La route de l'or

When 21 year old Jack London participated in the Klondike gold rush in 1897, he experienced many exciting events and the closely observed knowledge he acquired of men he met with in the chilly north was used prototypically in the tales and novels that brought him far greater success than did his attempt at mining. As an opening enscripted frame makes clear, the episodes depicted in this film are fictional but in some instances they parallel occurrences of the young author's stay in the Yukon, as we watch Jack, played earnestly by Jeff East, disembark at Skagway, Alaska, rescue a dog from harsh treatment, overcome many natural obstacles to reach the minefields, woo dance hall girls, compete in a dogsled race, and make friends and enemies along the way. A rather substantial budget (for a Canadian-made film) is in place and a good deal of footage is shot, leading to post-production difficulties of editing and sound mixing (problems of asynchronism appear), but the product is never boring, and there are solid contributions from the crew; unfortunately, the work disappeared after a two week run. East has a narrow acting range but Peter Carter directs him well, with London's early commitment to Socialism being subtly addressed, while Angie Dickinson as owner of a saloon walks through her part, but Rod Steiger, employing his Method methods as principal villain of the piece, Lorne Greene as supervising Mountie in Dawson and Gordon Pinsent as an inveterate gambling man each controls his scenes. Credit must be given to those who make the work visually agreeable, notably Seamus Flannery for production design and Patti Unger for accurate costumes; a pleasing score is contributed by Hagood Hardy; all in all, in spite of its flaws, this film was worthy of being produced and is worthwhile to see.

My great grandfather was "Soapy" Smith, the villain portrayed in this film. I have written the true biography of Jefferson Randolph ("Soapy") Smith. and you can plainly see in the movie that the production company had never picked up a single book on Soapy. Very very little, if any, of the history in this horrible film on Jack London, is correct.

I also had known Pierre Berton, the author, before he passed away, whose book the film company used for the movie. His book was, and still is, regarded as one of the best non-fiction histories of the Klondike gold rush. Seemingly, the only part the film used from his fantastic book, was the title. He felt They had tricked him, and he fought like the dick'ins to get his name taken off the film credits and get his name back.

I wish it were otherwise. I'm Canadian and I love the source material, the gold rush days of the turn of the 19th to 20th century, the characters of the time, and the setting. I had high hopes for this film and it started out wonderfully, what with the paddle wheeler filled with eager miners landing at a well portrayed Skagway. I forgave the movie makers for inserting the dognapped Buck from one of London's stories, but the manner in which the dog was introduced set the stage for the movie's failing: simplistic one dimensional characters of unlikely and unlikeable makeup and a nonsensical plot. Jack London is a sullen, petulant and uncooperative member of his little partnership, with his more well grounded partner always trying and failing to make his impetuous protégé see reason and to get on with the trips purpose. The card sharp, whom London outplays for $500 ($25,000 in today's money!) is at first suitably sullen and angry and yet next thing you know and for the rest of the movie, he's a happy go lucky friendly fellow adventurer!

The bad guys are baby kicking bad (well, dog kicking), with no apparent other purpose or goal than to be bad guys. Soapy Smith is presented as just evil and venal, hardly historically accurate nor fair, and I almost laughed when Soapy's right hand man in malfeasance, the dog handler, was introduced and he is made up to look just like Popeye's nemesis, Brutus! Yup, I get it, that's the bad guy.

The movie loses its momentum shortly after the characters set off for the gold fields. I found myself thinking, 'OK, come on, what's happening? Let's go.' I noticed my wife had started playing on her cell phone. The movie's pace had stalled and in increasing measure the followers needed to employ suspension of disbelief.

Somehow, up the Chilkoot Pass. a trail that we have seen can barely be negotiated on foot, a stage coach appears (!) with three dance hall 'ladies' accompanied by the now cheery gambler. Should I mention the remarkably unlikely part that follows, where all travelers in their various groups are stopped at a waterway and while we have been made to understand that there is a great hurry on all parts to get to the gold fields, they all take the time to build boats entirely from the surrounding standing timber? Or the remarkable scene where the women are stranded on shore and call out for rescue to London and his partner in their passing boat? They say the gambler has taken off down river on foot to look for help, as their boat was stolen! (if he can hike down river then why on earth was it necessary for all those travelers to build boats?) Once the Jack London boat has negotiated the swift water with the women on board, that the gambler had evidently skirted on foot, there he appears and somehow he has the boat again!

In fact a great deal of the movie Klondike Fever requires suspension of disbelief, and while this is not an unusual requirement in movie watching circles, too much of it detracts from the experience and the production starts to appear cartoonish. I suppose that with Brutus as a bad guy, that was to be expected.

What is certain about Klondike fever is that young Jack London arrived in Alaska and traveled to the Yukon territory. Legendary outlaw Soapy Smith was operating in both Alaska and the Yukon at that time. So was legendary Mountie Sam Steele.

This is the basis for the film Klondike Fever as 21 year old Jack London's encounters with them and other characters would form the frame of his first writings. London is properly cast in the right age bracket by young Jeff East.

Playing Smith is Rod Steiger and Sam Steele is played by Lorne Greene. In real life Smith woul be dead the following year and Steele would serve in the Boer War and compile a good record.

Any aficionado of London's work will of course recognize the genesis of his classic novel White Fang. London's already budding socialist views were most certainly sharpened by his Yukon experience.

The beauty of the Canadian frotier is captured in the cinematography in British Columbia where the film was shot. I imagine the real Yukon was a bit too forbidding for movie crews.

Don't be worried by accuracy here. Klondike Fever is a plausible film about some real folks who could have all met.