Heart of the North | |
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Directed by | Lewis Seiler |
Screenplay by | Lee Katz Vincent Sherman |
Based on | Heart of the North 1930 novel by William Byron Mowery |
Produced by | Bryan Foy |
Starring | Dick Foran Gloria Dickson Gale Page Allen Jenkins Patric Knowles Janet Chapman |
Cinematography | Wilfred M. Cline L. William O'Connell |
Edited by | Louis Hesse |
Music by | Adolph Deutsch |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Heart of the North is a 1938 American adventure film directed by Lewis Seiler and written by Lee Katz and Vincent Sherman. The film stars Dick Foran, Gloria Dickson, Gale Page, Allen Jenkins, Patric Knowles, and Janet Chapman. The film was released by Warner Bros. on December 10, 1938. It is based on the novel with the same name, written by William Byron Mowery. It was Warner Brothers' fourth three-strip Technicolor feature-length film. [1] [2] [3]
The Canadian Mounties abandon horses to pursue a gang of gold and fur thieves, using boats, canoes and airplanes. The film's story begins when Cpl. Jim Montgomery of the R.C.M.P. (Patric Knowles) takes his little daughter Julie (Janet Chapman) from Fort Endurance in the Northwest Territories to school in Edmonton on the river steamer Arctic Queen. But midway through the voyage, six men hold up the boat, killing Montgomery in front of his daughter. Then, they disable the steamer and steal its cargo of furs and gold, escaping by canoe.
R.C.M.P. Inspector Stephen Gore (James Stephenson), commanding Fort Endurance, sends Sgt. Alan Baker (Dick Foran) and five other Mounties after the bandits in a motor launch and canoe. However, Gore also orders Baker to split his unit in two when they reach a certain point of their trek. This leaves Baker short of manpower. And when he and his two mates are ambushed by the bandits, he is forced to end the pursuit and bring a wounded comrade back to the fort. There, he is confined to quarters for failing to arrest trapper Dave McMillan (Russell Simpson) when some of the gang's stolen furs are found in his shed.
Later, Baker and Cpl. Bill Hardsock (Allen Jenkins) steal a forestry department float plane to search the lakes and rivers. They find the bandits and strafe their canoes, leaving two bandits to be pursued on land. Baker captures the bandit leader, who admits they are working for the corrupt shipping agent Red Crocker (Joe Sawyer). A pursuing forestry plane lands and takes Baker, Hardsock, and the bandit leader back to Fort Endurance. They arrive just in time to save McMillan from being lynched by a group of angry gold miners. Inspector Gore is exposed as a co-conspirator operating with the gang of bandits. As a result, Baker is promoted inspector and given command of the fort.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories, over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the Mounties in English.
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