By Richard Harland Smith
Heart of the North
Brief Synopsis
A Canadian Mounted Policeman searches for the outlaws who robbed a freighter.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lewis Seiler
Director
Dick Foran
Sgt. Alan Baker
Gloria Dickson
Joyce MacMillan
Gale Page
Elizabeth Spaulding
Allen Jenkins
Corpl. Bill Hardsack
Patric Knowles
Corpl. Jim Montgomery
Film Details
Genre
Adventure
Release Date
Dec
10,
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Heart of the North by William Byron Mowery (New York, l930).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 23m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Synopsis
In the Canadian Northwest, Mountie Jim Montgomery is killed during a robbery of the vessel taking a shipment of gold and furs to Edmonton. Jim's small daughter Judy is abducted by the criminals, who abandon her on the side of the river, further upstream. Judy is found by two Mounties, who bring her back to town. Sgt. Alan Baker vows to bring the men to punishment but he is thwarted by Inspector Stephen Gore, who doesn't know the territory, and Mac Drummond, the owner of the trading post and the head of the gang of thieves. Drummond's men hide the stolen furs in Dave MacMillan's cabin in order to throw suspicion on to him. Although his daughter Joyce insists that he could not be guilty, Dave is arrested. When Alan's fiancée, Elizabeth Spaulding, falsely identifies Dave as one of the criminals, hoping Alan will be kicked off the force and sent back to the city, the other men believe that Dave is guilty and demand his immediate hanging. Meanwhile, Alan and Corpl. Bill Hardsack have stolen a plane and, disobeying orders, pursue Drummond's men. They manage to overcome the thieves and are rescued by the plane that was pursuing them. The pilot delivers them back home just in time to prevent Dave's hanging. Drummond is identified as the ringleader and is killed by a deranged Mountie. Elizabeth leaves for Edmonton alone and Joyce and Alan start a romance.
Director
Lewis Seiler
Director
Cast
Dick Foran
Sgt. Alan Baker
Gloria Dickson
Joyce MacMillan
Gale Page
Elizabeth Spaulding
Allen Jenkins
Corpl. Bill Hardsack
Patric Knowles
Corpl. Jim Montgomery
Janet Chapman
Judy Montgomery
James Stephenson
Inspector Stephen Gore
Anthony Averill
Whipple
Joe Sawyer
Red Crocker
Joseph King
Mac Drummond
Russell Simpson
Dave MacMillan
Arthur Gardner
Larry Young
Garry Owen
Tom Ryan
Pedro De Cordoba
Father Cloverly
Alec Harford
Lunnon Dick
Robert Homans
Captain Ashmun
Anderson Lawler
Burgoon
Bruce Caruthers
Pedrault
John Harron
First mate
Harry Cording
Miner
Tom Wilson
Miner
Ed Parker
Gonzales
Sol Gorss
Anders
Artie Ortego
Chink Wooley
Buster Wiles
Johnny
Nat Carr
Clerk
Billy Wayne
Mechanic
David Newell
Pilot
Lane Chandler
Pilot
Emmett Vogan
Radio operator
Don Turner
Trapper
Jack Richardson
Trapper
Paul Panzer
Trapper
Glen Cavender
Trapper
Kansas Moehring
Trapper
Crew
Milo Anderson
Gowns
Frank Beckwith
Dialogue Director
Bruce Caruthers
Technical Advisor
Wilfrid M. Cline
Technicolor Photographer
Adolph Deutsch
Music
Leo F. Forbstein
Music Director
Bryan Foy
Associate Producer
Louis Hesse
Film Editor
Stanley Jones
Sound
Natalie Kalmus
For the Technicolor Co., Col Director
Lee Katz
Screenwriter
William Kissell
Assistant Director
Sherman Lowe
Contr to Screenplay const
L. Wm. O'connell
Photography
Morgan Padelford
Associate color Director
Robert Rossen
Screenwriter
Vincent Sherman
Screenwriter
Ted Smith
Art Director
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Perc Westmore
Makeup
Film Details
Genre
Adventure
Release Date
Dec
10,
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Heart of the North by William Byron Mowery (New York, l930).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 23m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Articles
Heart of the North -
This Technicolor paean to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - a staple subject of Hollywood movies dating back to the silent era - was promoted by Warner Bros. as "the first color epic of the Mounties." An adaptation of the 1930 novel of the same name by American writer William Byron Mowery (whose 1929 adventure The Silver Hawk served as the inspiration for Columbia's 1937 serial The Mysterious Pilot, which made a matinee star of real life aviator Frank Hawk), Heart of the North (1938) features Dick Foran as a timberline constable whose duty and personal life are adversely effected when he falls for the daughter (Gloria Dickson) of a fur trapper (Russell Simpson) falsely accused by thieves of the murder of a fellow Mountie (Patrick Knowles). Shot on location against the backdrop of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest (a cost-effective substitute for the Great White North), this Lewis Seiler-directed "northern" benefits from a high level of production value not often afforded a Hollywood western. Critics of the day poked fun at the plot's tear-jerking inclusion of a plucky orphan child (Janet Chapman) and a dog but responded favorably to Seiler's marshalling of the action sequences and Warners' atypical employment of Technicolor for a non-musical; writing for The New York Times, Frank S. Nugent joked "Technicolor always gets its man." Adding further value to the film are characteristically larger-than-life supporting performances by Allen Jenkins and real life Canadian Joe Sawyer.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Heart of the North -
This Technicolor paean to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - a staple subject of Hollywood movies dating back to the silent era - was promoted by Warner Bros. as "the first color epic of the Mounties." An adaptation of the 1930 novel of the same name by American writer William Byron Mowery (whose 1929 adventure The Silver Hawk served as the inspiration for Columbia's 1937 serial The Mysterious Pilot, which made a matinee star of real life aviator Frank Hawk), Heart of the North (1938) features Dick Foran as a timberline constable whose duty and personal life are adversely effected when he falls for the daughter (Gloria Dickson) of a fur trapper (Russell Simpson) falsely accused by thieves of the murder of a fellow Mountie (Patrick Knowles). Shot on location against the backdrop of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest (a cost-effective substitute for the Great White North), this Lewis Seiler-directed "northern" benefits from a high level of production value not often afforded a Hollywood western. Critics of the day poked fun at the plot's tear-jerking inclusion of a plucky orphan child (Janet Chapman) and a dog but responded favorably to Seiler's marshalling of the action sequences and Warners' atypical employment of Technicolor for a non-musical; writing for The New York Times, Frank S. Nugent joked "Technicolor always gets its man." Adding further value to the film are characteristically larger-than-life supporting performances by Allen Jenkins and real life Canadian Joe Sawyer.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to the Variety review, this film was produced for $400,000, less than any color picture to date. It quotes studio reports stating that it followed the same schedule as comparable black-and-white films. Motion Picture Herald gave Janet Chapman's age as five and incorrectly states that the film's locale was Alaska. Jack Mower is listed in the cast in Motion Picture Herald's "In the Cutting Room," but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
