The Call of the Wild

During the late 19th century, Buck, a large, gentle mix of Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd, lives contentedly with his master, Judge Miller, in Santa Clara, California. One night, Buck is abducted and shipped to the Yukon aboard a freighter to be sold. During the voyage, a crew member beats him with a club to enforce discipline. Once in Alaska, an elderly frontiersman named John Thornton drops his harmonica which Buck retrieves for him, moments before being sold to Perrault and his partner Francoise for their dog sled to deliver mail across the Yukon. Perrault hopes that with Buck, he can make the long trek to the mail depot before the deadline. Buck is introduced to the other dogs; Dolly, Pike, Jo, Billie, Dub, Dave, Sol-leks, and the pack leader, a husky named Spitz.

Buck gains the loyalty and trust of Perrault, Francoise and the other sled dogs, after proving himself along the way. He rescues Francoise when she falls through the ice. All of this antagonizes Spitz, who sees it as a challenge to his authority. Buck begins experiencing ancestral visions of a black wolf that acts as his guide throughout their travels. One night, Buck catches a rabbit but decides to release it. Spitz kills it before attacking Buck to assert his dominance. Spitz seems to win until the rest of the pack encourages Buck, who pins Spitz down, displacing him as pack leader; Spitz then disappears into the wild.

Buck takes his place as the lead dog, which Perrault grudgingly accepts after the other dogs refuse. Buck's speed and strength allow the sled to arrive with the mail on time. There, Thornton hands over a letter he has written to his former wife expressing his feelings about their dead son. He and Buck recognize each other. Soon after, Perrault learns the mail route is being replaced by the telegraph, forcing him to sell the dogs.

Hal, a mean-spirited and inexperienced gold prospector, buys the pack and works them to exhaustion carrying a heavy load, along with three people, in weather unsuitable for sledding. The exhausted dogs collapse before Hal can force them to cross an unstable frozen lake. When Buck is unable to move, Hal threatens to shoot him. Thornton appears and rescues Buck while Hal forces the other sled dogs to cross the melting lake. Under Thornton's care, Buck recovers. Later, at a saloon, Thornton is attacked by Hal, who reveals he is the only human survivor and the dogs ran off, leaving him with nothing.

Witnessing the scene, Buck attacks Hal, who is subsequently thrown out. Buck and Thornton then travel beyond the Yukon map where they can freely live in the wild. They come across an abandoned cabin in an open valley and settle in. Meanwhile, Hal searches for them for revenge, believing Thornton is hiding a source of gold.

In the open wilderness, Thornton and Buck bond over their daily activities, primarily fishing and gold panning. Throughout their time together, Buck is drawn to a female white wolf. After saving a member of the female's pack, Buck goes between his domesticated life with Thornton and his place with the wolf pack. After some time together, Thornton believes it is time to return home by himself and let Buck stay in the wild. Never wanting the gold from the start, Thornton throws it back into the river except for some "grocery money," and tells Buck he is leaving in the morning, and to come and say good-bye.

Buck heads into the forest and sleeps beside the white wolf. That night, Hal finds and shoots Thornton, demanding to know where all the gold is. Thornton throws the "grocery money" at him, but it does not placate Hal. Buck returns and kills Hal by pushing him into the cabin, which collapses from the flames. Thornton reassures him with his final words before dying. The next morning, Buck finds the white wolf, has offspring with her, and becomes the leader of the pack.