''Heart of the North'' is a 1938 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Lewis Seiler Lewis Seiler (September 30, 1890 – January 8, 1964) was an American film director. He directed more than 80 films between 1923 and 1958. Seiler was born in New York City and died in Hollywood, California. Partial filmography *''A Bankru ...

and written by Lee Katz and Vincent Sherman. The film stars

Dick Foran John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. Early years Foran was born in Flemington, New Jers ...

Gloria Dickson Gloria Dickson (born Thais Alalia Dickerson; August 13, 1917 – April 10, 1945) was an American stage and screen actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Dickson was the daughter of a banker. After her father's dea ...

Gale Page Gale Page (born Sally Perkins Rutter July 29, 1910 – January 8, 1983) was an American singer and actress. Early life Page was the daughter of R.L. and Isabel (Gale) Rutter of Spokane. Her aunt and uncle were Elizabeth Gale Page and Mil ...

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 190 ...

Patric Knowles Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...

, and Janet Chapman. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on December 10, 1938. It is based on the novel with the same name, written by William Byron Mowery. The Canadian Mounties abandon horses to pursue a gang of gold and fur thieves, using boats, canoes and airplanes.

Cast

as Sergeant Alan Baker *

as Joyce MacMillan *

as Elizabeth Spaulding *

as Corporal Bill Hardsock *

as Corporal Jim Montgomery * Janet Chapman as Judy Montgomery *

James Stephenson James Albert Stephenson (14 April 1889 – 29 July 1941) was a British stage and film actor. He found extraordinarily rapid success in Hollywood after arriving in his late 40s, but he died unexpectedly in his early 50s. Early life Stephenson ...

as Inspector Stephen Gore * Anthony Averill as Constable Whipple *

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

as Red Crocker * Joe King as Mac Drummond * Russell Simpson as Dave MacMillan * Arthur Gardner as Constable Larry Young * Garry Owen as Tom 'Tommy' Ryan * Pedro de Cordoba as Father Claverly * Alec Harford as Lunnon Dick *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as Boat Captain Ashman *

Anderson Lawler Anderson Lawler (May 5, 1902 – April 6, 1959) was an American actor and producer in film and theatre who had a career lasting from the 1920s through the 1950s. He began on Broadway before moving to featured and supporting roles in Hollywood ove ...

as Constable Burgoon * Bruce Carruthers as Constable Pedeault Plot Cpl. Jim Montgomery of the R.C.M.P. (Patric Knowles) takes his little daughter Julie (Janet Chapman) from Fort Endurance in the Northwest Territories to school in Edmonton on the river steamer Arctic Queen. Six men hold up the boat when they stop for wood, gun down Cpl. Montgomery in front of his daughter, disable the steamer and steal its cargo of furs and gold. They escape by canoe. R.C.M.P. Inspector Stephen Gore (James Stephenson) sends Sgt Alan Baker (Dick Foran) with five Mounties after the bandits in a motor launch and canoe, but orders him to split his unit in two. This leaves Sgt. Baker short of manpower when they are ambushed by the bandits. Sgt. Baker is forced to end the pursuit and bring a wounded comrade back to Fort Endurance. At Fort Endurance, Sgt. Baker is confined to quarters for not arresting trapper Dave McMillan (Russell Simpson) after some of the stolen furs are found in his shed. Sgt. Baker’s girlfriend Elizabeth Spaulding (Gale Page) lies about Dave McMillan being part of the gang in order to have Sgt. Baker thrown out of the Mounties. Dave McMillan is arrested. While the other Mounties go out to pursue the bandits, Sgt. Baker is confined to quarters. Sgt. Baker and R.C.M.P. Cpl. Bill Hardsock (Allen Jenkins) steal a forestry department float plane to search the lakes and rivers. They find the bandits and strafe their canoes, leaving two bandits to be pursued on land. Sgt. Baker captures the bandit leader, who admits that they are working for the corrupt shipping agent Red Crocker (Joe Sawyer). A pursuing forestry plane lands and takes Sgt. Baker, Cpl. Hardsock and the bandit leader back to Fort Endurance, just in time to save Dave McMillan from being lynched by a group of angry gold miners. Dave McMillian’s beautiful daughter Joyce (Gloria Dickson) is very grateful to Sgt. Baker and his girlfriend Elizabeth parts with him. Sgt. Baker is promoted to inspector and given command of the Fort Endurance R.C.M.P. detachment.

References

External links

* * * * {{Lewis Seiler 1938 films Warner Bros. films American adventure films 1938 adventure films Films directed by Lewis Seiler Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Northern (genre) films Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction 1930s English-language films 1930s American films