entertainment nor Ferde Grofe jr. The film clearly displays the copyright logo (©) with date (1971) in the opening credit sequence and is therefore assumed to be covered by the US the statutory minimum copyright protection for a published but unregistered work created before January 1, 1978 of 28 years. The film has been widely assumed to be in the public domain for much of the past decade, though its status has recently changed (see below). It has been openly downloadable from the Internet for several years from a variety of public domain film sites and has been included in the catalogs of public domain film distributors.
The music score for Day of the Wolves was formally copyrighted by Sean Bonniwell
with the Library of Congress in 1971. The title/theme song is copyrighted as a separate work, while the score is copyrighted as a 'collective' work. This copyright would have expired 28 years later in 1999 without renewal, except that Public Law 102- 307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976 Copyright Act provided for automatic renewal of the term of copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977 (these will not show up in online searches unless the author has requested a copy of the renewal). Both the title/theme and score are also registered with BMI for live performance royalties management and SoundExchange to collect royalties for Internet performance rights.
In 2009 Ferde Grofe (as Balut Productions) successfully applied to the US copyright office to register copyright control over the film, which was granted in July 2009 under copyright registration: RE0000930779. This copyright covers the motion picture not including the soundtrack (since Bonniwell has a pre-existing
copyright covering the music score from the film).
Since both the film and the music score of the film are formally copyrighted through the Library of Congress, the film can no longer be considered to be within the public domain (arguably it never was since the music soundtrack was copyrighted since 1971). Accordingly, publicly available online copies of the film on websites such as archive.com and Google Video have now been taken offline.
A documentary film about the making of Day of the Wolves is currently in production. An article in the Fall 2008 edition of MovieMaker Magazine
titled "Documenting a Cult Classic" describes Grofe's role in the production.
's debut movie Reservoir Dogs
. In both stories, the criminals are anonymized by the gang leader to prevent repercussions should any one of them get caught: in Day of the Wolves the criminals wear beards and are identified by numbers, and in Reservoir Dogs
they are identified by the names of colors.
However, Tarantino
is equally likely to have drawn inspiration from another cult movie, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, in which the criminals are also identified by the names of colors.
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Synopsis
Richard Egan stars as Pete Anderson, the chief of police of the small western town called "Wellerton". Anderson has a run-in with the son of a council official (played by Len Travis and John DennisJohn Dennis
John Dennis was an English critic and dramatist.-Life:He was born in Harrow, London. He was educated at Harrow School and Caius College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in 1679. In the next year he was fined and dismissed from his college for having wounded a fellow-student with a sword....
respectively), who gets him fired. His warnings that the town is vulnerable to a criminal takeover were also considered scaremongering.
At the same time as this is happening, a group of thieves are being anonymously summoned to a ghost town in the desert by a criminal mastermind. Each of the thieves is promised a minimum of $50,000 for their participation in a heist, and arrives wearing a beard to disguise their appearance. The thieves are assigned a number (number #1 being the mastermind), and asked to wear gloves for the duration of the exploit, so as not to provide evidence that could lead back to them. They are shown a map of the town of Wellerton and told that they will fleece it. The criminals use the ghost town to train for the heist.
Back in town, Pete Anderson hands off the running of the police department to his deputy (played by John Lupton
John Lupton
John Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
), and seeks the comfort of his Wife Maggie (Martha Hyer
Martha Hyer
Martha Hyer is an American actress.She attended Northwestern University and was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity. After completing her education, she next appeared in The Locket in 1946...
) and his young son Will (played by Steve Manone). Disillusioned by events, Anderson takes to drinking and ponders his future.
The "wolves" fly to the outskirts of Wellerton, and overcome a farmer and his wife (played by character actor Percy Helton
Percy Helton
Percy Helton was an American film and television actor.One of his most memorable supporting roles was playing a drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. He also appeared in small but memorable roles in Criss Cross , The Set-Up , Kiss Me Deadly and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...
and local amateur actor Elizabeth Thomas respectively). They then proceed to blow up the bridge that provides access to the town of Wellerton, and cut phone and power to the town. They surprise the new Sheriff and his deputies, and lock them in the town jail.
Maggie Anderson tips off Pete that the town is being invaded by criminals and he drives into town and starts a running gun fight with the wolves, killing wolf #2 (played by actor and singer Frankie Randall
Frankie Randall (singer)
Frank Joseph Lisbona, better known as Frankie Randall, is an American singer and actor. His acting credits include The Dean Martin Summer Show and the 1973 film Day of the Wolves....
) and wolf number #3 (actor Andre Marquis
André Marquis
André Marquis was a French Vichyst admiral, famous for the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon.Marquis was préfet maritime of Toulon, and as such, responsible for the administration of the city...
), and also injuring wolf #4 (Rick Jason
Rick Jason
Rick Jason , born Richard Jacobson, was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley in the ABC television drama Combat! .-Biography:...
). Anderson is also superficially wounded in the fight.
Wolves numbers #1, #5 (Philippines actor Zaldy Zshornack
Zaldy Zshornack
José Rizaldy Zshornack was a Filipino actor. Zshornack had a long career spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is perhaps best known for his role in Black Mama, White Mama, a 1973 film.-Personal life:...
), #6 (Henry Capps) and #7 (singer/actor Smokey Roberds) escape back to their plane. They take off and parachute to separate locations, shave off their beards and change their clothes, burying the old clothes and parachute. We see wolf #6 buying a greyhound ticket, and heading off into the night.
Back in Wellerton, the region sheriff (played by veteran actor Sean McClory
Sean McClory
Sean McClory was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series.-Early years:...
) arrives in town to collect wolf #4 for interrogation. The Town's mayor visits Pete Anderson and offers him his old job back, which he refuses.
In hospital, the injured wolf #4 is pressured by the Sheriff and a detective (played by Biff Elliot
Biff Elliot
Biff Elliot is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of I, the Jury, and as his guest appearance in the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark".-Early life:...
) to give information about the mastermind and other criminals, but all he can tell them is that they had numbers and beards. On the TV in his room a children's show plays in the background, with a clown amusing the kids. Wolf #4 recognizes the voice of the clown as that of wolf #1. The clown tells the children a story that's an allegory of the heist they just pulled off. Wolf #4 starts laughing uncontrollably as the sheriff and detective look on.
Cast
- Richard EganRichard Egan (actor)Richard Egan was an American actor. In some films he is credited as Richard Eagan.-Career:Born in San Francisco, California, Egan served in the United States Army as a judo instructor during World War II...
.... Pete Anderson - Martha HyerMartha HyerMartha Hyer is an American actress.She attended Northwestern University and was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity. After completing her education, she next appeared in The Locket in 1946...
.... Mrs. Maggie Anderson - Rick JasonRick JasonRick Jason , born Richard Jacobson, was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley in the ABC television drama Combat! .-Biography:...
.... Wolf #4 - Jan MurrayJan MurrayJan Murray was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt.-Early life:Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx, New York City...
.... Wolf #1 - Frankie RandallFrankie Randall (singer)Frank Joseph Lisbona, better known as Frankie Randall, is an American singer and actor. His acting credits include The Dean Martin Summer Show and the 1973 film Day of the Wolves....
.... Wolf #2 - Andre MarquisAndré MarquisAndré Marquis was a French Vichyst admiral, famous for the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon.Marquis was préfet maritime of Toulon, and as such, responsible for the administration of the city...
.... Wolf #3 - Zaldy ZshornackZaldy ZshornackJosé Rizaldy Zshornack was a Filipino actor. Zshornack had a long career spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is perhaps best known for his role in Black Mama, White Mama, a 1973 film.-Personal life:...
.... Wolf #5 - Henry Capps .... Wolf #6
- Smokey Roberds .... Wolf #7
- Sean McClorySean McClorySean McClory was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series.-Early years:...
.... The Sheriff - John Braatz .... Deputy Sheriff
- Mel Scarborough .... Deputy Sheriff
- John LuptonJohn LuptonJohn Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
.... Hank - Jack Bailey .... Mayor
- Biff ElliotBiff ElliotBiff Elliot is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of I, the Jury, and as his guest appearance in the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark".-Early life:...
.... Inspector - Percy HeltonPercy HeltonPercy Helton was an American film and television actor.One of his most memorable supporting roles was playing a drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. He also appeared in small but memorable roles in Criss Cross , The Set-Up , Kiss Me Deadly and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...
.... Farmer - Elizabeth ThomasElizabeth ThomasElizabeth Thomas may refer to:*Elizabeth Thomas , British poet*Elizabeth Thomas , British novelist and poet*Elizabeth Thomas , American Egyptologist*Betty Thomas, American actress...
.... Farmer's Wife - Steve Manone .... Will Anderson
- Herb VigranHerb VigranHerbert "Herb" Vigran was a well-known American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances.-Career:...
.... Frank - John DennisJohn DennisJohn Dennis was an English critic and dramatist.-Life:He was born in Harrow, London. He was educated at Harrow School and Caius College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in 1679. In the next year he was fined and dismissed from his college for having wounded a fellow-student with a sword....
.... Angry Councilman - John GunnJohn GunnJohn Gunn may refer to:* John Gunn * John Gunn , English cricketer* John Currie Gunn * John Gunn , 29th Premier of South Australia...
.... Announcer - Len Travis .... Johnny
- Wendy Alvord .... Johnny's Girlfriend
- Danny Rees .... Juggler
- Floyd Hamilton .... chauffeur/pilot
Reception
Day of the Wolves has been generally well received, although reviews, especially more recent ones, often cite the film's low budget as evidenced by a lack of expected production values (in particular, the prosthetic beards used in the production, see below). TV guide describes the film as a "Sporadically interesting heist film".More recently, the film has achieved minor cult status (see below) with its increasing availability.
Music score
The soundtrack for Day of the Wolves was scored by 1960s music icon Sean BonniwellSean Bonniwell
Thomas Harvey "Sean" Bonniwell , guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, is most famous as the main creative force behind the late-1960s garage rock band, The Music Machine....
, founder of the band The Music Machine
The Music Machine
The Music Machine was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in Los Angeles. The band sound was often defined by fuzzy guitars and a Farfisa organ...
. The score and title song are
frequently cited in reviews as being integral to the appeal of the movie. The music was recorded at Original Sound Studios on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California in September 1971, with the little-known LA band "Green" performing together with Bonniwell on vocals.
The title listing for the score is:
- Theme Song
- Theme Song / Underscore
- Increasing Tension
- Night Time Sneak
- Drum the Drum
- Wolf Jazz / Rock
- Gathering Storm
- Desert Easy
- Spanish Wolves
- Creeping
- Funky Wolves
- Military Drums
- Show Shine Groove
- Cook'n Wolves Theme
- Frantic Rock Suspense
- Up & At'em
- Drums & Sneaky Vibes
- Blues Wolves Theme
- Shuffle Sneak
- Scratch & Hide
- Romantic Theme (sung)
- Carousel
- Carousel Insanity
- Theme Song (credits)
Locations
Day of the Wolves was the first film to be made in Lake Havasu City, ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Filming made use of meager town locations, but completely omitted using the semi-completed London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
. Interior shots of the wolves hideout were taken at (then) abandoned apartment construction, now "Acoma Apartments" at the intersection of Acoma Avenue and Mesquite Avenue. Other scenes used the old airfield on the island area, and several locations on McCulloch Blvd.
The Farmhouse scenes were shot at a former alfalfa farming area, Planet Ranch, and the ghost town scenes at the old Swansea
Swansea, Arizona
Swansea is a ghost town in La Paz County in the U.S. state of Arizona. It was settled around 1909 in what was then the Arizona Territory. It served as a mining town as well as a location for processing and smelting the copper ore taken from the nearby mines....
mining town, both located East of Parker, Arizona
Parker, Arizona
Parker is a town in and the county seat of La Paz County, Arizona, United States, on the Colorado River in Parker Valley. The population was 3,140 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. The bridge scenes were filmed at the Bill Williams Bridge, located midway between Parker and Lake Havasu City.
Pickup scenes were filmed several months after principal photography wrapped in or around Los Angeles at Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Malibu and LAX.
Notable crew members
Day of the Wolves was the first film for most of the film crew; several of those went onto achieve notable success in the Hollywood film industry:- Peter MacGregor-Scott ... Production Manager
Incorrectly listed as Assistant Director in the credits, MacGregor-Scott went on to produce many major US films, including the Cheech and ChongCheech and ChongCheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...
movies, The FugitiveThe Fugitive (1993 film)The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was one of the few movies associated with a television series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
, Batman ForeverBatman ForeverBatman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
and most recently The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. - Ric Waite ... Cinematographer
Emmy award-winning cinematographer who worked on many of the most successful films of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. He collaborated with Walter Hill on several films, including The Long RidersThe Long RidersThe Long Riders is a 1980 western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the Best Music award in 1980 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for this soundtrack...
and 48 Hrs. - Calmar Roberts ... Assistant Cameraman
Principal cameraman on many major motion pictures, including the Lethal WeaponLethal WeaponLethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
movies, Jurassic ParkJurassic Park (film)Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
and Basic InstinctBasic InstinctBasic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
. - Mike Scott ... Grip
Went on to become Camera Operator on many feature films including Die HardDie HardDie Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, Speed, Speed 2, and Thelma & Louise.
Use of local amateur actors
In common with other low budget, regionally-made movies, Day of the Wolves used local amateur actors for minor roles in the production working side-by-side with actors belonging to the Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
(SAG). This was made possible because Arizona is a Right to work state.
Local actors were recruited through the Lake Havasu Theater Guild by its president, Floyd Hamilton. Hamilton worked on the film both as a production assistant and on screen in the roles of pilot and chauffeur (he can be seen opening the door of the station wagon for Rick Jason on his arrival at the thieves hideout).
The beards
A key plot point of the film is that the thieves are asked to grow beards before arriving at the hideout to help mask their identities. Several cast members wore real beards during the production: Smokey Roberds, Frankie Randall, Andre Marquis and Zaldy Zshornack. Other members of the cast playing villain roles (Rick Jason, Jan Murray, and Henry Capps) wore fake beards. By modern filmmaking standards the stage beards appear unconvincing, especially since it is implied in the film narrative that the thieves have grown them within a matter of days/weeks upon receiving Number One's invitation to join the caper.In some respects the film has become synonymous for the use of stage beards as much as the story: for example, in 2008, the Austin Facial Hair Club held a special showing of Day of the Wolves at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to raise funds to attend the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
Distribution
Day of the Wolves was originally made as a negative pickup dealNegative pickup deal
In film production, a negative pickup is a contract entered into by an independent producer and a movie studio wherein the studio agrees to purchase the movie from the producer at a given date and for a fixed sum...
by Ferde Grofe's Balut production company for the (now defunct) US distribution company Goldkey Entertainment as a TV movie for US consumption. It was also shown theatrically in some parts of Europe and the rest of the world. In the US, it was also widely shown in the early 1970s as an inflight movie. In the UK it was shown as a TV movie. Although frequently shown on US television in the 1970s and early 1980s, it's rarely found on TV now probably due to its hitherto uncertain copyright status that has only recently changed (see below). It was available in the 1980s on VHS tape, but has essentially been unobtainable until public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
versions started to become available.
Copyright status of the film and music score
As with many low budget and/or independent films of the period, the Day of the Wolves film was not formally copyrighted throughthe Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(LOC) when it was made by either Gold Key Entertainment nor Ferde Grofe jr. The film clearly displays the copyright logo (©) with date (1971) in the opening credit sequence and is therefore assumed to be covered by the US the statutory minimum copyright protection for a published but unregistered work created before January 1, 1978 of 28 years. The film has been widely assumed to be in the public domain for much of the past decade, though its status has recently changed (see below). It has been openly downloadable from the Internet for several years from a variety of public domain film sites and has been included in the catalogs of public domain film distributors.
The music score for Day of the Wolves was formally copyrighted by Sean Bonniwell
Sean Bonniwell
Thomas Harvey "Sean" Bonniwell , guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, is most famous as the main creative force behind the late-1960s garage rock band, The Music Machine....
with the Library of Congress in 1971. The title/theme song is copyrighted as a separate work, while the score is copyrighted as a 'collective' work. This copyright would have expired 28 years later in 1999 without renewal, except that Public Law 102- 307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976 Copyright Act provided for automatic renewal of the term of copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977 (these will not show up in online searches unless the author has requested a copy of the renewal). Both the title/theme and score are also registered with BMI for live performance royalties management and SoundExchange to collect royalties for Internet performance rights.
In 2009 Ferde Grofe (as Balut Productions) successfully applied to the US copyright office to register copyright control over the film, which was granted in July 2009 under copyright registration: RE0000930779. This copyright covers the motion picture not including the soundtrack (since Bonniwell has a pre-existing
copyright covering the music score from the film).
Since both the film and the music score of the film are formally copyrighted through the Library of Congress, the film can no longer be considered to be within the public domain (arguably it never was since the music soundtrack was copyrighted since 1971). Accordingly, publicly available online copies of the film on websites such as archive.com and Google Video have now been taken offline.
Cult status
The film has a small but growing cult status, fueled by a compelling storyline and contemporary rock music score.A documentary film about the making of Day of the Wolves is currently in production. An article in the Fall 2008 edition of MovieMaker Magazine
MovieMaker
“Moviemaker” redirects here. For the software, see Windows Movie Maker.MovieMaker is an American magazine focused on the art and business of making movies with a special emphasis on independent film....
titled "Documenting a Cult Classic" describes Grofe's role in the production.
Influence on other filmmakers
Reviews of Day of the Wolves often cite the similarity of the basic storyline of the film with Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's debut movie Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
. In both stories, the criminals are anonymized by the gang leader to prevent repercussions should any one of them get caught: in Day of the Wolves the criminals wear beards and are identified by numbers, and in Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
they are identified by the names of colors.
However, Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
is equally likely to have drawn inspiration from another cult movie, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, in which the criminals are also identified by the names of colors.