Cristi_Ciopron This is northern as delightfulness, a mellowed genre by '45 (but by the year this movie has been made, its genre had another 10 yrs of output ahead of it), with at least 15 yrs of sustained output; the twin of the western had an even more beautiful literary pedigree (which is, Curwood instead of Grey), and 'Northwest Trail' is a celebration of the beauties of the genre: the refreshing poetry, the intense charm of the landscape (I approached this genre on choice, looking for these values), plus a standout cast: Steele as a trooper, Madge Bellamy as a severely beaten wife, Hatton as a bartender, the cast being in itself quite polychrome, and a good score. Here, Steele's ease shows you he was a good actor, no mean accomplishment, he was good when he had a script; his role here came only 5 yrs after 'Billy the Kid in Texas', but much had changed, so that 'Northwest Trail', a title to epitomize a whole genre, has also a dramatic plot, not only an action plot, which in itself was quite a step ahead. The northern movies had bucolic poetry, refreshing landscapes, another take on the American nature. Here, the script has self-referential and parody lines, but it's not a feeling of twilight, but the mellowness of a certain storytelling. Story-wise, a trooper steps into a nest of evildoers, his own life soon jeopardized, and the movie is a mystery tale: the chance for Steele to get a new life on screen as an action actor, doing a very good physical role.I have seen the movie from 10 PM on, with a break after 20'.

MartinHafer This Bob Steele film is a bit unusual because it's filmed in color (using the Cinecolor system)--and most B-westerns were made in glorious black & white. What else is interesting is that the film in many ways is NOT a western--and the picture is a slight departure from the films Steele usually starred in during his career. The film is set in Canada and Steele plays a Mountie. However despite the change in locale and him not being a cowboy, the film is very much like a western. He and the rest of the folks ride horses, shoot guns and like a typical western, there is a gang of baddies. When the film begins, Steele comes upon an annoying lady who is having car trouble. Despite his helping her and being very polite, this woman is grouchy and unappreciative. Later, not surprisingly, Steele is given an assignment to escort a woman into the wilderness...and the woman is the annoying lady. What he doesn't know and she didn't tell anyone is that she has $20,000 on her--and it's the payroll for her uncle's business. So, when the money is stolen, you can't exactly blame Bob. However, being a hero, he investigates and the trail takes him to the uncle's town--and soon it's obvious that something else is afoot. The local Mountie is oblivious or simply doesn't care about this or other crimes and orders Bob back to headquarters. However, with folks shooting at him right and left, he decides to disobey orders and investigate further. What's really going on here?The change of pace for Steele is welcome here. However, what is not welcome is that occasionally the plot seems as if pieces were cut out of it--with Steele making some astounding leaps in logic when it comes to figuring out who is behind all this nonsense and why. Additionally, the direction was occasionally sloppy--with a scene or two which should have been re-shot but weren't (such as when the lady was talking over Steele because she missed her cue). Not great but watchable.

bkoganbing Bob Steele who occasionally diverted himself from westerns with some great character roles in A pictures, still stayed in the B slot with this Northern which is what you would call a Canadian based film. Northwest Trail had the benefit of some outdoor location scenery which put it a cut above the usual B films.Bob's a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who gets to do escort duty of a woman who doesn't bother to tell him she's carrying a $20,000.00 payroll for her father John Hamilton. Steele and Joan Woodbury do kind of grate on each other's nerves, but of course there are sparks underneath.If you think you've got the plot figured out than I can tell you you're wrong. There is skullduggery afoot here, but it's not anything you might initially suspect. Plus the fact the gang here commit a truly horrendous crime by RCMP standards. The real suspense in Northwest Trail is just figuring out who the good and bad guys are let alone what's afoot.I would rate Northwest Trail higher, but the writers copped out in the end in dealing with Woodbury's character. She should have gotten the Mary Astor treatment as in The Maltese Falcon.Silent star Madge Bellamy made her farewell appearance in a role as a battered wife. She's the one who eventually cooks the whole gang.Northwest Trail a nice independent production with much better values and story than one might expect.

Diosprometheus This is an enjoyable programmer from Lippert's Action Pictures with a nice interplay between the lovely Joan Woodbury and Bob Steele. Steele plays a Mountie who is unwillingly assigned to lead Woodbury to a remote region in the Canadian Woodlands. Woodbury's feisty character all but steals this film from action star Steele. She looks great on horseback.There is nothing serious here, just plenty of action, and nice interplay between the two principles. Troubled silent screen star Madge Bellamy, who had starred in Fox's first ever talkie, Mother Knows Best, makes her final screen appearance as the mistreated wife of one of the bad guys.The video I saw could have been much better. The two-strip Cinecolor was washed, and the images were not as clear as one would like, but these defects in no way took away from the enjoyable factor.