Jack the Bear is a 1993 American drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz, written by Steven Zaillian based on the novel by Dan McCall, and starring Danny DeVito, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Miko Hughes, and Gary Sinise. Plot Jack Leary and his younger brother Dylan start over in Oakland, California, in 1972 following the death of their mother Elizabeth, who was killed in a car collision. The boys live with their father John, who entertains late-night horror film audiences as Midnight Shriek host-commentator "Al Gory." Even though he is a loving parent, John has a drinking problem that disrupts the smooth running of the household. Some parental duties fall to Jack, who takes Dylan to his first day of preschool. One of the Learys' neighbors is a young man, Norman Strick, who walks with a cane due to a car accident as a teen. Norman is an anti-social neo-Nazi who feels the neighborhood is going downhill. Jack has a love affair with his classmate Karen Morris. Jack's friend and next door neighbor, Dexter, comes from a broken home. Dexter resides with his grandparents; he begins suffering a downward spiral after his grandmother died while becoming acquainted with Norman. On Halloween, having given Dexter a Nazi costume, Norman approaches John to ask for a donation for a racially prejudiced candidate. During an airing of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a drunken John interrupts the movie and mimics the racially charged beliefs of Norman while naming the candidate. The next day, Jack is woken when Norman's golden retriever Cheyenne dies on their front lawn from poisoning. John apologizes for his actions on television while giving his condolences despite Norman refusing to shake his hand. Backlash from John's previous actions on his show jeopardizes his job and endangers Jack's relationship with Karen. Taking out his anger on Dylan and leaving him with Dexter, Jack learns that his brother was kidnapped by Norman. Jack calls the police as he and John are extremely worried until Dylan is found alive in a nearby forest a few days later and taken to the hospital. He has been traumatized by the ordeal of being left to die in the wilderness. The emotional trauma has rendered him mute. Three days later, bringing Dylan home with Norman not seen for days, John begins getting agitated to the point of taking out his frustration at the Strick home with a