Heart of the North

I am so glad to discover this American adventure film again, after four decades. I thought it was in black and white and a sort of flick that we found during the same period, starring Andy Devine, Richard Arlen, for directors such as Christy Cabanne or John Rawlins for Universal. Very cheap and fast paced adventure flicks destined to double movie theaters in the deep countrysides of Texas or Alabama. Here, nothing of this, or the same kind of plots but at a far larger scale, pulled by a fairly superior quality. Dick Foran seemed to be a poor choice for such a film that would have deserved another lead. But Foran is OK, and Warner Brothers was used to put supporting actors, not necessarily big stars, on top bill of their films.

Mountie goes against his orders to chase down boat thieves who stole gold dust and furs in the Canadian north.

A western story poorly transposed to a Canadian setting with only a cursory attempt at making it realistic at all. The costumes are lumberjack chic and the occasional "aboot" is laughable. The special effects are of course crude but some of the scenery is nice. It's just so bland and forgettable EXCEPT for the MOST ANNOYING CHILD in movie history. Every scene she's in is nails on chalkboard bad.

In the 1930s and 40s, Mountie movies were very popular and Hollywood churned out a ton of them. Nearly all of them were B-pictures, though a few (such as "Rose Marie" and "Suzannah of the Mounties") were A-pictures...with large budgets, longer running times and A-list stars. "Heart of the North" is an odd one, as it sure looks and feels like a B, but Warner Brothers gave it the A-picture treatment by extending its length and filming it in Technicolor...something they'd NEVER do with a B. Oddly, however, the actors are pretty much who you'd expect to see in Bs...particularly Foran who made a ton of western Bs during this era.

Soon after the story begins, you are introduced to a Mountie and his unnaturally adorable little girl (Janet Chapmin). Since he is NOT the star of the film, you know that soon he'll assume room temperature...especially since the girl also loves another Mountie she calls 'Uncle' (Dick Foran)! The rest of the story consists of the Mounties trying to catch up with the murderers and deliver justice...and with the help of an incredibly smart German Shepherd (something OFTEN seen in Mountie films).

As far as Chapmin goes, she is an incredibly talented actress for a 5-6 year-old. She also is so cute and perfect that you'll either love her or see her as a walking, talking sack of sugar! I do think she was better at acting than one or two of the adults in this film...but I don't want to be mean so I'll not mention who. Foran plays a typical western sort of part except he doesn't sing at all! As for the rest, there are a lot of familiar Warner character actors (such as Allen Jenkins).

In many ways, this movie is a B. The plot is full of the usual cliches and stars B actors....and the story is very similar to many other Bs I've seen. But, somehow, it was done in color and is longer than B-length. I'd consider it a B+ movie...or perhaps an A-....and about as entertaining as a B. Overall, I think it earns a 6...entertaining but not exactly a must-see film.

The acting in this flick is terrible, and even the beauty of the San Bernardino mountains can't fix that. Was there a shortage of male actors back in 1938? How did someone like Allan Jenkins become an actor? He has to be one of the worst hacks to ever trod the boards. And why do people in movies consistently rack the action on rifles that are already loaded?

On the plus side, this movie comes with breathtaking photography, so delicately colored that this picture is always most attractive to look at. The backgrounds certainly have the appearance of actual locations, but as this movie is not listed in "Canadian Feature Films", the picture was obviously made closer to home.

Unfortunately, "Heart of the North" is not nearly so attractive to listen to. The dialogue is hackneyed and the plot no more than fairly exciting, but the action spots are staged with reasonable vigor and even panache — despite obvious special effects work and the use of doubles on one or two occasions.

Dick Foran comes over adequately enough as the hero, (and we're glad to say he sings a snatch of a song too). If you can accept the Hollywood convention that has every sympathetic character looking so sparklingly clean, neatly groomed and beautifully made up, despite living in a shanty town amongst the likes of Harry Cording, then the heroine (Gloria Dickson) and the hero's pals (Patric Knowles, Allen Jenkins and Arthur Gardner) are reasonably adequate too.

Fortunately, James Stephenson rates a cut above this lot as the easily-swayed Inspector Gore, whilst Gale Page seems even more convincing as the villainous Elizabeth Spaulding. Russell Simpson gives his usual rough-and ready interpretation of the heroine's pa, while Garry Owen takes out the movie's acting honors as the demented Tommy. The villains, led by Joe Sawyer and Joseph King, notch up as sufficiently pleasing.

Unfortunately, the producer didn't let well enough alone, but saddled the cast with young Janet Chapman. The whiny-voiced Miss Chapman inflicts a real pain in the neck. And would you believe it, there's also a dog. True, these misfits disappear from the action for quite long stretches. And we must admit the close-ups of the mutt are appealingly photographed.

The music score has that vigorous Warner Brothers' ring to it. While the film editor often seems to be bending over backwards to cut in all the many and various camera set-ups that director Seiler shot, production credits are agreeably polished. "Heart of the North" encompasses all the gloss we might expect of a top-budget Warner "A" production.