Du sang sur la neige

An Errol Flynn adventure from 1943 directed by Raoul Walsh. Flynn plays a Canadian Mountie who comes across a German air officer in the snowy hinterlands. Sending his partner ahead, Flynn's higher-ups fear his German lineage may compromise his standing w/his prisoner who may use undue influence to corrupt him. Seizing upon this notion, Flynn pretends to be a friend to Germany as he befriends the Nazi (who has broken out from an internment camp w/some other Hessians) so he can upset their plans to construct an airplane to make their escape from Canada. That's a lot of dunderheaded plotting for something that should be as light & airy as a paper plane but the crackerjack direction & the effortless charisma by Flynn is enough to keep even the most jaded viewer firmly planted in their seat for the duration.

Although not quite as gripping as "Desperate Journey", or as marvelously sprawling as "49th Parallel", this slick film is everything you could ask for in a WWII actioner--even more, with Errol Flynn teaming up with Raoul Walsh. The acting is good, and the direction is taut and entertaining, with writers Bessie and Gruber providing a suspenseful story line concerning a nazi spy(Dantine) captured in Canada by a Royal Mountie(Flynn), the spy's escape from prison camp, and Flynn's efforts to thwart Dantine's nefarious mission in the great white north(and a dastardly mission it is, too--those dirty Nazis!).

Adolph Deutsch scores a cleverly subtle soundtrack to raise the suspense quotient, as he did for "High Sierra" and "The Maltese Falcon". Just the "Kick 'em in the Axis" kind of movie to watch, if you've already seen and liked "Tartu" and "The Commandos Strike At Dawn".

Northern Pursuit (1943)

A solid, serious film that shouts its political message too loudly, but is so unusual, and potentially scary it remains interesting for anyone into WWII films. Truly fascinating is the setting—the north woods of Canada in winter—and the involvement of Native Americans, who side with the Nazis for the simple reason that that means siding against Canada. (This is addressed in some brutal killings partway through.) The key plot idea is that a group of expert Nazis might actually sneak into remote areas of the country to perform acts of sabotage.

The movie audience here is mostly in the United States, to be sure (Canada's population is so small it is always a secondary concern from the studio's point of view). And the leading actor, Errol Flynn, takes on the larger issues well. That is: devotion to good, personal sacrifice to defeat the enemy, and providing an example of moral uncertainty resolving itself as the circumstances become clear. The issues he faces (in Canada) applied to the U.S. equally.

Canada, to be sure, entered the war officially with Great Britain in 1939. But by 1943 the U.S. was also officially fighting. Cooperation between the two neighbors was a given, overall, but they had different national priorities to smooth out. Flynn was so famous at the time, despite (or because of) some personal scandal, he carried the movie.

But it's cobbled together stuff, quasi-propaganda. None of it was shot in Canada, though it's convincing enough. The romance is really almost superfluous, but it gives of course the audience that extra layer to swoon about, briefly. Most viewers will find a lot of this formulaic and rough sledding, but it isn't terrible, and the themes have lasting power.

Errol Flynn was a fascinating screen presence. Just look at how many books have been written about him including a couple he wrote himself. I found a good dozen on Amazon before I stopped counting. Some well-known actors and filmmakers often have only one biography or even none at all.

"Northern Pursuit" isn't the best of his movies, but it is Flynn at his best. He looks in great shape despite the fact that he had a dicky ticker, a bad back, tuberculosis, a couple of exotic diseases picked up along the way and a liver that was in more danger of destruction than any target of the Nazis in the film.

Set in Canada during WW2, Errol plays Steve Wagner, a Royal Canadian Mountie of German Ancestry whose loyalty is questioned when he comes across Nazi secret agents who are planning to bomb a canal that is critical to the Allied war effort.

Although the story feels cobbled together, the film looks good. Most of it was shot on the sound stage and no doubt a great deal of talcum powder and papier mache was employed, but the sequence where a U-Boat breaks through the ice and scenes such as the avalanche are brilliantly staged.

However the stars make the film. Although Errol was rarely upstaged, Helmut Dantine was Warner's go-to Nazi guy during the war years. He plays Colonel Hugo von Keller in this film. The reason why Dantine was more effective than many screen Nazis at the time was the degree of intelligence with which he approached his roles. He was no off-the-rack, monocled Nazi stereotype, he came across as vigorous, smart and fanatical; a formidable enemy, he was also good looking and often got the best lines.

If you like the stars, and Flynn was absolutely unique, then there is much to enjoy here. In fact the film was a bit of a turning point for him- he even got a laugh with an in-joke at the end alluding to his recent acquittal on rape charges. From that point on he went along with the joke about his sexual prowess although those who knew him felt that it hurt his desire to be taken seriously as an actor.

Finally, for anyone with a sense of history, "Northern Pursuit" is a fascinating insight into what audiences were watching during the war even if they took it all with a generous pinch of salt.

This is not a great movie, not Robin Hood or The Sea Hawk. But neither is it the bad movie some of the previous reviewers suggest.

I found it very suspenseful.

If you try viewing it as the original, intended audience did back in 1943, when the U.S. was not winning the war in Europe and there were fears of German infiltration everywhere, you can imagine how relevant this story would have been to audiences.

Tension is maintained for much of the movie by keeping us in suspense regarding Flynn's character's allegiances. No, of course we can't believe he's really a Nazi, but for the first half of the movie, it certainly seems as if he might be.

I was surprised, and thrown off guard, by the number of "good guys" who got killed in this movie. That made it seem more real to me.

The last scene is pure Hollywood, and pure corn. But up until then, there is a lot to admire and enjoy in this movie.