North to Alaska (1960)

I saw this as a kid and was thoroughly entertained. On re-viewing it 40+ years later I liked it even better.John Wayne plays his usual rollicking tough-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold role. The man may have not had much acting depth, but within his element he could project an image and deliver a line as well as anyone in the business. I'm sure purists roll their eyes at his lasting fame, but if you want movies that entertain adults as well as the kids you rarely find a dud in the John Wayne collection.One might presume that Stewart Granger was perhaps too good an actor for this film but he fits right in. He certainly played the part well as would be expected but he seemed to have a great time.Cappucine. Well, what can you say but hubba hubba. Well, you can also say the woman had some solid chops. She had legitimate comedic skills and though her roles were limited she made the best out of them. Her death by suicide, evidently related to some kind of depressive or bipolar disorder, was simply sad. One has to wonder if with the tools of today it might have been avoidable.Fabian? Wow, that guy could really grow hair. But in all fairness he wasn't bad at all. He knew his limits and kept well within them. As a result he could contribute meaningfully to a film and not just as eye candy for the teenyboppers.The film is dated of course. Comedy of this style hasn't sold well since the Newman-Redford productions of the 70s. But for those of us old enough to remember the era this is a worthwhile sit-down.

NORTH TO ALASKA is another comic western for star John Wayne and director Henry Hathaway, this time made with an even lighter touch than usual. An ageing Wayne is backed up by the double-whammy of Stewart Granger and pop singer Fabian, and the story is about gold claims in Alaska which makes this a 'northern' rather than the usual westerns the star was known for. The film peaks early on with a hilarious bar-room brawl which has some great sight gags and stunts and if there isn't much in the way of action after this point, the comedy makes it work. Wayne is the usual two-fisted hero and gently ribs himself while the supporting acts work hard to make their characters work. In the end, Hathaway comes out triumphant by delivering another light and breezy, seemingly effortless, piece of direction.

This is an excellent movie!! It is funny and series at the same time. John Wayne as Sam McCord is a miner who goes to Seattle to get his partners fiancée. The fiancée turns out to be married so he ends up at a bordello (?) where he gets Capucine to come with him to Alaska as a substitute. Fabian plays the younger brother of George Pratt (played well by Stewart Granger) and boy is he a horny teen when Capucine shows up. They have to defend their claim from claim jumpers and other nearby claims of friends. Ernie Kovacs is in the movie but I don't particularly see his role as a funny guy. He is just a sub plot to the movie and could have been left out. Capucine does a really nice job in the movie and ends up with, surprise, John Wayne at the end of the movie.

Out of 20th Century Fox, North to Alaska is directed by Henry Hathaway (& uncredited input from John Wayne) and stars John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian & Capucine. The film script is based on the play Birthday Gift by Ladislas Fodor, and it's a CinemaScope/Deluxe Color production with Leon Shamroy's cinematography mainly on location at Point Mugu in California. Lionel Newman scores the music and the film also features a hit song of the same name song by Johnny Horton. The plot sees George Pratt (Granger) & Sam McCord (Wayne) strike gold in Alaska. Nicely set up, George sends Sam to Seattle to bring back his fiancée. However, upon finding the girl, Sam learns that she has married another man and Sam makes the decision to bring back a pretty working girl called Angel (Capucine) as a substitute. Trouble is is that Angel misunderstands and thinks Sam wants her for himself and begins to fall in love with him. Things are further complicated back in Nome when con man Frankie Canon (Ernie Kovacs) tries to steal their claim. Not only that but Angel has to contend with George's mood swings and the puppy dog like attentions of George's younger brother Billy (Fabian).It often gets forgotten just what a good comedy actor John Wayne was. His icon status, and the genre he's most famous for, tends to keep his comedy pieces from being discovered by the casual movie fan. Which is a shame because with film's like Donovan's Reef, McLintock! and this here Hathaway treasure, there's enough fun and adventure to blow away the blues. The story in truth is nothing to write home about, it's a standard love triangle piece surrounded by gold rush conning and conniving. While teenage singer Fabian is out of his depth as his hyperactive hormone act quickly loses impetus, and Capucine, tho regally pretty, gives a one note and lacklustre performance that needs Wayne & Granger to offset it in the scenes shared with her. Yet the film still works incredibly well as a romantic comedy adventure.There's as many fists thrown here as there is in a championship boxing bout, with three hilariously staged free for all punch ups within the movie. The chemistry between Wayne & Granger is spot on as they do macho in a comedy stylie, and Kovacs revels in being the moustache twirling con man. Hathaway (stepping in when Richard Fleischer bailed out of the project) was a dab hand at action scenes, with a rolling wagon cart-come-shoot out-punch up sequence as rip roaring as it is funny. Even the animals get in on the act, be it a shaggy loyal dog or head butting goats, they too are filling out the comedy. There's also a lot of beauty on offer as Shamroy (Cleopatra/Leave Her to Heaven/The Black Swan) turns parts of California into Nome, Alaska. The scenes set around the twin cabin site of Sam & George are filmed at Hot Creek near Mammoth Mountain, simply gorgeous, while Mt. Morrison, a magnificent piece of nature, is featured in the background of many shots. Dorothy Spencer's editing is tight and on the money and Newman's score is brisk and bouncy.A far from flawless picture for sure, but what flaws are here are easily forgiven if the viewer is in the right spirit to take the film as it should be taken. 8/10