Le valli della solitudine

First of all, Sgt. Mike Flannagan was a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman who was over 6' tall and when I saw the movie, with Dick Powell playing the role....well, he just didn't fill the boots! As has been said before by others, the movie glosses over the hardships Kathy Flannagan went through and the true pioneer spirit of a woman who grew up in Boston and was not prepared for the rigors of living in the Canadian wilderness. I would not give this movie more than a 2. Lois Z. a.k.a Rusty T. clown.

If this movie was to stand alone in it's on right it could be consider at least good. However seeing as it is based on a book it is hard to judge without comparing them to each other. The book created strong relationship and bond between the people and the land. It did not clean relationships and problem up simply to please the reader that is one of the book's most endearing qualities. The movie however simplifies the complexity of the emotions, characters, and story line that the book so richly builds. The other point I think they lost sight of was this wasn't just a love story it was a story of truth, human kindness, growing up, and survival. I also believe the movie down play Kathy incredible strength and stubbornness. By the end of the book you understand that Kathy has matured and that the decision she made is final and purposeful. The movie however lacks in the sense you know she made said decision, but there is no substantial evidence that make you believe she will not change her mind. If you have the choice read the book it is far superior to the movie.

This film is based on the novel, Mrs. Mike, which is based on the real life woman, Kathy O'Fallon Flannigan. While it is an adequate film by itself, it sells the story short. It panders to romance and drama, when the book is quite dramatic in its own right. A Boston teenager is sent to live with her uncle in frontier Canada because of her fragile health. She eventually falls in love with own of the few-if only-young, white males in the region. They marry and depart for the northern wilderness to set up house and home. The rest of the movie is about her struggles and joys of living and travelling in this rugged country. Sadly, the movie ends where the book took off on a whole new, inspiring tangent. We are left with the typical "happy ending". I gave this a 5.

"Mrs. Mike" is a better than average early Hollywood depiction of life in Canada's far north. Life in the North-West Territories in the early 1900's had moments of great beauty but was for the most part, harsh and cruel. The film captured the essence of this without resorting to standard stereotypes. There isn't a single manhunt of the "a Mountie always gets his man" variety in the whole plot. Most of the characters managed to portray depth and an insight into their difficult lives.

Evelyn Keyes shines as the Boston-born wife of a Mountie in Canada's remote North-West Territories. While trying to live as a loving, dedicated wife, she struggles with the lack of comforts and the dangers in a frontier existence, and ultimately, her own self-doubts.

Dick Powell's manner would suit him more easily in the big city, but he passes as a stoic never-say-die Mountie. He provides a stable base in the film, and is the narrator of the story, but his performance has to take second place to Miss Keyes as "Mrs. Mike".

By present day standards, the native characters are not politically correct with their broken English and simplistic presentations. For 1940's Hollywood, they are given a bit more opportunity to show some humor and dignity, and that they are human beings as well. The gentle performance by Ro Mere Darling as Mrs. Henderson, the native wife of Trader Henderson, attempts to break through the pre-conceived ideas of most of the movie audience, both in the 1940's and sadly, of many today.

This movie is definitely worth watching for simple good entertainment, and a glimpse at a lost way of life.

I love the book and have read it probably 50 times. Kathy and Mike Flannigan's life in the far north of Canada - dealing with the indiginous peoples and interesting people of all ilks, plus the sisterhood of the strong women who faced so many hardships, are fascinating story-telling. And the Sargeant, trained but still having to do things like dentistry by reading books, is a wonderful testimony to the RCMP dedication to the country. This movie has none of the depth or pathos of the book; and it's actually seriously missing much of the romance as well. They made it a vehicle for Powell (who was too old and heavy for this role) without any regard for the actual story of real people facing real hardships and finding unexpected joy in harsh conditions. If you don't know that Kathy and Mike lost BOTH their children to diptheria, then you have no real understanding of their lives.