Gentle Giant is a 1967 American drama film about a young boy's friendship with an American black bear, based on the 1965 book Gentle Ben by Walt Morey. It was produced by Ivan Tors, directed by James Neilson and written by Edward J. Lakso and Andy White. The film stars Clint Howard, Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, Ralph Meeker, Huntz Hall, and Bruno the Bear. The film was released on November 15, 1967, by Paramount Pictures.The film was also the pilot for the CBS TV series, Gentle Ben (1967–69), based on the same characters and also starring Clint Howard, Dennis Weaver, and Bruno. The film is a prequel to the TV series, providing the backstory of how the boy Mark Wedloe met Ben the bear, tamed him and adopted him as a companion. Originally, the film was scheduled for release before the TV series began to air, but the film's release date was changed to be closer to Thanksgiving 1967, meaning that the film came out after the TV series had already been running for about two months. Gentle Giant therefore served as additional promotion for the Gentle Ben TV series rather than introducing it.