it begins with a legendary pioneer in wildlife filming wilderness adventure
and fair chase trophies define him the Son adds to the legacy and becomes the
voice for a generation of owners today the third generation pursues trophy
big-game in places where success comes from skill determination and grit now 60
years of hunting tradition comes down to one defining moment were the Eastmans
we've been filming and hunting for over 60 years and three generations and these
are just a few of our adventures this is Eastman's hunting TV it's big-game
hunting and it's as real as it gets for some of you they don't realize that my
father started making hunting films in 1956 when he was in Alaska several years
ago I went and interviewed a guy named Danny gibber's now Danny gibber's was
one of the three hunters that went with Gordon when they first went into the
Northwest Territory they were the first commercial hunters to go in there you're
gonna see some where our footage of this vast area called the Mackenzie mountain
range when Dad Danny gibber's Edie parasol and Warren Johnson went in there
for the first time Danny first of all tell me how dad got into the filming
business because you and dad go back gosh way way back before the Northwest
Territory was a man came through the valley here he had made a movie on the
bonnet plume River James Bond was his name
and old fella and your dad and I and Ed went and seen the movie and bought one
of these little books and we rode home that night from the show your dad said I
can do that we said you can't make a movie Gordon
and he said yes I can well we never had a camera was the first
thing that was bad and so he sold his gun collection now you and him had you
had Winchester's no I had him he took the Colts and I took the Winchester's
and he went to Seattle and sold his Colts for $3,000
he had a Colt month line original from Republic Washington I remember that old mining
camp there's only five of them made and he's had $3,000 to put it in the
movie make it and he bought the camera and some film with it and that was in 56
I think okay the first time we went to Alaska
now did you go with him to Alaska the first time him and Ted Wilcox and Stan
yeah yeah and he made a movie nobody thought he could but he did showed
around in high school gyms and there was a sellout deal in these small towns he
had to show two and three times a day cuz they lined up to get into the movie
they'd never seen those kind of animals before it no there was no TV yet and he
was right at the first the really good hunting movies shown well you were
telling me that that one time what was in Spokane or he filled the auditorium
spoke and sportsmen club hired him to bring the movie to the Spokane Coliseum
so we arrived over there him and I and Ed Ferris own parking lot was full of
cars the place is full it is jammed and the sportsmen's club didn't know what to
do I mean they'd never had a I had no idea of it's gonna be like this your dad
was just starting out it just meant going to the local you know high school
gyms and stuff around and we looked around the curtain and it
was it holds a lot of people your dad looked down there and he says I can't do
her and we shoved him out on the deal and he just stepped out there and it was
like get done it all his life no I've never seen a guy transform like that
it's honest truth
we were on the glacier there were Rams there
and Ed seen this perfect curled Ram oh I was so jealous I could have died and
we stocked a thing all day and he shot it and it was a dwarf had a 32 inch full
curl oh I was really tickled early
days in Alaska used what was called a Bolex and it was hound lined with a
spring to run that film let's fast forward eight years later and by now
he's built a reputation of wildlife and a hunting filmer and the Canadian
government came to him and said Gordon come on up here and film we want to go
into the Northwest Territory and see what's there so dad went and mortgaged
his house and bought what was called an arrow flex the next generation 16
millimeter camera dad's got a new camera that weighs about 35 pounds and then
about 20 pounds for the big tripod and he packs that around all summer up there
filming in the Northwest Territory and at least we had to go to Seattle or we
went Seattle to get some supplies and I was gonna be a big shot and they were
selling him that recreational equipment REI yeah they had these fancy boots and
I says I'm buying that pair of them fancy boots your dad told me says you
should take them shoes you always working and your regular boots I didn't
know I'm gonna buy these these are advertised look at that my feet hurt so
bad and I'd take my knife and every day I'd cut more off them shoes there was
practically nothing left of them and dad would razz me about them shoes and you
know he made me get out there one day and he says I'm one thing up shot I be
walking across them yeah
we stood here looking at one of the most isolated spots in the world it was a
Plains Abraham and the Mackenzie mountains Northwest Territories of
Canada I thought well I better straighten up and really walk like a big
man and all he's doing is taking a shot on my feet and he starts his movie with
me of him terrible shoes we hope you enjoyed this
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