Harriet Deltubbo
Set in the days of the great Canadian Gold Rush, this rousing musical stars Randolph Scott as a "reformed" con artist-turned-dance hall owner whose girlfriend, singer Gypsy Rose Lee, tries to keep him on the straight and narrow. I really like this type of film, as it reminds me of French movies where it's more about the characters and their environment. It also reminds me of some of those sombre Chinese films that were popular back in the 1990. From an artistic standpoint, it holds its own. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose. 7 outta 10.
MartinHafer
This is a weird Randolph Scott film, as it's not exactly a western (it's set in the Yukon, not the American west) and practically nothing really happens in the film! Seriously, it's a nice assemblage of characters and they act and interact but there really is very little tension and not much of a consistent plot. Odd, but still likable enough.Aside from Scott, the film has a good collection of character actors. Guinn Williams plays a typical affable idiot (like he played in almost all his films), though where his character goes at the end of the film was VERY unlike his other roles. Dinah Shore is on hand to sing a few songs. Charles Winninger plays the usual Winninger type character. Robert Armstrong is kind of a villain....sort of. Now here's the odd one--Gypsy Rose Lee (the famous stripper) is Scott's love interest, though in this film she keeps her clothes on and shows no signs of her former career.The plot, for what it is, is about all the characters. Scott, in an odd move, isn't even the main focus of the film--he's just there. While I could try to explain them and what they did, it seemed like the film makers just told everyone to wing it! There is some sort of plot near the very end about stolen gold, but it occupies very little of the film.Overall, watchable and not a bad film...just not a really good one either.
vitaleralphlouis
There weren't many Technicolor movies made during World War II because of military needs, but Hollywood generated a few. A 1944 RKO Radio Picture with a title like BELLE of the YUKON led me to expect a hootin' tootin' shootin' western yarn with an up-north setting. Wrong, McGee! This one is 75% musical comedy and 25% western, with big Broadway style production numbers rigged-up on the saloon stage. What you get is songs by Dinah Shore and Gypsy Rose Lee, quite a few running-gags, and a minor plot about a bank robbery. Almost no gunfire, no horseback chases, no real action.The 3-strip Technicolor of 1944 yielded stunning photography, but do not look for it here. Hollywood studios were poor caretakers of their old movies and this one is badly faded. Call this Exhibit A about Hollywood's snow job to the public concerning the quality of sound and image on DVD's. What they did was a careful clean-up job on a very few old films (such as To Have and Have Not) in order to sell the concept. But that's done with. Now they give us DVD's with C- to D+ quality, no better and often worse than VHS.
jeffhanna3
Although the plot of Belle of the Yukon is so tired that its not worth recounting (but isn't this true of most old musicals?), this gorgeously technicolored musical/western has some pleasing elements of interest for fans of 1940's nostalgia. The young, brunette Dinah Shore (with an eye-poppingly voluptuous figure) sings beautifully two lovely standards, "Like Someone in Love," and "Sleighride in July." What a warm, pleasing voice she had. One of the all-time great singers. Her blonde, blue-eyed love interest, William Marshall, is so ridiculously pretty that he looks like a vintage comic book hero come to life. Gypsy Rose Lee is relaxed and fun with her foot-high pompadours and Belle Epoque gowns by Don Loper, and a very handsome Randolph Scott is clearly enjoying himself.
AD
