Robert J. Maxwell
An adventure movie from the early 50s, with dazzling locations set (according to the data) in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming. Stewart Granger is a French trapper. If the producers knew what "grand tetons" meant in French, well, no movie would ever be made there. One of the locations is Jenny Lake in the National Park. I like Jenny Lake. I caught several cut throat trout there. I'm only adding that note because I knew you were dying to know.Buckskin-clad Granger visits the town to enjoy himself. He picks up a saloon girl, Cyd Charisse, a half-breed Chippewa, and takes her to the mountains in his canoe, as who wouldn't, along with an ugly and duplicitous roughneck whom Granger accidentally kills. Constable Wendell Corey is ordered by Segeant Preston of the RCMP to dogsled up into the snow-veined Rockies and bring back his man. Corey does find Granger and they begin their trek towards civilization but the journey is frought with every hazard that the thought of the untamed north Canadian woods brings to mind -- avalanches, wolves, rapids. Cyd Charisse has little to do. Her hair style is ill suited and makeup has turned her face and the face of all the other Indians purple. The Chippewa lived nowhere near Alberta's Peace River but no matter. Granger is the boistrous, hard living frontiersman, expansive, always cheerful and never overly sentimental. As the RCMP constable, Corey is his opposite. Quiet, deliberate in his movements, determined -- oozing unction and morality. Surprisingly, Corey does all right in what could have been an extremely pedestrian role.Overall, the film is typical of adventure movies of the period. Kind of fun, shot in alluring settings, and sometimes positively exciting.
azcowboysingr
I saw this film when it came out in theatres back when I was a kid & when I saw it on TCM awhile ago, it still socked me right in the kisser with its breathtakingly beautiful cinematography, fast paced action, suspense, and wonderful characters. Stewart Granger is totally believable as the wanted fur trapper, Cyd Charrisse is as beautiful as I remember her, and Wendell Corey is fantastic as the stalwart Mountie who always gets his man. This movie is in my personal list of Top 10 favorite films...ever! I finally got to make a DVD of it from TCM the other night & I've watched it 5 times since then without ever getting tired of it. The closing scene...Wendell Corey in his RCMP costume with a tiny kitten on his shoulder & the snow covered mountains behind him is a picture that I will carry with me to my grave. Absolutely a film to be treasured by anyone who loves great movies!
danaq
The Wild North was shot in the Boulder Mts of central Idaho, near Sun Valley Resort. My father, Clayton Stewart, was the resort's contact with MGM and for years helped directors find the right settings for movies. I can take you to the exact locations of the outdoor scenes, some of which were: along upper Big Wood River not far from Russian John Forest Service Ranger Station; along Big Wood near where the North Fork comes into the main channel; along the front of the Boulder Mountains near where Baker Creek comes in, and near Boulder Creek; up Trail Creek above Trail Creek Cabin; and on Galena Summit. Sun Valley resort supplied the trained dog teams and sleds. I was a girl when the movie was shot, and when the Sun Valley portion of the film was finished, Stewart Granger gave me the snowshoes he had used in the film, which I still have. I also have a set of black and white photos taken by Dad during the filming. This is an exciting adventure movie with a breathtaking setting and some great wilderness action.
chipalbano
I have not seen this movie in a long,long,long time.However I can not ever forget it! The beautiful Canadian Rockies,where I believe it was filmed was breath taking!The scene where Wendell Corey and Stewart Granger are camping and have to avoid wolves is as exciting moment as any adventure film I've ever scene! My congratulations to Director Andrew Marton (1952) for making a 48 year old,want to see it again!In a time of action movies,with far out special effects,sex,profanity and plots that seem to run together with next months movies,this one has suspence that is believable and yes with a beautiful Cyd Charisse!
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