'Lord Grizzly' storyline recognized in 'Revenant' movie

Local fans of the late Luverne author Fred Manfred may want to take note of Hollywood’s Jan. 8 release of “The Revenant.”
The film depicts the tale of legendary fur trapper and frontiersman Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) who survived being mauled by a bear in 1823 in South Dakota.
His companions, who promised to stay with him, ultimately left him for dead, and the storyline follows Glass’ 200-mile crawl across the wilderness with a broken leg and torn-up torso.
If it sounds familiar to Manfred readers, it’s because that’s the story the local author wrote in his 1954 novel, “Lord Grizzly.”
He wrote a screenplay based on the novel in 1965, but it never made it to Hollywood movie screens.
Other writers have attempted to reproduce the story in film, but the difficulty, critics say, lies in the fact that much of the story’s drama unfolds in the character’s head.
In “Lord Grizzly,” Manfred’s story resolves with the character’s quest for revenge that ultimately ends with forgiveness — a less-than-dramatic scenario for Hollywood scripts.
And sadly, according to Manfred family members, the Luverne writer is never credited.
Luverne’s Fred Manfred Jr. told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that he has no plans to see the DiCaprio film, mostly because DiCaprio’s character pursues bloodthirsty revenge, rather than settling on forgiveness.
“We're a little more enamored with Hugh Glass out here because he did the right thing in the long run,” Manfred Jr. was quoted as saying in the Sunday Argus write-up.
“Whether it was a spiritual awakening or the way we grew up, we admire him for going through that crawl, finding the guys who left him behind and then ultimately deciding to let it go. We need more of that in the world these days.”
While he was widely recognized as an accomplished writer, Manfred Sr. died at age 82 in 1994 without seeing “Lord Grizzly” successfully portrayed in film.
His current-day fans will draw their own conclusions about “The Revenant,” which opens nationally in theaters Jan. 8.