''Susannah of the Mounties'' is a 1939 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by William A. Seiter and starring

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

, and

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

. Based on the 1936 novel ''

Susannah of the Mounties ''Susannah of the Mounties'' is a children's novel by Canadian author Muriel Denison, first published in 1936. In the book 9-year-old Susannah is sent to Regina, Saskatchewan to spend the summer with her uncle who is a Mountie. There are several ...

'' by

Muriel Denison Muriel Denison, née Jessie Muriel Goggin (1886–1954), was a Canadian writer. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she was educated at Havergal College, Edgehill School, and the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto). In 1926 she married author and p ...

, the film is about an orphaned survivor of an Indian attack in the Canadian West who is taken in by a Mountie and his girlfriend. Following additional Indian attacks, the Mountie is saved from the stake by the young girl's intervention with the Indian chief. The plot differs significantly from the book in that it is set twenty years earlier at a much smaller

Mounted Police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in t ...

fort and Susannah's parents are dead rather than in India.

Plot

As the Canadian Pacific Railway makes its way through the western frontier of Canada in the early 1880s, railroad workers and settlers come under frequent attack by Indians who resent the white man's encroachment on their land. One such attack on a wagon train leaves only one survivor, a young girl named Susannah Sheldon who is found by a mounted patrol in the command of Inspector Angus "Monty" Montague. Susannah is taken to the post where she is cared for by Monty and his friend, Pat O'Hannegan. They do their best to help her overcome her ordeal. Some time later, Vicky Standing arrives from Toronto to visit her father, the Superintendent. Monty is immediately enchanted by the beautiful woman. The blossoming romance sparks a rivalry in Susannah and Harlan Chambers, the head of the railroad camp. The Indian attacks resume when renegades steal horses from the railroad camp. One of the friendly Indians, Chief Big Eagle, promises to track down the renegades and deliver them to the camp. As a show of good faith, the Chief leaves his son, Little Chief, at the post. Little Chief teaches Susannah Indian ways. While the two are out riding, they run into a renegade, Wolf Pelt, attempting to sell his stolen horses to Chambers. The two argue and Chambers threatens the Indians with extinction. Wolf Pelt returns to his tribe and uses Chambers' threats to demand that the tribe go to war against the Europeans. That night, Wolf Pelt raids the post to retrieve Little Chief and kidnaps Monty. Soon after, Big Eagle sends a message demanding that the railroad abandon the area or they will kill Monty. Susannah searches for Monty; she approaches the Indian camp, she is taken prisoner. As the tribe prepares to burn Monty at the stake, Susannah escapes the

teepee A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...

and appeals to Big Chief, accusing Wolf Pelt of inciting Chambers by stealing his horses. Wolf Pelt denies the charges. To determine who is telling the truth, Big Chief uses the stick of truth that will point to the liar. When the stick drops towards Wolf Pelt, Big Chief frees Monty and offers him and Susannah his peace pipe.

Cast

as Susannah Sheldon *

as Monty - Inspector Angus Montague *

as Vicky Standing * Martin Good Rider as Little Chief *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Pat O'Hannegan * Maurice Moscovitch as Chief Big Eagle (as Maurice Moscovich) *

Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Life and career Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha ( Hoverholst) Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the ...

as Supt. Andrew Standing * Victor Jory as Wolf Pelt *

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

as Harlan Chambers *

Leyland Hodgson Leyland Hodgson (5 October 1892 – 16 March 1949), also known as Leland Hodgson, was an English-born American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in London on 5 October 1892, Hodgson entered the theater in 1898. In his early 20s, Ho ...

as Randall * Herbert Evans as Doctor *

Jack Luden Jacob Benson Luden (February 8, 1902 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. Early life The son of Jacob and Anna Luden, he grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania. His uncle was confectioner William H. Luden, who developed the menthol cough ...

as Williams * Charles Irwin as Sergeant MacGregor * John Sutton as Corporal Piggott

Production

The film was announced in June 1937. Production was pushed back. Shooting started 23 January 1939.

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a film production company. The business piq ...

was meant to direct but he fell ill and was replaced by

William Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Sennet ...

. Margaret Lockwood made the film during her brief stint in Los Angeles. In the film there was a contingent of 12 full blooded

Blackfoot Indians The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

led by Chief Albert Mad Plume, who were brought in largely as extras. Another member of the Blackfoot tribe, Martin Goodrider, played the role of Little Chief. Temple and Goodrider struck up an instant friendship (something unusual with Temple as she was normally forbidden to mingle with her child costars). As an act of goodwill, Temple swore in all members of the Blackfoot tribe as members of the Shirley Temple Police Force while Temple was made an honorary member of the Blackfoot tribe and given the name Bright Shining Star.Shirley Temple Black, "Child Star: An Autobiography" (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 267, 271-272

Soundtrack

"The Maple Leaf Forever" (Alexander Muir) played during opening titles * "In the Gloaming" (Annie Fortescue Harrison, Meta Orred) sung a cappella by soldiers in Supt. Standing's home * "I'll Teach You to Waltz" (M. F. Carrey) played on harmonica by J. Farrell MacDonald and sung by Shirley Temple * " Down Went McGinty" (Joseph Flynn) sung a cappella by J. Farrell MacDonald

References

External links