Those familiar only with Johnny Horton’s song hit North to Alaska might not be aware that the song came equipped with a movie.
John Wayne and Stewart Granger star as a couple of lucky miners in Alaska Territory during the ’98 gold rush. Since the Duke is the only man he can trust, Granger sends his pal to Seattle to fetch his fiance. Fabian appears in the cast (playing Granger’s brother) primarily to attract teenage filmgoers; he gets to sing, of course, but he’s better than usual. The film’s centerpiece, an outsized brawl in the muddy streets of Nome, was repeated with several variations in Wayne’s subsequent McLintock (1963).North to Alaska was based on a considerably more genteel stage play, Laszlo Fodor’s Birthday Gift.
Set in 1900, in Nome, during the peak of the Alaskan Gold Rush started in ’98, where prospecting partners Sam McCord (John Wayne) and George Pratt (Stewart Granger) become millionaires when their claim delivers after three years. George’s 17-year-old brother Billy (Fabian) is also a partner, who is used as a comic foil by always seen trying to act grownup to get a girl but never succeeding. In town, the partners get into a big barroom brawl when the other prospectors laugh at George for trusting Sam to bring back his fiancée Jenny Lamont from Seattle. Sam finds Jenny in Seattle, but she’s a maid in a rich family’s house and has married the butler. Not wanting to disappoint George, Sam goes to the bordello and talks beautiful prostitute Michelle, also known as Angel (Capucine), into going with him to Nome to marry George.
But the drunken Sam never explains it right and she misunderstands the situation and decides to go back home after landing in Nome when she learns she’s meant for Sam’s partner. Angel has fallen for Sam and he has for her, but refuses to admit it. Returning to the mine, Sam is surprised to find there are claim-jumpers he has to do battle with and is further surprised that Angel stayed in Nome. The mixup situation continues with all three men, Sam, George and Billy falling for Angel, trying to romance and fight over her as she stays at the honeymoon cabin George built for his expected bride Jenny. The film concludes with its centerpiece brawl scene in the muddy streets of Nome, as oily con man casino/hotel owner Frankie Canon (Ernie Kovacs) is exposed as the swindler responsible for getting illiterate drunk Peter Boggs (Mickey Shaughnessy) to file a false claim so Frankie can steal the mine. While the slapstick fight goes on, the onlookers cheer on Angel and Sam to declare their love for each other.
If you’re a fan of such riotous brawls you might have a different opinion of the pic than I did, as these brawls are considered classics by certain film buffs.
Leave A Comment