L'instinct qui veille

I taped this film for three reasons - one) I wanted to see whether an early silent film from Canada would be any good. two) it's a restored print, and though I heard the old print of this was horridly damaged, this one was supposed to be MUCH better (it isn't half bad). And with the freshly recorded piano score, it didn't seem restored, either. three) It's supposed to be a well-regarded but highly underrated (and unknown) film, and that made me curious.

This film should be a classic! (At least in Canada). One of, if not the first Canadian films, and with a fairly low budget, it's actually rather impressive. Yet no one I know has heard of it, or even realizes film was being made in Canada this far back.

The story is a touch cliche, and there's a fair amount of schlock (prevalent in many silent films of the late teens/early twenties), but the story is interesting enough to keep my interest and the scenery is quite taking. And I was most surprised at the cinematography and editing, which is far more advanced then I expected.

It's not Birth of a Nation, it's not Metropolis, it's not Nosferatu. But it's well worth watching, and should really be shown more, if not at the Rep houses, then on TV at least. 7/10.

The plot is pretty uneven in terms of structure and some of the supporting performances are a touch on the hammy side, but BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY is too much fun to dismiss. Nell Shipman plays a nature-loving woman who is as far from the damsel-in-distress cliche as you can get. (Yes, there were strong female characters before the 21st century!) She's no fool, able to hold her own when pursued by villains. In fact, her husband's more of a distressed damsel (or in this case, distressed dude, I suppose) than she!

It is interesting to see Dolores LeBeau (Nell Shipman) participate in two roles in this movie, one being the pseudo-nude scene, and other being the role of female heroine. The former was certainly written into the script to draw male viewers to the movie houses. It cannot be seen that she is wearing a body suit, so one is given to their imagination. More importantly, however, is the latter - the female heroine - which was rare during that time.

The movie has several questional elements in the plotline (why does 'Sealskin' Blake have no trouble killing a Canadian Mountie, but cannot bring himself to overtly kill Dolores LeBeau's husband?), but the movie has several special effects (tinted film, scene within a scene) that make it worthwhile viewing.

BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY (1919) was one of the major successes of Canadian film pioneer Nell Shipman. It has the distinction of being the oldest surviving Canadian feature film and was also the subject of a great deal of controversy because of Shipman's nude outdoor bathing scene at the beginning. Based on a then well known Canadian story about a heroic dog (think THE CALL OF THE WILD), the movie was shot under extremely harrowing conditions.

Much of the action takes place on ice flows and was shot at temperatures as low as 60 degrees below zero. One of the principal actors developed pneumonia and died during the shooting. Shipman was a virtual one woman show on this project. In addition to starring, she also wrote, co-produced, and co-directed without credit. The film was officially credited to a director named David Hartford.

The second feature SOMETHING NEW (1920) features a novel twist on the old Western theme of kidnapping and rescuing the damsel in distress. The hero, instead of riding a horse, drives a car. The film was primarily financed by the Maxwell Car Company (Jack Benny's car) and serves as a large scale ad for their product.

The car goes over rugged terrain and along cliffs that no vehicle at the time would dream of doing. The result is a delightful spoof of traditional Westerns that manages to be exciting at the same time. This time Nell gets a directing credit. Originally available on VHS as part of Milestone Film's EQUAL TIME: THE WOMEN OF CINEMA - THE FILMMAKERS series. For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Hard to rate this thing on anything other than a funny reminder of

how Canada was and will always be renowned for Mounties,

snow, and wildlife. The scandalous "nude scene" where Nell Shipman is bathing

under a waterfall is what gave this film an audience, but definitely

not why it's still around today. It's actually a decent story where the

spirit of a dead Eskimo is incarnated into a husky, but that angle

doesn't really have any significance until the end of the film when

it's revisited. Most surprisingly, I found, was how progressive of a role Nell had

way back in 1919. She drives the plot and essentially rescues

herself from a lot of the danger, something Hollywood is still

reluctant to do. It wasn't actually the first feature film made in Canada

("Evangeline" was in 1913), but it's the earliest one left that has

been preserved. If for no other reason, you gotta check it our just

for that!