Climb an Angry Mountain

Fess Parker battles the elements and a big city cop in this rugged outdoors adventure costarring Barry Nelson, Stella Stevens and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp. A Native American convicted of manslaughter, Joey Chilko (Kapp) escapes prison so he can climb to the top of Mount Shasta, where his gods will protect and forgive him. Dispatched to California to bring him back, New York detective Frank Bryant (Nelson) locks horns with Eli Cooper (Parker), a local sheriff who wants to handle the capture himself. Their differences are soon put aside, however, when a storm moves in and Chilko takes Cooper's son prisoner, forcing the lawmen to work as a team if they're to bring them down the mountain alive. The pilot for a proposed TV series, Climb an Angry Mountain would mark Fess Parker's final performance in a feature-length production, as he would soon retire from acting to launch a highly successful career as a businessman.