The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams is a 1974 independent feature film inspired by a 1972 historical fiction novella written by Charles E. Sellier Jr.. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title character, played by Dan Haggerty, was loosely based on California mountain man James "Grizzly" Adams (1812-1860), whose real name was "John Capen Adams," a one-time Boston shoe and boot maker. (Wikipedia)
Eliza Bowker (Kristen Curry), a young girl traveling west with her parents (Hank Kendrick and Lucky Hayes) in a covered wagon, gets lost in the vast mountain wilderness. While her parents search vainly, she wanders aimlessly through the forest, alone and frightened. A mountain lion stalks Eliza and then gives chase, but she is rescued by the grizzly bear, Ben, who frightens the vicious cat away. Eliza realizes that Ben won't hurt her and follows the bear back to Adams (Dan Haggerty). Taking the small girl to his cabin, Adams feeds her and listens to her story of what happened. He promises to help find her parents and they begin by searching the nearby mountains. Eliza gradually causes Adams to change his life style, convincing him to clean up his cabin and to clean himself up too. When Mad Jack (Denver Pyle) arrives, he is surprised to see the little girl there, and flabbergasted by the neatness of Adams' cabin. With the help of Mad Jack, they finally locate Eliza's folks and there is
Adams recalls how he met Nakoma, a Native Indian. We're taken back in past to find out how Adams found Ben, how Indian fought with a lion and much more.
Adams saves Will Boker, an entertainer and a magician, from drowning in a river, and takes him back to his cabin. Boker claims that he lost a bag full of his possessions when he was drowning, so Adams returns to the river and finds it, full of money. Boker claims that money fell in his hands by an accident, but what is the real truth?
When a man named Cartman and his son make a camp at the valley in the mountains, Adams wants to become a great neighbor, but Cartman doesn't want any help from Adams. Things get complicated when the Cartmans' build a lean-to downwind of the campfire and endanger their lives.
Mad Jack accidentally becomes trapped on a raft in rapids and Adams sets up to find the man, but when he finds his personal belongings, Adams is convinced that Mad Jack is gone, and he recalls the first time he met Jack.
Mad Jack accidentally runs into Pinkerton, a man who wants to bring Adams back to the town for the trial. He rushes off to warn Adams, while that mountain is in danger when a volcano becomes active. While Jack tries to find Adams, Adams has to rescue the animals with Ben and Nakoma's help before the volcano erups.
While trying to rescue a raccoon, Adams is accidentally buried by a rock slide. Nakoma and Mad Jack believe that he is died, and they leave him under the rocks. Ben sadly wonders off, Nakoma and Mad Jack return to find Adams alive. In the meantime, Ben is captured by an owner of a animal circus, Mitch Morgan.
Mad Jack meets a young tenderfoot named Teddy in the wilderness, and believes that he is just a clumsy novice, which turns out to be true, when Teddy, or let's say Theodore Roosevelt, attacks Nakoma & Ben and attempts to ride Number Seven.
While escorting Sumi, a young Indian maiden back to the reservation, Mad Jack is stunned to learn that his burro, Number Seven, found a stone of gold. Meanwhile, Nakoma meets Sumi and thinks that she got closer to Mad Jack, so he challenges him to a match.
Adams, Jack and Nakoma set off into the woods to find a monster, a strange creature that Mad Jack saw in the wilderness, a beast that makes Ben act uncomfortable. Soon they learn that the beast is actually a camel and has an owner...
Adams' cabin is in danger when a group of beavers, after their valley was destroyed by a forest fire, move into Adams' valley. Mad Jack suggests that Adams' should get rid of them, but he has another plan.
A tough old settler named and his daughter travel west into the rugged mountain territory, and after a small accident, they end up in Adams' cabin.
Ben and Adams prepare to welcome Mad Jack and Nakuma for the annual feast and celebration, but their preparation is interrupted when an Indian woman arrives, looking for help. Her daughter is missing.
An accident happens during an experimental ballon flight, which causes an unexpected visitor to end up in Adams' cabin--Monsieur Andre Gerard, a balloonist trying to speed up the Pony Express mail system to air mail.
Robbie Cartman returns to the mountain, and wants Adams to cure his sick pet deer named Ginger. Adams decides to help him and goes into the woods to get medicine, and ends up heavily injured. He loses memory and starts walking around, unaware of the danger that surrounds him.
Adams, Mad Jack, Number Seven and Ben are enjoying their days, and are doing as much work as they can. Meanwhile, Ben decides to enjoy a sunny day in a way only a bear knows.
It is hunting season, a time when tribesman have to prove their manhood. A Indian orphan named Tumaqua catches more fish than anyone else, but a pesky otter eats everything that Tumaqua caught. After being teased by other men for coming back empty-handed, Tumaqua stals a bucket of fish by the river and runs away.
Adams and Mad Jack are busy with watching two orphan children, Michele & Eugene, who are bored by the rules around the mountain, and decide to do something reckless.
Trapper Tom, a man known for trapping grizzly bears and taking them to the city zoo, returns to the mountain. Mad Jack realizes that he put new traps around the mountain, so Adams and Nakoma have to find Tom before he harms the mountain animals.
Two schemers search for gold on the mountain with a map they bought for ten dollars. They eventually find another more honest way to make their living.
Nakoma is looking for a cougar who destroyed his village, and tore apart some of his lodges. Adam realizes that it's Sekota, a cougar he raised in his own club.
Robbie Cartman takes his friends' advice and decides to take his deer Ginger back to the wilderness, where Ginger belongs. Even though Robbie hates to give up his deer, he let's Ginger go. Later, when he returns to see how is Ginger doing, Robbie realizes that Ginger disappeared, or fell into a trap.
The hunters in the mountain are surprised when a lady appears at the mountains asking for information about black bears. It's Mrs. Kate Jackson, a writer. Adams finds out the truth--Kate is a widow, who's father was killed by black bears, and now she is here to avenge her fathers death.
The people at Hoot Owl Creek find out that the fish is dying off and the animals are suffering from some kind of an epidemic, and it's obvious that someone is poisoning the creek. Mad Jack, Nakoma & Adams decide to investigate.
Marvin the Magnificent, an elderly man, stays at Adams's place with his wonder bear named "Babe," when the bear gets sick.
A lack of moisture in the mountains brings problems to the inhabitants, who are worried about their animals. Adams and Mad Jack decide to put drip sacks along the mountain trails. Meanwhile, someone sets a fire in the forest.
When Master Sergent Monahan arrives at the mountain, Mad Jack mistakes him for Maurice, a half-bear, half-bull. Meanwhile, the mountain is about to be hit by a storm.
Mad Jack is convinced that he found a genuine leprechaun, and overhears Tinker talking about gold. Thinking that it's the luckiest day of his life, Mad Jack wants to prove that he found a leprechaun, although nobody believes him.
On his way to the river, Adams sees a black man in shackles, named Isaac, who runs away as soon as he sees Adams, but later he faces him, and Adams takes him to his cabin. Mad Jack thinks that it's a very bad idea to let Isaac stay in the cabin.
Mad Jack is visited by his old pal Gus Thackery and his wife Gerty, who are glad to see him again, but when Gus shows that he is still the same old competitive person, Mad Jack will be challenged into a race.
The animals in the mountains are acting strange, and Mad Jack tells Adams about the reason---a big gorilla was seen in the forest. But, the gorilla will turns out to be something else.
It's Easter, a special times for Adams' and the entire mountain. The guys, along with Robbie, are about to go pick up some things for the celebration, when they meet two strange guys, and then they witness their wagon bursting into flames after being struck by lightning.
Captain Ulysses S. Grant, a famous person arrives at the mountains, and explains how he is writing a book, and talks to them about how he could never live in the mountains and survive on his own. Adams will teach him a few things he learned over the past few years.
An ecstatic Mad Jack arrives at Adams' cabin where Adams and Nakoma are fixing the roof, and informs them that he met an Army Corporal who said that the government is going to give a reward to all the animals on the mountain. Adams is shocked and informs the others that this is actually a scam, and that the corporal is actually a bounty hunter.
While Adams and Ben have to take care of a hawk, Mad Jack comes upon Mr. Milton Wright, and a few more people, who wants to get a glider to fly. Mad Jack is convinced that the "glider" is some kind of an animal trap and goes to find Adams, while Milton decides to fly with the glider, and has an accident.
Mad Jack & Adams' friendship is put under a test when Mad Jack returns to the mountain with a fever that causes him to hallucinate. Mad Jack thinks he is the world's greatest bounty hunter, named Brett Carson, and his main mission is to catch Adams, a fugitive.
In the Christmas Special, the mountains are safer than ever. The snow is falling, and the entire mountain is covered in snow. While Adams is spending time with Ben the bear, digging up a tree and having a snowball fight, Mad Jack decides to have a race. Adams witnesses Ned shooting a wolf. Accidentally, Ned shoots the snow, and causes an avalanche.
A few years have passed since James "Grizzly" Adams had hidden in the mountain, and it's time for him to face truth. He must clear himself after all these year, prove that he is not a murderer and rescue his own daughter from being sent to an orphanage.
After defending his innocence, Adams returns to the mountain to live with Ben the Bear and start new adventures.
Present-day Portland suburbs kids Dylan and Nicole go on the camping trip with their family, and when they enter a mysterious cave in the mountains, they're transported back in time to 1870, where they meet mountain man Jeremiah.
Jimmy, a young boy trying to gain acceptance from his peers, is horrified when he sees a circus trainer abusing a bear cub. One of the circus employees tells Jimmy that there is a magic cave in the hills nearby that can transport people to another time, and that maybe he can use it to help the bear. Jimmy does some exploring, finds the cave, and is amazed to find himself transported back to the early 1800's where he encounters Jeremiah, a nature-loving mountain man with a bear friend of his own. Jeremiah agrees to come to the future and help out Jimmy, but the 21st century is quite different from the 19th, and springing the bear cub will not be as easy as Jeremiah thinks.
Dan Haggerty talks about being Grizzly Adams, the Show, and the Stars.
