You want to go in like this? You want people to talk about it the the rest of their lives, how the mouse brought back the cat?
The taglines used by the marketing men for The Wild North (1952) tended to emphasize the man vs nature and and the man against man aspects of the movie. These elements are there without question, but I find much of the story boils down to the matter of reversals as well as our old acquaintance redemption. It is one of those bracing and beautiful outdoor adventures – some might term it a western, but I’m not convinced and I see no need to hang that label on it – that places its characters, both willingly and unwillingly, beyond the bounds of civilization and invites us along to observe how they react and respond to the challenges this presents them with.
More than one wilderness based movie has opened with the visit of the protagonist to town or to some kind of settlement, and such stopovers almost inevitably lead to trouble. Such is the case here as Jules Vincent (Stewart Granger) makes one of his infrequent trips back to what passes for civilization, looking for a chance to get drunk and maybe find some attractive company. Well the liquor is easy enough to come by and the nameless Indian girl (Cyd Charisse) singing in the saloon satisfies on the other score. However, he also manages to draw the attention of a loud, aggressive type called Brody (Howard Petrie). Despite their initial antipathy, Vincent agrees to take Brody along as a passenger on his journey back north alongside the girl who has convinced him of her desire to return to the wild country she hails from. It’s giving nothing in particular away here when I say that Brody soon winds up dead. His demise is never shown – this is not to create any sense of ambiguity regarding his fate, but I guess it’s meant to lessen the impact of the viewer’s knowledge that Vincent has become a killer. The reason given is that Brody’s determination to take on the lethal rapids was putting everyone’s lives at risk yet Vincent has no faith in a jury of townsmen’s ability to appreciate the necessity for his actions. So he takes the girl and runs north, bent on losing himself in the environment he knows best. As with all the best Mountie stories however, the law, in the shape of Constable Pedley (Wendell Corey), is not to be denied its man.
What follows develops largely into a two-hander as Pedley arrests Vincent and sets out on the long and treacherous trek back though the harsh winter conditions. One would expect conflict and friction between the two men, which is indeed present, but this doesn’t take refuge in the hackneyed hiding places of some lesser films. The rivalry is tempered from the outset by a grudging mutual respect and fondness, the kind that only two very different characters can experience. Pedley has a job to do and will see it through no matter what yet he has no personal axe to grind with his captive and actually likes him. Similarly, Vincent sees in his captor a man he can admire to some extent. In spite of the apparent contrast in one man’s untamed ebullience and another’s steely but witty intelligence, there is a strong sense of humanity binding these two together. That bond becomes ever stronger and more vital as they both face threats to life and limb from thieves, an avalanche, and a terrifyingly tenacious pack of wolves.
Stewart Granger is in fine form in his second of three films with director Andrew Marton, King Solomon’s Mines and Green Fire being the others. He gets across the brashness of the trapper, the love of the outdoors (something I think the star shared in reality) and also that streak of ruthlessness that must surely be found in all such men. There are a couple of occasions where that latter aspect is allowed to manifest itself even if it’s quickly suppressed as his character’s basic humanity asserts itself more forcefully. However, it is there and it lends an authentic air of danger to Jules Vincent. Set against that is Wendell Corey’s much quieter work, and the two approaches genuinely complement one another. Corey could appear stiff and far too reserved in certain films yet he brings a marvelously controlled charm to this role. He’s no rigid authoritarian, but nor is he a pushover. While he’s competent and organized, he has heart and humor as well as a well judged awareness of his own limitations and loneliness. Ultimately, I think this is what makes the film work, the acknowledgment by both men of their respective strengths and weaknesses. As the threats pile up and the roles are reversed, it’s the redemptive reflex they both respond to that give it its heart. In their own different ways they save each other and by doing so save themselves. Cyd Charisse is only in the picture intermittently and anyone waiting for some tiresomely contrived romantic triangle to arise will be disappointed. She is absent from the long main section and I think that’s actually just as well as it allows the focus to remain firmly on the struggles of Corey and Granger in the snowy wastes. Support comes from an abrasive Howard Petrie, Ray Teal as a shifty trapper, Houseley Stevenson (in one of his last feature roles), and J M Kerrigan.
Films which use the great outdoors and wilderness landscapes as their backdrop can sometimes drift into mindless action that loses its impact when overused or they can linger too lovingly on the visual splendor of their locations. The Wild North avoids these pitfalls by remembering that the essentials of the story stem from the character dynamic, that its success derives from within rather than from the more superficial elements. It’s a matter of balance, something which I feel this movie achieves and it manages to become a positive, uplifting, life-affirming experience in the process.
Riding the High Country 
Great review as always, Colin. I have the Spanish DVD, bought ages ago, but I don’t think I’ve watched it. This has prompted me to put that right.
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Good to hear from you, Dafydd. Since you have the movie to hand, give it a watch. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
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Haven’t seen this one. Solid cast except maybe for Cyd Charisse as an Indian girl. At least you say she disappears for a good part of the film. Stewart Granger fitted in nicely in his Hollywood period with a good range of films.
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Charisse is fine in her part as far as it goes. The fact is there’s not a whole lot for her character to do though.
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Granger and Corey are perfectly cast. Memorable.
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Yes, it’s actors are sometimes referred to as inhabiting their roles, which is a bit of an ambiguous statement as far as I’m concerned but one that seems quite apt here.
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Could I ask about a different western? I’m watching a ropy copy of Randolph Scott’s “Bounty Hunter” which I rate highly. Has it ever been released on DVD? It’s about the only 50s Scott western I don’t have. Good supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Marie Windsor.
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I like the movie, although I haven’t seen it in ages. I wrote about it years here.
I have the Spanish DVD that was released long ago, which is so so.
There is also an Italian release, which may well be using the same source.
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Thanks for links, Colin. If only we could get a good print. It really is the odd man out of the Scott westerns, not getting a proper release.
I re-read your 2012 review of Bounty Hunter and see that I commented back in 2012.
I love my blu Ray 12 western set , “The Randolph Scott Collection.
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I’ve been tempted by that set myself, and still am to be honest. The only thing holding me back is the fact I already have the Boetticher titles from Indicator.
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I have quite a few duplicates!
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As have I. I do try to limit that as much as possible, but temptation sometimes proves too much.
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This is too true! I have backups just in case. Like if I need to see ‘Once A Time in the West’ for the 750th time and I can’t find my first copy.
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That is a great set. Just love it on a big HD screen. Five nice commentary tracks too. Worth every penny.
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P.s. lots of spare time just now. Covid positive , so indoors all week. Feels like a bad cold. Will test again tomorrow.
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Sorry to hear that and I hope you recover soon. I avoided Covid till last September. I had very light symptoms but felt quite weak and poorly for ages afterwards and them came down with a rotten flu-type illness in November – that really knocked me sideways for a week. Lots of bugs circulating right now and I’ve been wearing a mask again at work and on public transport.
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Sorry to hear about your November illness.
Wearing a mask again seems a sensible idea . Especially when I am aware of quite a few Covid cases among peoples I know. And you generally never know how you were infected.
I felt like watching Sinatra’s “Ocean 11 “ tonight for first time in an age, only to discover I no longer have the dvd. Oh well, will purchase it again unless it’s on Amazon Prime – the only streamer I subscribe to.
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A bit of Sinatra is always good, arguably even more so when you’re in need of a bit of a lift. That’s a fun movie, if not his most taxing role. I may have to put one of his CDs on now!
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I tend to enjoy Sinatra’s crime films and thrillers. I love his Tony Rome movies.
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Really liked the Tony Rome films too. Instant ’60s when put on the player.
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Sinatra was capable of great performances as an actor and we have ample proof of that. Preminger, Minnelli, Frankenheimer all got him to draw on the best he had inside. If he’d wanted, he could have sustained his run of terrific movies longer than he did. That maybe sounds like I don’t enjoy his more laid back work, which isn’t true at all. Even his less taxing roles and films saw him using his persona to good effect and I’d hate to be without those movies.
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So true. All those great directors really pushing him made for such memorable performances. Like watching Sinatra very much.
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Sinatra had the kind of charisma that made him watchable even when he was clearly not pushing himself to the max as an actor.
Very similar to his pal Dean Martin. Both lazy actors but they could get by on sheer charisma, and both capable of truly great performances when they were fully engaged by a role.
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So do I, the first film is fun. Again, Sinatra wasn’t pushing himself much in it but it has a great feel to it
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The Blu ‘Frank Sinatra Collection’ that includes ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ is fab. Came out in 2015. ‘Anchors Aweigh’, ‘On the Town’, ‘Guys and Dolls’, and ‘Robin and the Seven Hoods’ look smashing in HD. ‘Ocean’s’ looks like you are in Vegas in 1960. Can smell the cigarette smoke and Bourbon. Instant Rat Pack in the living room.
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I have a bit of a thing for Vegas movies and Ocean’s Eleven is very very Vegas indeed.
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Yes. The Blu of ‘Viva Las Vegas’ has an incredible picture too of a Vegas long gone and well besides Elvis of course Ann Margret is something to see in HD.
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I just love Viva Las Vegas so much. My favourite Elvis movie and for once he has a leading lady who can match him in the charisma stakes.
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I agree a 100%. Wish it was even it a little longer. Ann Margret is really something in it.
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Ann-Margret’s finest moment as an actress is the juvenile delinquent classic Kitten with a Whip. Sadly for her it flopped. In 1964 it was too strong and too outrageous for mainstream audiences but too tame for exploitation movie audiences (who were accustomed to stuff like Russ Meyer’s Lorna).
One of those movies that Hollywood makes and then has no idea how to market. I reviewed Kitten with a Whip in May 2020. It really is a terrific movie and Ann-Margret as a bad girl will knock your socks off.
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Fascinating. Thanks for the info. I was quite impressed by her in ‘Tommy’ and her willingness to roll around in bake beans too and her dramatic chops in ‘Carnal Knowledge’ among her films I have taken in the last few years.
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Feel better soon, Vienna!!
Best wishes,
Laura
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Excellent review of yet another movie to check out! Not too familiar with it. Liked Cyd in ‘Party Girl’. What a WAC restore that was.
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Completely agree. That was film I enjoyed well enough when I watched it on DVD. However, I picked up the Blu-ray and found myself quite blown away both by the visuals and the storytelling; Ray’s direction, the use of color and the performances all felt as though they’d been given a massive boost by the HD presentation.
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Party Girl was based on a real people. The attorney played by Robert Taylor was Dixie Evans and died many years after his mob affiliation, murdered in a home invasion.
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Did not know that. Fascinating.
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Neither did I. A quick check tells me that the name of the attorney was actually Dixie Davis though.
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Thank you.
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I might have asked this before Colin but I take it you were pleased by WAC’s treatment of one of your favorite films ‘Some Came Running’?
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Yes Chris, very satisfied. It’s a worthy upgrade. I still need to get round to their Blu-ray of another Minnelli movie I like very much, Home from the Hill.
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Another I have to get in HD eventually! Been to some of the filming locations of ‘Home’ in Oxford Mississippi where one of my favorite writers lived William Faulkner. Now if they could do another first rate film from his works though ‘Intruder in the Dust’, ‘The Long Hot Summer’, and ‘The Reivers’ are all quite good in different ways as Faulkner is difficult to adapt. Oxford and Rowan Oak (Faulkner’s home) are beautiful places to visit. The square is one of the locations used in ‘Home from the Hill’.
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The Long, Hot Summer is another movie I’m extraordinarily fond of, something I realized when I found myself working my way through a lot of Martin Ritt movies last year.
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Would like to have the Blu of that as it looks great in HD. Being Twilight Time it is impossible to get of course. Ironically last year I picked up Ritt’s last movie the interesting ‘Stanley & Iris’ with Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro. Three of my favorite Ritt’s are ‘Hud’, ‘Spy who came in from the Cold (classic), and ‘Hombre’.
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Robert Taylor gives one of his best performances in Party Girl and I think Cyd Charisse is good as well. The fact that she was one of the greatest movie dancers of all time sometimes obscures the fact that she was a perfectly competent serious actress when given the chance.
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I guess she is remembered principally as a dancer, which is fair enough. Even so, I think her acting performances outside of musicals are quite well regarded, at least I can’t recall coming across any noticeably negative responses.
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For whatever it may be worth, I did The Pleasure of His Company in Toronto with Cyd in 1985. She was great, the play a commercial although not a critical success. John Ireland was her leading man and wrong for the part, but he brought modernity to the project.
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Ironic. Just saw a neat ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ with John Ireland. Such a cool actor.
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Great review of a very entertaining “western”. I saw this about 5 years ago and really enjoyed it so I think it is high time I rewatch the film. Cyd Charisse’s talents were somewhat wasted here, but she made a good-looking native girl…and, of course, Stewart Granger is always good to see, but I remember liking Wendell Corey’s performance the best.
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I also think Corey’s work here is very impressive, a clever and subtle bit of acting that stays with you.
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I enjoyed THE WILD NORTH quite well and was delighted to see you appreciated it. Enjoyed reading your thoughts on it. There are some very nice touches to this story including the use of the kitten.
I kind of wished Cyd Charisse had been in it just a bit more as I’m such as fan of hers, but I liked what’s seen of her here.
Best wishes,
Laura
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I understand what you mean re Cyd Charisse as I like her too. On the other hand, if she had featured more prominently, it would have drawn attention away from the main focus of the story, or possibly given rise to what would have been a wholly unnecessary and unwelcome rivalry.
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That’s a good point, Colin, which I’ll keep front of mind next time I watch this! Thank you.
Best wishes,
Laura
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As I’ve been off line for over 10 days & have stacks to catch up with I could not resist on commenting on Dee’s mention of KITTEN WITH A WHIP.
Unlike Dee I thought Ann Margaret was the weak link in the film-she was all over the shop-almost as bad as she was in STAGECOACH.
The film would have been far better with,say Tuesday Weld (who ironically posed for the paperback version cover-underage,surely?) Brigid Bazlen,Joey Heatherton or Yvonne Craig. I always, mistakenly thought KITTEN WITH A WHIP was a mild sex comedy instead of a very Noirish very violent thriller which owes much to TOUCH OF EVIL especially with not only locale but some of the people involved.
Despite the title the sex is toned down and the violence turned up to 11 I was glad the film was in black & white due to all the gratuitous razor slashings.
The Australian Imprint version is the one to go for with an excellent essay from Kat Ellinger on female gang violence movies (thanks Kat for the pointer towards GIRLS ON THE LOOSE a hoot and a must for lovers of this kind of junk) from 50’s JD stuff (Corman’s TEENAGE DOLL which I have yet to catch up with) through 70’s exploitation titles (SWITCHBLADE SISTERS) on to the Japanese notorious “Pinky Violence” cycle.
There’s also a wonderful piece on JD “Pulp Fiction” on paperbacks covering titles like “Jailbait Jungle”
Kitten’s director Douglas Hayes had an interesting career starting out penning Sam Katzman flicks like MASTERSON OF KANSAS to becoming a prolific TV director to returning to writing (ICE STATION ZEBRA)
The Imprint version of “Kitten”is recommended to Noir fans and the extras complete a very enticing package.
Mr Barry Lane-if you are out there I finally caught SON OF DR JEKYLL the fact that no producer is mentioned on the credits suggests “rights issues” and perhaps why an official release has never happened.
Barry I enjoyed the film very much great Gothic settings and fast pacing. The makers have gone more for a Gothic Mystery rather than a standard Horror Movie and I’d buy a Blu Ray release in a heartbeat.
Colin, sorry to wander so far from THE WILD NORTH which I have seen at the cinema and enjoyed.
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Good to hear from you, John. And don’t worry about the wandering, like most comment threads here this one has taken numerous detours already.
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The Wade Miller source novel Kitten with a Whip is well worth reading. Much darker and much more noirish than the movie. The movie is a very sanitised very Hollywoodised version of the novel. I love the movie but the novel is a whole lot better.
Any movie could only be improved by having Tuesday Weld as its star. Extraordinary actress. I don’t think any actress in Hollywood history ever sabotaged her own career as effectively as Miss Weld did. Her performance in Pretty Poison is breathtakingly chilling.
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I agree. What an actress Miss Weld was. I mean she was so powerful even in her good girl role in ‘Cincinnati Kid’ contrasted with bad girl Ann Margaret. Tuesday elevates McQueen in their scenes together. Power. Like she had with Peck in ‘I walk the line’.
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I love Switchblade Sisters. Inspired by both Othello and grand opera.
I’m a huge fan of the Japanese Pinky Violence movies. Lots of violence, sex, style and craziness. If it’s a Pinky Violence movie and it stars Meiko Kaji or Miki Sugimoto then it’s even better. An absolute must-see Pinky Violence movie is Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom. It’s a samurai movie with 1970s girl juvenile delinquents.
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Wow. Not familiar with those. Bet Tarantino loves them. Thanks for the info.
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Yep, I believe Tarantino is a big fan of Switchblade Sisters.
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John, this is the deal as far as I know. Louis had a four-film contract at Columbia with the object to make medium-budget costune pictures along the lines Randy Scott was making westerns. Of the four, Fortunes of Captain Blood, its technicolor sequel Captain Pirate, Lady and The Bandit all had Harry Joe Brown credited as producer. Son of Dr. Jekyll was poorly received and Harry walked away from it. Except for the first title, the others opened at second houses, and they marked the beginning of Hayward’s professional decline. Louis and the entire Hayward family personally liked Seymour Friedman, the diretgor, and he went along with Louis to the UK when it came time to shoot The Saint’s Return, which also did poorly in the states, although not in England.
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John Knight – this was intended for you.
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SON OF DR JEKYLL was much better than expected-it certainly had the production values associated with Harry Joe. Also I like Seymour Friedman as a director, his programmers have style and taut pacing.
Trouble was Gothic Horror was out of vogue at that time-even Universal could not revive it with THE STRANGE DOOR and THE BLACK CASTLE both good movies with strong casts. It later took Hammer Films to revive the genre.
Regarding Mr Ireland I understand he and Robert Mitchum were good pals-Ireland makes an unbilled cameo in VILLA RIDES which must have been a chore for Mitch as he disliked both Brynner and especially Bronson.
I addresses my “Jekyll” comment to you as we have discussed this title elsewhere.
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John, except for Fortunes of Captain Blood, there was a spiral downward. Louis repeated that 5,000 theatre dates was the goal for each film, not just this group, but the entirety of his fifties output declined significantly as did the Scott-Brown pictures, but they made up the slide by doing well elsewhere. Here comes the financial aspect:
The deal was $75,000 per title at Columbia. When Captain Pirate was in production Louis was offered one-third of the profits. The film, shot in Technicolor appealed to Hayward, and he accepted. The receipts amounted to less than ten percent of Fortunes. Louis moved on but his price was $40,000, and by 1956, Bridey Murphy became $25,000. That was the reality of our business, ergo television and theatre.
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Thanks,Barry-wonderful (insider) info as always.
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I watched Captain Pirate a few months back and quite enjoyed it for what it was.
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Many people have done, but it did not play, and I thought Louis less animated than inhis other costume pictures.
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Fair enough, he certainly did stronger work in other swashbucklers.
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Dee, you continue to be the most amazing source of information.
It was weird that KITTEN WITH A WHIP came from a major studio at that time.
Tuesday Weld was for a time America’s Sweetheart and no doubt loathed the sort of fluff the major studios offered her. When she moved to darker roles her fans never went on the journey with her.
I guess her relationship with John Ireland never did her career any good either.
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John Ireland was destructive. When he worked with me I had very little problem, but he lied to equity about his age, and that caught up with him, and Cyd was well aware of him from the production of Party Girl. She did not want him, but time was of the essence and we were all stuck. There was a comment from Bradford Dillman, a fellow resident of Santa
Barbara. Hope you can find it, his contempt was palpable.
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Fascinating. He seemed a fellow you didn’t want to cross like Mitchum.
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Didn’t Tuesday Weld turn down both Bonnie And Clyde and Rosemary’s Baby? And this was at a time when really good roles for women in Hollywood were starting to dry up as Hollywood focused increasingly on very male-centric movies.
And I believe she turned down a string of other star-making roles as well. By the end of the 60s she could have been the biggest female star in Hollywood.
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I believe so. Then she is in something like ‘A safe place’ which she is great in with Orson Welles and Jack Nicholson which is fairly incomprehensible and non commercial too. A disastrous combination.
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My relationship with 70’s early 80’s Exploitation Movies sort of ended with two powerful revenge rape movies ACT OF VENGEANCE (with Kitten’s Peter Brown BTW and talented Jo Ann Harris) and Abel Ferrara’s MS. 45
Ferrara’s film is certainly worth checking out, exploitation, yes but powerful and very cinematic.
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It’s not a genre I’m overly fond of but my favourite rape revenge movies are Hannie Caulder (with Raquel Welch giving her career-best performance) and of course Thriller: A Cruel Picture (with Christina Lindberg giving her career-best performance).
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Carl Weathers has passed away at 76. Everybody remembers Apollo in ‘Rocky’ but as a war movie buff I liked him in ‘Force 10 from Navarone’. Yes a lesser film than the original but still very entertaing watch directed by Guy Hamilton and that cast! Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Edward Fox, Franco Nero, and Barbara Bach plus Weathers. Just fun to see them all.
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I remember going to see Force 10 in the cinema primed by memories of how enjoyable the first movie had been, and coming away rather disappointed. I haven’t seen the movie in many years, but I think it looked a bit flat, felt less ebullient and less expansive than Thompson’s film. That’s just the impression I’ve carried for a long time. I recall liking Shaw’s work well enough though.
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I’m a definite fan of J. Lee Thompson as a director. Yield to the Night, Ice Cold in Alex, Cape Fear, Tiger Bay, Eye of the Devil – superb movies. One of the great British directors who was never all that fashionable with critics who seemed to consider him unworthy of auteur status.
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Personally, I have a high regard for Thompson’s early work, much less for his output from the 70s onwards. And I think those later films certainly did hurt his critical reputation.
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Unfortunately, there’s more sad news to impart with the passing of Don Murray. His was a long life and he had some notable movies to his name, especially early in his career – his Oscar-nominated debut in Bus Stop, These Thousand Hills, From Hell to Texas, Shake Hands with the Devil, Advise and Consent.
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