Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot
Encyclopedia
'Sasquatch', aka 'Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot' is a docudrama filmed in 1975 by North American Film Productions, Oregon Ltd., at the height of Bigfoot's popularity . It follows a group of explorers on a summer-long search for the legendary Bigfoot
creature. In the film we're told the search takes place in Northwest Canada (British Columbia
) along the 'Peckatoe River Valley' but in reality it was filmed further south in the Three Sisters Wilderness area of the Cascade Mountain Range
near Bend, Oregon
. While sometimes compared to other Bigfoot documentary films of the era (The Legend of Boggy Creek
, Creature From Black Lake) this film does not feature on-camera interviews with supposed eye-witnesses. The producers strived for a sense of believability and used taglines like "The most complete and only true story of Bigfoot ever filmed" in promotional material. The film features a number of animal stunts, including cougar and bear attacks. To simulate the grizzly attack, Tootsie Rolls were placed on actor Lou Salerni's shoulder, where they were eaten by the trained bear. Animals were supplied by Dick Robinson who, along with "Sasquatch" co-producer and editor John Fabian, went on to make a Grizzly Adams-type film "The Life and Legend of Buffalo Jones". That film was also co-directed by "Sasquatch" cast member / narrator George Lauris and it's soundtrack contains music by "Sasquatch" contributors Al Capps & Lane Caudell. The "Life and Legend of Buffalo Jones" film ultimately became known as "Buffalo Rider".
, shot by Roger Patterson on October 20, 1967 in Bluff Creek, CA which shows an ape-like creature walking along a dry creek bed. The narrator goes on to explain that by running statistical data through modern computers, a site in British Columbia has been determined as the most likely spot for a population of Sasquatch to live undisturbed. An expedition is mounted, hoping to verify the creature's existence and secure funding for future research into the phenomenon.
The seven man team is composed of Native American guide Techka Blackhawk, seasoned wilderness explorer Josh Bigsby, wise-cracking reporter Bob Vernon, anthropologist Dr. Paul Markham, cook Barney Snipe, animal handler Hank Parshall and team leader Chuck Evans who also narrates the film. The team is on horseback & brings tracking dogs to aid in the hunt. The story itself delivers a mix of light hearted comedy & suspense and there's plenty of breathtaking footage showcasing the local topography & wildlife.
As the film progresses, tales of Sasquatch encounters by earlier explorers are interwoven with the current expedition's adventure and told as campfire stories. These scenes are recreated by uncredited cast members & include the Ape Canyon
incident in which miners are attacked while sleeping in their cabin and an encounter by early pioneer explorers Bauman & Jessup. This particular story is unique for 2 reasons; it appears in writings by President Theodore Roosevelt and it also contains one of the rare purported deaths from a Sasquatch attack. Initially the expedition takes on the feel of a nature trek, but as we reach a scene where the team is traversing a hillside it takes on a more ominous feel. As rocks begin tumbling down towards them from above, Techka stops the caravan in time to avoid injuries but the cause of the rockslide is unknown. From this point on the film becomes more focused on it's intended subject, the search for Bigfoot. After this incident the team feels they're being watched by 'someone or something' and everyone takes turns guarding the camp at night. One evening a bear attacks while they sleep and everyone is shaken up but none are seriously injured. On a subsequent evening the camp is once again attacked, but this time the lookout was able to scare off the attacker(s) with gunshots. The following day they find large footprints in the areas surrounding the camp & employ the tracking dogs. While some team members take plaster molds of the tracks, Hank & his dogs follow a scent to the base of a sheer rock wall but cannot continue due to the difficult terrain.
As the expedition nears their intended destination, they discover tall trees snapped in half well above human reach. Techka tells them it's a sign the Sasquatch use to mark their territory and upon entering the valley, the team finds more footprints and sets up camp. They install a tripwire system around the perimeter and post lookouts. The team notes that the forest is eerily quiet that evening and well after dark, the inevitable happens. Multiple sensors begin to light up, the camp is attacked and we hear the same haunting wail as earlier. As the lookouts scramble for a clear shot with their tranquilizer guns, large boulders and branches are thrown in from multiple directions. Paul Markham is injured by one of the rocks (which humorously rolls & bounces like a lightweight prop) and one of the shadowy creatures actually invades the camp & destroys most of the surveillance equipment. The attackers are eventually scared off and when daylight comes the team gets a good look at the devastation. There are many footprints around the camp but no signs of a dead or wounded Sasquatch. By now summer is almost over and winter storms are looming so the team packs up & begins their long trek back to civilization. In the final scene the camera pans out to a wide shot of the team departing, showcasing a picturesque view of the valley and its surrounding mountains. During the closing credits we see a large human-like silhouette, the same one seen in promotional movie posters like the one shown above, looking down at the camera from a hilltop as it slowly turns & walks away.
& Snowcreature) and sometimes as a standalone title. It can also be viewed in segments on YouTube.
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
creature. In the film we're told the search takes place in Northwest Canada (British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
) along the 'Peckatoe River Valley' but in reality it was filmed further south in the Three Sisters Wilderness area of the Cascade Mountain Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
near Bend, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. While sometimes compared to other Bigfoot documentary films of the era (The Legend of Boggy Creek
The Legend of Boggy Creek
The Legend of Boggy Creek is a 1972 horror docudrama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s. The film mixes staged interviews with some local residents who claim to have encountered the creature, along with fictitious...
, Creature From Black Lake) this film does not feature on-camera interviews with supposed eye-witnesses. The producers strived for a sense of believability and used taglines like "The most complete and only true story of Bigfoot ever filmed" in promotional material. The film features a number of animal stunts, including cougar and bear attacks. To simulate the grizzly attack, Tootsie Rolls were placed on actor Lou Salerni's shoulder, where they were eaten by the trained bear. Animals were supplied by Dick Robinson who, along with "Sasquatch" co-producer and editor John Fabian, went on to make a Grizzly Adams-type film "The Life and Legend of Buffalo Jones". That film was also co-directed by "Sasquatch" cast member / narrator George Lauris and it's soundtrack contains music by "Sasquatch" contributors Al Capps & Lane Caudell. The "Life and Legend of Buffalo Jones" film ultimately became known as "Buffalo Rider".
Synopsis
The film begins in the forest with shots of local wildlife, agitated and on alert, but the source is not seen on screen. The camera then switches to a first person view, hinting at an unseen presence and the scene culminates with the view of a large human-like creature's reflection at water's edge while a haunting wail echos through the forest. Opening credits are next, followed by a review of recent Bigfoot stories via newspaper clippings and narration. Next up is the well-known Patterson-Gimlin FilmPatterson-Gimlin film
The Patterson-Gimlin film is a famous short motion picture of an unidentified subject the film makers purported to be a "Bigfoot", that was supposedly filmed on October 20, 1967, by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin on the Klamath River outside of Orleans,...
, shot by Roger Patterson on October 20, 1967 in Bluff Creek, CA which shows an ape-like creature walking along a dry creek bed. The narrator goes on to explain that by running statistical data through modern computers, a site in British Columbia has been determined as the most likely spot for a population of Sasquatch to live undisturbed. An expedition is mounted, hoping to verify the creature's existence and secure funding for future research into the phenomenon.
The seven man team is composed of Native American guide Techka Blackhawk, seasoned wilderness explorer Josh Bigsby, wise-cracking reporter Bob Vernon, anthropologist Dr. Paul Markham, cook Barney Snipe, animal handler Hank Parshall and team leader Chuck Evans who also narrates the film. The team is on horseback & brings tracking dogs to aid in the hunt. The story itself delivers a mix of light hearted comedy & suspense and there's plenty of breathtaking footage showcasing the local topography & wildlife.
As the film progresses, tales of Sasquatch encounters by earlier explorers are interwoven with the current expedition's adventure and told as campfire stories. These scenes are recreated by uncredited cast members & include the Ape Canyon
Ape Canyon
Ape Canyon is a gorge along the edge of the Plains of Abraham on the northeast shoulder of Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington. The gorge narrowed to as close as eight feet at one point. The name alludes to a reported encounter with several "apemen" in 1924, an event later incorporated...
incident in which miners are attacked while sleeping in their cabin and an encounter by early pioneer explorers Bauman & Jessup. This particular story is unique for 2 reasons; it appears in writings by President Theodore Roosevelt and it also contains one of the rare purported deaths from a Sasquatch attack. Initially the expedition takes on the feel of a nature trek, but as we reach a scene where the team is traversing a hillside it takes on a more ominous feel. As rocks begin tumbling down towards them from above, Techka stops the caravan in time to avoid injuries but the cause of the rockslide is unknown. From this point on the film becomes more focused on it's intended subject, the search for Bigfoot. After this incident the team feels they're being watched by 'someone or something' and everyone takes turns guarding the camp at night. One evening a bear attacks while they sleep and everyone is shaken up but none are seriously injured. On a subsequent evening the camp is once again attacked, but this time the lookout was able to scare off the attacker(s) with gunshots. The following day they find large footprints in the areas surrounding the camp & employ the tracking dogs. While some team members take plaster molds of the tracks, Hank & his dogs follow a scent to the base of a sheer rock wall but cannot continue due to the difficult terrain.
As the expedition nears their intended destination, they discover tall trees snapped in half well above human reach. Techka tells them it's a sign the Sasquatch use to mark their territory and upon entering the valley, the team finds more footprints and sets up camp. They install a tripwire system around the perimeter and post lookouts. The team notes that the forest is eerily quiet that evening and well after dark, the inevitable happens. Multiple sensors begin to light up, the camp is attacked and we hear the same haunting wail as earlier. As the lookouts scramble for a clear shot with their tranquilizer guns, large boulders and branches are thrown in from multiple directions. Paul Markham is injured by one of the rocks (which humorously rolls & bounces like a lightweight prop) and one of the shadowy creatures actually invades the camp & destroys most of the surveillance equipment. The attackers are eventually scared off and when daylight comes the team gets a good look at the devastation. There are many footprints around the camp but no signs of a dead or wounded Sasquatch. By now summer is almost over and winter storms are looming so the team packs up & begins their long trek back to civilization. In the final scene the camera pans out to a wide shot of the team departing, showcasing a picturesque view of the valley and its surrounding mountains. During the closing credits we see a large human-like silhouette, the same one seen in promotional movie posters like the one shown above, looking down at the camera from a hilltop as it slowly turns & walks away.
Cast
- George Lauris as Chuck Evans
- Steve Boergadine as Hank Parshall
- Jim Bradford as Barney Snipe
- Ken Kenzle as Josh Bigsby
- William Emmons as Dr. Paul Markham
- Joel Morello as Techka Blackhawk
- Lou Salerni as Bob Vernon
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack is a combination of serene 70's style folk / country (title track 'High in the Mountains') and summer blockbuster style orchestral music. Both are well suited to the scenes they accompany and when combined with the 'authentic' Sasquatch wail used, lend a great deal of atmosphere to the film. The title track, written and performed by Al Capps & Lane Caudell, was available on vinyl 45's for a limited time but has long since gone out of production.Distribution
The film was originally released by North American Film Enterprises Inc. and was shown in theaters nationwide in the mid to late 70's. Over time it disappeared from the public eye as mainstream interest in the Bigfoot phenomenon subsided. Enthusiasts have mentioned seeing the film on local television stations from time to time and since then distributors such as RetroMedia, RetroFlix, Image Entertainment and VCI Home Video have re-released it on DVD. The feature is sometimes found bundled together with other films from the genre (SnowbeastSnowbeast
Snowbeast is a made-for-television horror film that was first broadcast in 1977 in the The United States of America.The movie details the attacks of a ravenous white sasquatch on a Colorado ski resort. The teleplay was written by Joseph Stefano, who wrote the script for Alfred Hitchcock's classic...
& Snowcreature) and sometimes as a standalone title. It can also be viewed in segments on YouTube.