L'appel du Nord

In a whirlwind courtship, John Murdock (Henry Fonda) marries Sally (Joan Bennett). However, when John's old friend Blackie (Warren William) arrives, Sally is noticeably unimpressed. She knows that Blackie is a thoroughly rotten sort...with a girl in every port and all sorts of less than legal schemes. But she's hesitant to tell John, as she and Blackie had once been a number...and she doesn't want to tell him about her sordid past. So, grudgingly, she agrees to go to Alaska with the pair and supposedly strike it rich. However, everyone watching the film KNOWS that some bad is going to come of all this!

There were two things I had a hard time believing in this one. First, that Henry Fonda could play a lumberjack!! Second, that his character could be as stupid and believe the worst about his wife despite little evidence she's done him wrong. He was actually a very weak character....and I could understand why Fonda wasn't particularly proud of this film. Now this isn't to say it's a bad movie...but he is definitely given little with which to work. And, having Blackie being a disreputable sort was a hilarious cliche! But it is modestly entertaining and a decent time-passer...but not much more.

Well as soon as i saw this film henry fonda became my favourite actor, he exceeds with this role, playing it better than i imagined.

The plot is about a man who goes on a search for gold, this happens to be my favourite story line. I loved this film, joan bennet who played john murdocks wife as sally also plays a good role. WATCH IT!!

... otherwise he'd be down on the beach in a hole in the sand with a barrel over his head, never wondering if this is a good plan for a human being.

John Murdock (Henry Fonda) is a 1890s lumberjack who gets wanderlust by watching "wild geese calling" as they fly past in formation. He goes to Seattle looking for his old pal and partner in wanderlust, Blackie (Warren William) but finds he's moved on. He meets and marries a dance hall girl, Sally (Joan Bennett). Then Blackie returns and convinces John to go with him to Alaska to start a fishing business. That's not hard since John starts hearing those "wild geese calling" once again. Sally doesn't want to go because she had hoped to use the money they saved on a homestead not a boat. But she also doesn't like being around Blackie because they were once an item and she's afraid John would not understand if he found out about this past relationship. She'd be right.

Henry Fonda is playing a most unlikeable character here. Without evidence he believes his wife is making a fool out of him. With evidence John doesn't catch on that Blackie is using his wanderlust to get his own way. I really liked Warren William as the nuanced cad Blackie. William had been in some really bad films after the production code began, and although this was definitely a supporting role it was a meaty one.

Note that this film is a bit of a production code buster, as you have shots of a man and wife sleeping in the same bed. But then twin beds in wild Alaska pioneer days would have looked silly. There is also a murderer who goes unpunished, although who that murderer was is made deliberately unclear. So kudos to whoever is responsible for running circles around the censors. It was a breath of fresh air.

Henry Fonda quits his job. No, he tells his boss, he's not going to work for a competitor. When he hears the Wild Geese Calling he has to follow them. In this case, it's to Seattle, where he's to meet Warren William. However, once in Seattle and while waiting for William to show up, he meets dancehall girl Joan Bennett. They fall in love, William shows up with Barton Maclane close behind him with a shotgun, and it's off to Alaska for the gold rush, with Bennett along.

What Fonda doesn't know is that Miss Bennett is an old girlfriend of William.... but Maclane does. That's what this movie's conflicts are about: the past versus the present, truth versus lies, loves versus wanderlust. The excellent cast does pretty well in this potboiler directed by John Brahm, although Maclane is curiously out of touch with his lines. Still, there's lots of other interesting performers to look at, including Iris Adrian, Russell Simpson, and Stanley Andrews, and you can always look at Lucien Ballard's shots of the open sky around Lake Arrowhead. It's pretty much a potboiler, but with a cast and crew that make it work.

A great movie based on an excellent book.. John Murdock started as an itinerant cowboy throughout the West, but begins to settle down when he meets and marries Sally. She puts up with his wandering until they start for, but never reach the goldfields. Several great supporting characters enliven the plot as time and experience go on. The closing episodes make a fitting end to John's wanderlust. The setting in the Pacific Northwest and Canada/Alaska coastal country just adds on to all the other elements of the film.

The movie is clean and entertaining and well worth watching---IF you can find it!