Alaska Highway

When I watched "Alaska Highway" I had a reaction that many might not have. That's because as I watched the aging Richard Arlen muddle through this bad film, I couldn't help but think of him in his glory days when he was a leading man in GOOD films--such as the Oscar-winning "Wings" back in 1927. The years were not good to his career as by the mid-1930s onward, he appeared in mostly third-rate films by fourth-rate studios. Now instead of a handsome leading man, he was just another journeyman actor.

This is the sort of film they only made during WWII. It's a propaganda film designed to help boost the war morale as well as make a few bucks in the process. Its backdrop is the building of the Alaskan Highway, but it's really just another familiar love triangle flick. The Major is responsible for a group of engineers who are trying to get this road completed within six months. After all, it will help the US and Canada get soldiers and supplies to Alaska in order to fight the Japanese (yes, while it's not talked about much in history books, the Japanese did attack and even occupied portions of Alaska).

There is a monkey wrench, however, that gums up the works. The Major has two idiots for sons (Arlen and William Henry) who both have fallen for the same girl (cute Jean Parker--who I always thought looked a lot like Ann Sothern). Can these two knuckleheads set aside their hormones and machismo long enough to do their bit to help America rule supreme?! Will the Americans STILL manage to win the war? What do you think?! The film suffers from some bad writing (Parker's character is insane--or at least in the way she was written), bad dialog and is just not that interesting. You know it's not a very good movie when the comic relief (featuring the cruel but funny antics of Joe Sawyer) are by far the best thing about the film. Probably not worth your time. Watchable but nothing more.

A movie about the production of the Alcan highway could have had more potential. But if you're looking for a movie about how the road was made this probably isn't a great option. It was never going to be a grand spectacle about the highway's construction (at least not in the 40s) but the film doesn't really deliver at all. There are essentially three parts to the movie which are interspersed. One is a generally uninteresting love triangle. The second piece is comic relief. And the third is the roadwork. The love triangle is pretty boring, the comic relief is pretty boring, and they don't do much to make the construction scenes all that interesting either. In conclusion this film can be ignored.

Brother Richard Arlen and and William Henry build the AlCan Highway under the supervision of their father, Hrry Shannon. They also fight over Jean Parker.

There had been serious proposals for a highway connecting the United States and Alaska since at least 1929, when the governor of British Columbia proposed it. He figured it would increase tourism in his province. Usually the Canadian government balked at dragging Canada into a war involving the United States. With the entry of the United States into the Second World War, everyone agreed that the US would build and pay for it. More than 10,000 men from the Corps of Engineers worked on it. About a third were from segregated Black regiments. You won't find any sign of them here.

It's one of the Pine-Thomas B movies distributed by Paramount. Doubtless it made money -- the Dollar Bills were good at making sure of that -- but it's not one of their better movies. Despite having Frank MacDonald directing, the comedy is pretty weak, handled by Ralph Sanford, Joe Sawyer, and Eddie Quillan.

Because this was made during the peak of the hays film code, and it was also mid-war, about the biggest storyline they could center on was the competition between the brothers, fighting for the attention of the boss' daughter. And they happen to be building the alaska canadian highway. Despite a few inaccuracies, it describes the project, which was primarily for military benefit at the time; the japanese had just pulled the united states into the war. Having a route along alaska and canada would help our military move back and forth as needed. Although, as wikipedia points out, most materials were actually transported by ship to alaska. Picture quality is a bit fuzzy, but the sound is fine. Some drama when a large fire breaks out. It's okay. Not great, not bad. Directed by frank mcdonald. I've seen many of his films, some good, some not so good. Shines a light on the alcan highway, now part of the pan american highway. More info at wikipedia dot org.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie, and had anticipated something along the lines of "The Fighting Seebees" and "Wake Island". Unfortunately I was wrong.

The movie is basically a series of actual newsreel segments, pasted together by 2 main plot devices, a love triangle, and a comedy skit using 3 of the actors.

Interest is only maintained by wanting to see the next newsreel clip, other than that, we are less than entertained by wooden acting from cardboard characters. The "action" photography of drivers on big bulldozers is laughable, the actors looking everywhere but ahead, and bouncing around on set chairs.

Overall a very disappointing effort, and a movie that only a fanatic should contemplate buying.