This touching tale of the doomed friendship between a fox cub and the humanitarian huntsmen who reared him is a workmanlike adaptation of David Rook’s novel The Ballad of the Belstone Fox.
Eric Porter as Asher and Rachel Roberts as his wife are first-rate but the real star is the beautiful wildlife photography.
Tag is an orphaned fox cub raised in captivity with a litter of foxhound puppies due to the kindness of Asher (Eric Porter), head huntsman to the Belstone estate.
Tag strikes up a friendship with a puppy, Merlin, and they blissfully play together until he is included in the hunting pack, the aim of the hunt being, of course, the fox.
When the hunting season begins, Tag reverts to his traditional role as the quarry pitted directly against Merlin and the rest of the pack.
Tag leads the Belstone Hunt a merry dance on numerous occasions and brings chaos to Ashler’s riders and hounds when making his escape.
His skill at evading the pursuing hounds even result in Horse & Hound magazine chronicling his exploits.
Meanwhile, his friend Merlin will lead the hunt in the pursuit of a fox but will take no part in the kill.
Asher lives to regret his moment of weakness when his pursuit of Tag results in the chasing hounds being mown down by an oncoming train when Tag leads them across a railway track.
The battle becomes personal and a resentful Asher vows to hunt down Tag. As the vendetta consumes the once-sympathetic Asher, tragedy awaits.
Asher Smith Eric Porter
John Kendrick
Jeremy Kemp
Tod
Bill Travers
Cathie Smith
Rachel Roberts
Jenny Smith
Heather Wright
Stephen Durno
Dennis Waterman
Director
James Hill
Video
Related Posts
Back To The Future: Part III (1990) Director Robert Zemeckis's blockbusting trilogy went slightly off the rails with the second segment, but it got right back on…
Hands of the Ripper (1971) This Hammer production has Freudian psychoanalyst Doctor John Pritchard (Eric Porter, famous as Soames in The Forsyte Saga) adopting Anna…
Storm Boy (1976) Mike (11-year-old Greg Rowe) is a lonely boy living in a coastal wildlife sanctuary amid the Coorong sandhills of South…
Night Porter, The (1974) The most controversial role of Dirk Bogarde’s career came as he starred as Maximillian Theo Aldorfer, a former SS officer,…
Billy Jack (1971) Billy Jack is a half-Indian ex-Green Beret veteran and karate expert. Damaged by the Vietnam War he now spends his…
Force 10 From Navarone (1978) This routine (albeit much belated) sequel to The Guns Of Navarone (1961) has British commandos Mallory (now played by Robert Shaw in…
Bellman and True (1987) An alcoholic middle-aged computer programmer (Bernard Hill) is left with his wife's son when she dumps both of them. To…
Back To The Future (1985) When Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) is sent back to 1955 in eccentric scientist Dr Emmett Brown's time-travelling DeLorean, he…
Eric Porter as Asher and Rachel Roberts as his wife are first-rate but the real star is the beautiful wildlife photography.
Asher lives to regret his moment of weakness when his pursuit of Tag results in the chasing hounds being mown down by an oncoming train when Tag leads them across a railway track.
