Klondike Kate

Klondike Kate (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Kathleen O'Day (Ann Savage) arrives in a small Alaskan town to claim the bar that her father left her. She soon discovers that it was bought by Jefferson Braddck (Tom Neal) and he's not willing to let it go. Soon the two go into business for each other but this doesn't sit well with Lita (Constance Worth) because she's in love with Jefferson.

KLONDIKE KATE is a low-budget Western from director William Castle and for the most part it's entertaining enough to make it worth watching. At just 64-minutes there's certainly nothing overly detailed here but that's just fine because for a "B" Western this thing works in large part to the cast that is a lot of fun.

Whenever one watches a movie like this you really can't be expecting something by John Ford. For the most part the story itself was decent if not all that original but then again it was good enough to keep you entertained by it. There are the double-crosses that you'd expect but I must say it was a bit of a mystery as to why one of them never gets solved. The film contains some rather bland musical numbers but at least the action is good and yes there's a fun brawl at the end.

The strongest aspect to the film is the cast who are a lot of fun. Savage and Neal have a great chemistry together and the two of them really sell the characters and help keep the film moving. Worth is extremely good in the role of the jealous female and Sheldon Leonard is excellent as the snake villain. You've also got Glenda Farrell in a small role.

KLONDIKE KATE isn't a masterpiece but it's at least an entertaining film that fans of the cast and director should enjoy.

Ann Savage comes to the Klondike to take possession of the hotel/saloon her daddy left her on his death bed. She finds Tom Neal in possession and no intention of giving it up. So Miss Savage becomes a singer there. This makes former best girl Glenda Farrell very jealous. Sheldon Leonard also appears as a fellow who wants Miss Farrell and the hotel.

William Castle's second movie as director is a cheap, poorly put together affair, with plot twists with no explanation and large gouts of linking material strangely absent; let's be charitable and assume that editor Mel Thorson's careful work was not destroyed by later happenstance.

This utterly forgettable movie is supposedky based on the life of Kate Rockwell Matson, a dancer who rose to some fame during the actual Klondike gold rush. She was an early associate of Alexander Pantages, and at the time this movie was made, was training Hollywood dancers. She died in 1957 at an age between 77 and 83.

Ann Savage plays Kathleen O'Day, a songbird who travels from San Francisco to the small Alaska town of Totem Pole, ostensibly because she's inherited the deed to a prosperous saloon. She falls in love with slick, handsome owner / operator Jefferson Braddock (Tom Neal), who is equally taken with her. When his top entertainer Lita (Constance Worth) feels that she's been thrown over for the new woman, she conspires with Braddocks' thuggish business rival Sometime Smith (Sheldon Leonard).

"Klondike Kate", inspired by the exploits of a real woman, marked the second feature-length motion picture for budding young filmmaker William Castle. A classic it most assuredly isn't, but it's quite affable, often quite humorous, and easy to take. It's mostly noteworthy for uniting Savage and Neal two years before they clicked as the stars of the film noir classic "Detour". They're ably supported by Worth, Leonard, Glenda Farrell, Lester Allen, George Cleveland (who very much steals the whole show as the crafty judge), and Dan Seymour.

Having the typically short and succinct run time of a B picture (64 minutes all told), this may therefore not boast a particularly meaty story, but it's an easygoing diversion just the same, with a raucous barroom brawl finale and a blatantly silly ending.

No matter what genre he was working in, Castle certainly knew how to make a fun movie.

Six out of 10.