Undercover Men

Although it might surprise you, the 1930s and 40s saw a ton of films about heroic Mounties...and most were made here in the States. Why such an obsession with the the Mounties? My guess is that the plots used in the films were mostly rehashes of B-western plots and they were also meant to appeal to Canadians...as well as their money.

Robert Hunter (Charles Starett) is a bank teller when the story begins. Soon a robber hands Hunter a note and Hunter chooses not to shoot it out with the robber because there are customers who could get shot...including his fiancee. But the bank owner is furious and expected his employees to fight back...a practice no sane bank owner today would endorse. Soon the town is up in arms...blaming Hunter for the robbery and for being a supposed coward.

Soon Hunter finds his calling and joins the Royal Mounted Police. Things seem to be going well...until he attacks a superior who calls him a coward. He's discharged and you can pretty much guess the rest.

I've seen this plot 170,008 times, give or take. It's been done by nearly every cowboy star of the era and is very predictable. Additionally, Starrett isn't exactly a man of charisma. As a result, it is watchable but there are better versions of the story out there. Not terrible.

Charles Starrett is a bank clerk when a gang comes in to rob the place. Although there's a gun in the vault, he doesn't go for it and the robbers get away with over $50,000. He's fired, and eventually gets the idea to join the Mounties, When his best friend there, Phillip Brandon, is killed while working undercover, he's cleared of charges, but his sergeant razzes him and he strikes him.

Starrett was a Dartmouth football player who got the acting bug and was signed by Paramount. Although he was a handsome young man, that contract didn't last long, especially after he became one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild. In 1936, he would be signed by Columbia and become one of the top Western stars, particularly after the War, when he played "The Durango Kid." With the shrinking of budgets for B westerns, however, that gig ended in 1952.

This one was shot in Toronto and surrounding country. Even with the different scenery, director Sam Newfield can direct this movie for any interest, with uninteresting camera work by Sam Leavitt, a flat cutting rate by Alex Meyers and slow dialogue that makes the actors seem a little stupid. Definitely not one I'll need to see ago.