Les gars du large

"Spawn of the North" turns out to be a really good movie. It gets off to a slow start but after that it's really good. The first half does a nice job establishing the characters and the plot. It's just that the first half spends a lot of the time trying to be funny. It is pretty funny but I just wish they got to the meat and potatoes earlier. The second half is very exciting and quite emotional. The cast is very good but for me the star of the show is the production design. It's terrific. "Spawn of the North" is another solid movie from director Henry Hathaway. Honorable mention: a very dreamy Dorothy Lamour. Man, let me tell you, there's a scene towards the end where I couldn't take my eyes off her sweater.

Because we're so familiar with Hollywood's ability to use computer graphics imagery in today's top blockbusters, we can't fathom how movies before computers were made creating and showing breathtaking visuals. Many older films were produced ingeniously using effects that are now no longer practiced, such as seen in Paramount Pictures' August 1938 "Spawn of the North," the first movie to be given an Oscar, albeit honorary, for its special effects. The award opened the way for the Academy Awards to establish the "Best Special Effects" category the following year.

Before 1938's "Spawn of the North," cinema had a long history of producing special effects ever since France's George Melies took his journey into space in 1903's "A Trip to the Moon." The Academy was slow to recognize such achievements, restricting its 'Best Engineering Effects' to only the silent film 1929's "Wings" before eliminating the category. When 1933's "King Kong" mesmerized audiences, RKO producer David O. Selznick unsuccessfully lobbied the Academy to highlight the work of stop-motion wizard Willis O'Brien. Academy board members finally felt the need to honor the work of effects technicians in "Spawn of the North." The spectacular movie was the first to use a huge 36-foot rear projection screen to create realistic depth of field images, matte paintings and other tricks that brought the wilds of Alaska to the neighborhood screen.

Director Henry Hathaway assigned a film crew to the northern territory to capture Alaska's boundless, rugged country. Once he received over 75,000 feet of footage in the six months of shooting, Hathaway, through the magic of special effects, brilliantly used the clips to complement his Hollywood studio shooting for "Spawn of the North." Spectacular shots, including the salmon migration up the rivers seen in the beginning of the movie as well as the spell-bounding sequences with their glacier calving near our heroes' boats, added tremendously to the picture's excitement. Additional footage taken at Lake Tahoe, Lake Arrowhead, the coastal areas of California as well as the mock Indian villages gave viewers a sense that all the motion picture's action took place in Alaska. A massive 375,000 gallon tank complete with piers and fishing boats built inside the Paramount studio lot allowed Hathaway to direct his controlled shots.

Film reviewer Laura Boyes noticed, "Even with our modern, sophisticated eye, it's not always possible to decide how certain effects were obtained."

The story loosely follows the structure of 'The Virginian,' where two close friends, Jim (Henry Fonda) a salmon cannery owner, links up with buddy Tyler (George Raft), who has taken out a loan on a boat to hunt seals. After Jim rejects his offer to partner on his ship, Tyler seeks out Ruskie Red Skain (Akim Tamiroff), who's notorious for stealing fishing traps. Jim and Tyler eventually come to blows, but the ending is one that brings tears to even the most unsentimental muscle men. Lending the requisite romantic angle to "Spawn of the North" is Dorothy Lamour as Nicky Duval, girlfriend of Tyler's. Lamour replaced an ill Carole Lombard as the proprietor of the fishing community's hotel who goes around not wearing a bra. Louise Platt as 'Di' Turlon, an East Coast gal who's a little startled by the wildness of Alaska, is visiting her father Windy Turlon (John Barrymore), a newspaper editor.

"Spawn of the North" was a huge hit for Paramount, and produced a remake in 1954 called "Alaska Seas," starring Robert Ryan and Brian Keith.

I've always looked on this film as a perfect blend of obvious location shooting for background very well integrated with the plot of the story which was done on the Paramount back-lot. The best part of the film is the footage of Alaska, of the Inuit, and even of the salmon going upstream to their demise.

Looking at Henry Fonda and George Raft however is quite a contrast between a great actor and a personality. Raft's gangster persona is not quite right for this tale of best friends ending up on opposite sides of the law. Still he gives it his best shot and the results are more than adequate.

However the best acted performance in this film without a doubt goes to Akim Tamiroff as the Russian fish pirate Red Skane. Skane is a swaggering thug and Tamiroff is perfect.

Many years ago I saw Henry Fonda and he said he divided his films in two categories, those he did for art's sake and those he did for the money. Spawn of the North was one for the money, but still he was proud of it as entertainment. His Jim Kimmerlee does not belong in the category of his great parts like Mister Roberts or Oxbow Incident, but it still is a good piece of work. Fonda does the best he can with a part that doesn't call for him to do much, but be noble.

Back in the 1930s location shooting was an expensive proposition and here Paramount did a superb job at masking the studio origins of the film. Looking at those shots with the fisherman against the backdrop of the glaciers and icebergs you really do think you're in Alaska. Great special effects here, especially in the climax which involves boats being crushed by icebergs.

Nice entertainment and Dorothy Lamour does NOT wear a sarong.

This is a real good movie. Henry Fonda and George Raft Play the rival fishermen. Near the end of the movie George Raft is shot. While resting in bed he smokes a cigarette and the smoke comes up out of the bullet holes in his chest!? I remember when I was in high school. We were learning about first aid. The teacher told us about never giving a cigarette to an injury victim. Then he told us about a Humphrey Bogart movie where after being shot he smoked a cigarette and the smoke came out of his chest. I searched for years and found out it was the "Spawn of The North", With GEORGE RAFT not Bogart. Watch for this movie on AMC or TCM, just to see this scene. It is well worth watching, with fine acting and great scenery.

... from Paramount Pictures and director Henry Hathaway. Alaskan fish-cannery owner Jim (Henry Fonda) reconnects with old pal Tyler Dawson (George Raft), a seal hunter. They both have to deal with the illegal shenanigans of boat captain Red Skain (Akim Tamiroff) and his crew who keep looting the community's salmon traps. Jim also finds himself in a love triangle, as he pines for recently-returned gal Diane (Louise Platt), while hotel owner Nicky Duval (Dorothy Lamour) yearns for Jim from afar. Also featuring Lynne Overman, Fuzzy Knight, Vladimir Sokoloff, Duncan Renaldo, John Wray, Henry Brandon, and John Barrymore.

The subject matter isn't something that's frequently covered in cinema, and the cast is unexpected, as well. Raft isn't bad, while Fonda is very good, easing into the earnest, noble hero mold that served him well in his career leading up to the war. One of the most notable things about the movie is the presence of John Barrymore as the hopelessly drunk father of Platt's character. Barrymore's standing had sunk so low by this point that he's listed fifth in the credits. The movie was awarded an honorary Oscar for the sound effects and visual effects (there's a lot of rear projection on display).