''Murder on the Yukon'' is a 1940 American adventure film directed by

Louis J. Gasnier Louis Joseph Gasnier (September 15, 1875 – February 15, 1963) was a French-American film director, producer, screenwriter and stage actor. A cinema pioneer, Gasnier shepherded the early career of comedian Max Linder, co-directed the enormously ...

and written by Milton Raison. It is based on the 1931 novel '' Renfrew Rides North'' by Laurie York Erskine. The film stars

James Newill James Morris Newill (August 12, 1911 – July 31, 1975), sometimes credited as Jim Newill, was an American actor and singer. Early life Newill was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Mayme Newill and her first husband. His parents divorced, ...

Polly Ann Young Polly Ann Young (October 25, 1908 – January 21, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Young was born in Denver, Colorado. Actresses Loretta Young and Sally Blane were her sisters. From 1917 to 1941, she was featured in over 40 movies, ...

, Dave O'Brien,

Al St. John Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...

, William Royle and Chief Thundercloud. The film was released on February 25, 1940, by Monogram Pictures.

Plot

Joan Manning and George Weathers are partners in the trading post where miner Jim Smithers exchanges his gold dust for cash. Jim’s unexpected announcement that he plans to leave for Montreal disturbs Weathers, who is the clandestine head of a counterfeiting ring, because Jim is carrying his phony money. Consequently, Weathers orders his henchman, Hawks, to kill Jim before he passes the money in the city. Sergeant Renfrew and Constable Kelly are on vacation when they come across the dead body, lying in his canoe, shot through the heart. Renfrew rides to Jim’s cabin to search for clues and is attacked by Weathers’ men, who have since removed the rest of the counterfeit money. Jim’s brother is found dead, along with a suicide note claiming that he’d killed himself after murdering Jim, but Renfrew suspects murder after finding a counterfeit bill. Kelly follows Monti, an Indian who works for Weathers, to the counterfeiter’s hideout, where he is captured by the gang. From the riverbank, Renfrew sees the gang escaping in canoes and apprehends one of the boats, where he discovers the money hidden among fur pelts. Monti and Hawks escape with the rest of the furs and take refuge at the trading post. There, Renfrew surprises them and arrests Hawks for the murders. Before he can round up the counterfeiters, however, the gang jumps Renfrew and takes him prisoner. Meanwhile, at the hideout, Kelly escapes and comes to the rescue. Together, Sergeant Renfrew and Constable Kelly arrest the gang. ''Murder on the Yukon'' suffered stiff competition when Republic released ''Hi-Yo Silver'', a feature-length motion picture based on the popular radio program, ''The Lone Ranger''. The movie was a condensation of the 15-chapter cliffhanger serial released a couple years prior. (Chief Thundercloud was in the cast of both films: as the sidekick Tonto on ''Hi-Yo Silver'', and as Manti, the henchman, in ''Murder on the Yukon''.) Among the highlights of watching Murder on the Yukon today are two famous comedians of the silent days, Snub Pollard and Al St. John, cast in minor roles. Actress Polly Ann Young played the female lead in this movie, but her role was so diminutive that, after having played the female leads in Tim McCoy and Buck Jones westerns at Columbia, she was practically hired and incorporated into the story for the sake of adding a female eye candy to the screen. Actress Dorothea Kent received more screen time in the next entry, ''Danger Ahead''. Kent, who was used to better camera breaks and parts when with Universal as a feature player, took care of herself under the circumstances.Grams, Martin. ''Renfrew of the Mounted: A History of Laurie York Erskine's Canadian Mountie Franchise'', OTR Publishing, 2020. ISBN 979-8699041442.

Cast

as Renfrew *

as Joan Manning * Dave O'Brien as Constable Kelly *

as Bill Smithers *William Royle as George Weathers * Chief Thundercloud as Manti *

Karl Hackett Carl Ellsworth Germain (September 5, 1893 – October 24, 1948), known professionally as Karl Hackett, was an American actor. He served in the U.S. army during World War I. He was married to Ruby Burnette Moore. On October 24, 1948, Hackett ...

as Hawks *

Snub Pollard Harold Fraser (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962), known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s. Career Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 No ...

as Archie *

Kenne Duncan Kenne Duncan (February 17, 1903 – February 5, 1972) was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, bu ...

as Tom *Earl Douglas as Steve *

Budd Buster Budd Leland Buster (June 14, 1891 – December 22, 1965), usually credited as Budd Buster (and sometimes Bud Buster), was an American actor known for B western films. He sometimes was credited as George Selk in his later work. Early life Bus ...

as Jim Smithers

References

External links

* {{Louis J. Gasnier 1940 films American adventure films 1940 adventure films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by Louis J. Gasnier American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films