The Wild North

Plot synopsis:
Jules Vincent, a French-Canadian trapper (Stewart Granger), while in a northern Canadian town, helps an attractive Indian singer (Cyd Charisse), fend off unwanted attentions of a drunken Max Brody (Howard Petrie). The next day, Vincent sets off by canoe into the Canadian wilderness, taking the Indian girl up north to her tribe, now accompanied by a contrite Brody.
When the group arrives at her Chippewa village, Vincent tells the chief (John War Eagle), after Brody had acted recklessly on the rapids that he wanted to send him a warning, shooting into the air but accidentally killing Brody when the canoe pitched wildly. Frightened by the prospect of arrest, Vincent heads into the wilderness. After Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constable Pedley (Wendell Corey) arrives at the village on another matter, he learns about Brody's death.
Pedley finds Vincent's cabin where the Indian girl tells him that Vincent is not a murderer. The RCMP Constable, however, is determined to bring Vincent in, saying running away makes the trapper look guilty.
While on his trapline, Vincent finds a half-frozen Father Simon (Morgan Farley) who had gone into the wilderness, to try to persuade the trapper to turn himself in. As Father Simon pleads with Vincent, Pedley arrives to hear the dying priest's last words. Despite Vincent's warnings that the weather will turn worse, Pedley takes Vincent into custody and starts a long trek back to the RCMP station.
The treacherous trip back puts both men in peril as two other trappers, Ruger (Ray Teal) and Sloan (Clancy Cooper) menace them. Facing harrowing conditions and the attack of wolves, the unlikely bond that forms between the trapper and the constable allows both to survive.

Tags: murder

Review:
The Wild North was shot in the Boulder Mts of central Idaho, near Sun Valley Resort.
My father, Clayton Stewart, was the resort's contact with MGM and for years helped directors find the right settings for movies.
I can take you to the exact locations of the outdoor scenes, some of which were: along upper Big Wood River not far from Russian John Forest Service Ranger Station; along Big Wood near where the North Fork comes into the main channel; along the front of the Boulder Mountains near where Baker Creek comes in, and near Boulder Creek; up Trail Creek above Trail Creek Cabin; and on Galena Summit.
I was a girl when the movie was shot, and when the Sun Valley portion of the film was finished, Stewart Granger gave me the snowshoes he had used in the film, which I still have.
I also have a set of black and white photos taken by Dad during the filming.
This is an exciting adventure movie with a breathtaking setting and some great wilderness action..
I first saw this movie in 1952 at a theater in Chattanooga tenn when it first was released.
It mesmerized me then and has done the same 10 to 20 times I have seen it since.
It has a reality to it that is totally lacking in most hollywood films.
And maybe the main reason its to my liking is Steward Granger.
He was the narrator of the books on tape title ( call of the wild ) and he made the experience infinitely more enjoyable and exciting for me .
I hope ted Turner will release this title to dvd or vhs at some point from his film library..
High Quality Movie From MGM.
TCM just showed The Wild North today, in a version that had closed captioning added and looked as if it was digitally remastered since its last broadcast on TCM some years ago.
Maybe Time-Warner will finally release the DVD of the movie in the near future.
MGM in the early fifties turned out a series of high quality star vehicles, which were taken for granted then.
With its small cast, The Wild North is like another movie of the period, The Naked Spur, which also deals with bringing a prisoner in.
The Wild North has fine location photography in Idaho, a script that moves along and even some photographic effects courtesy of A.
By 1956, with the forced sale of its Loew's theaters, the firing of Dore Schary as head of production and the end of contract system for studio talent, MGM went into a slow death spiral.
There would be no more studio pictures like The Wild North, as MGM cut its output and filled a big chunk of its slate of releases with independent productions and movies made overseas.
But at least I now have The Wild North on DVD, recorded from today's broadcast, as a souvenir from a vanished era in Hollywood history..
An unforgettable Canadian setting.
I first saw The Wild North when I was just fresh back from Korea in 1953.
I was so impressed by the story and the scenery that I returned to the little movie theater down the block to see it three more times before it was replaced on the bill.
The action is terrific and the scene where the wolves attack Wendell Corey and Stewart Granger makes your heart pound.
The setting is breath taking and the ending is perfect.
The Movie makers paid great attention to detail, right down to the Tea Cartons and the Tobacco packages.
If they ever release it again, I'll see it for the fifth time..
I saw this film when it came out in theatres back when I was a kid & when I saw it on TCM awhile ago, it still socked me right in the kisser with its breathtakingly beautiful cinematography, fast paced action, suspense, and wonderful characters.
Stewart Granger is totally believable as the wanted fur trapper, Cyd Charrisse is as beautiful as I remember her, and Wendell Corey is fantastic as the stalwart Mountie who always gets his man.
This movie is in my personal list of Top 10 favorite films...ever!
I finally got to make a DVD of it from TCM the other night & I've watched it 5 times since then without ever getting tired of it.
The closing scene...Wendell Corey in his RCMP costume with a tiny kitten on his shoulder & the snow covered mountains behind him is a picture that I will carry with me to my grave.
Absolutely a film to be treasured by anyone who loves great movies!.
Corey and Granger provide strong performances.
I enjoyed both Corey and Granger performance.
However, I especially liked Corey's strong character performance in "The Wild North".
Corey's understated character contrasts well with the mountain man persona of Granger.
In later years, Corey always was cast in submissive, retiring roles which really did not suit him.
Corey projects a strong 'quiet' type of presence and with a high level of integrity.
Cinema photography and accuracy is especially fabulous in this movie.
No fake Hollywood sets for this movie.The story builds as the character development becomes apparent.
Viewers begin to identify and feel for the characters making the story even more vivid and realistic.
The best compliment I can pay this movie is that it allowed me to feel like I was up North with them during the trek!.
A wonderful picture that has great adventurous moments!.
I have not seen this movie in a long,long,long time.However I can not ever forget it!
The beautiful Canadian Rockies,where I believe it was filmed was breath taking!The scene where Wendell Corey and Stewart Granger are camping and have to avoid wolves is as exciting moment as any adventure film I've ever scene!
My congratulations to Director Andrew Marton (1952) for making a 48 year old,want to see it again!In a time of action movies,with far out special effects,sex,profanity and plots that seem to run together with next months movies,this one has suspence that is believable and yes with a beautiful Cyd Charisse!.
The exciting adventure films of Stewart Granger were popular..
Stewart Granger made a number of very exciting outdoor adventure films.
The Last Hunt, King Solomon's Mines and The Wild North all appeared when he was at the height of his popularity.
The Wild North is exceptionally exciting with his canoeing down a raging river and fighting off a pack of ravenous wolves.
He plays the role of a French trapper pursued by the Royal Mounted Police.
The movie must have been shot on location somewhere in Canada or Alaska.
I saw this film on TV and noticed it was not available in any format.
I wish it was available on DVD or that someone could provide a copy in VHS.
I would love to own this film..
Stewart Granger is a woods wise French Canadian trapper who's killed a man and Wendell Corey is the rookie Mountie sent to bring him back for trial.Problem is that this is Granger's ballpark they're playing in and it's one long journey back to some semblance of civilization.
But strange as it may seem, Corey proves his mettle and a strange respect grows between both men.Granger and Corey have good chemistry between them, they'd have to or the film would be unwatchable.
MGM put in some good action sequences involving wolves attacking their camp and a breathtaking whitewater canoeing challenge.
The Wild North also features good location photography in some rugged regions of Idaho serving as the Canadian northwest.
Oh, and there's Cyd Charisse who dances not a step as a beautiful Indian woman with a thing for Granger.
Reason enough right there to watch the Wild North..
Spectacular adventure and romance in the white jungle of the North in which a trapper is pursued by an obstinate lawman.
This colorful picture is set in the North wildness , in the Canadian mountains, , and specifically at the treacherous jungle of ice plenty of wild wolf attack , wild avalanche and a fight for life against fury of claws and fangs .
A man called Jules Vincent (Stewart Granger) and an Indian woman (Cyd Charysse) hide from the world and join their love in the heart of the wilderness .
There takes place a killing and Jules escapes being pursued by a merciless mounted police officer .
As the trapper goes on the run accused of a crime and is pursued by a rugged and determined lawman .
Both of whom will take on death struggle with a pack of wolves , thundering terror of the avalanche , wild rapids and many other things .This exciting film deals with a Wild Love Story in the Wild North and contains adventures , thrills , an enjoyable romance and colorful outdoors well filmed by cameraman Robert Surtees who photographs splendidly the snowbound scenarios .
It is nonetheless a little failed , being necessary a right remastering .
Plenty of a Hollywood all-star cast as Stewart Granger, Cyd Charysse , and Wendell Corey ; however ordinary script complications muddle the tale .
It was also Stewart Granger's first western , the fore-runner of many in the later stages of his career such as ¨Gun Glory¨ ¨North to Alaska¨ , ¨ The last hunt¨and ¨Old Surehand¨ saga .
Special mention to musical score by the classical Bronislau Kaper , a great composer expert on impressive atmosphere in Noir cinema and epic films .
Filmed on location in exciting color , all grandeur of the wilderness captured in breathtaking Ansco color ; in fact , this was MGM's first movie in Ansco color , a brilliant process which they developed themselves .
The new technical coped specifically well with the impressive scenery filmed on location in Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming, and Idaho , USA .The motion picture was professionally directed by Andrew Marton , though with no originality and some moments result to be a little tiring .
The Budapest-born Marton came to Hollywood with the great Ernest Lubitsch in 1923 .
Director Andrew Marton likes lots of big , noisy explosions , when he doesn't know what else to do .
Andrew was noted for the quality of his action images in such films as ¨King Salomon's mines¨, a noteworthy movie in several respects .
Marton was a specialist on Wartime movies as : ¨The thin red line¨ , ¨The longest day ¨and adventure movies as ¨African Texas style¨, ¨Around the world under the sea¨, ¨Clarence , the cross-eyed lion¨, ¨Green fire¨ a film hardly distinguished on itself , and ¨King Salomon's mines¨(1950) co-directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton directed the second unit , he then was tasked with replacing Compton Bennett as director after the latter had been taken ill .
One of his more prestigious assignments came about by chance to lay in some excellent work as second-unit director , notably in charge of the chariot race for William Wyler's ¨Ben-Hur¨ (1959), as well as of the Normandy invasion sequences for the World War II .
After his contract with MGM expired in 1954, Marton founded his own production company in conjunction with fellow Hungarian émigrés Ivan Tors and Laslo Benedek .
He later concentrated on TV adventure series, helming the pilots, respectively for "Daktari" (1966) and "Cowboy in Africa" ..
dangerous journey in the fascinating lands of the north.
CHAPTER 1 (written in December 2002):Wendell Corey is a Canadian Mountie, which captures Stewart Granger and together with an Indian girl (the beautiful Cyd Charisse) will bring him to justice, but he has to go through an almost impossible journey.
On the way, Corey, apparently loses his mind.
I saw this film when it was released, I was about 10 years old, and I used to consider it the best film I had ever seen.
CHAPTER 2 (written in March 2006) I saw this film recently and it did not measure up to my expectations.
I still think it is a good film, but what most impressed me the first time I saw it were the colors and the beauty of Canada.
With time, all films were made in color and my geographical hunger for the North was satisfied by many other films about the same region and even further up..
One of Stewart Granger's best movies - DVD needed!!!.
I am surprised that no videos or DVDs have been made of this movie.
Certainly one of the best Stewart Granger movies I have ever seen (second only to Scaramouche)..
North Woods, Snowshoes, Mountie, Trapper..
An adventure movie from the early 50s, with dazzling locations set (according to the data) in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming.
Stewart Granger is a French trapper.
If the producers knew what "grand tetons" meant in French, well, no movie would ever be made there.
One of the locations is Jenny Lake in the National Park.
I like Jenny Lake.
I'm only adding that note because I knew you were dying to know.Buckskin-clad Granger visits the town to enjoy himself.
He picks up a saloon girl, Cyd Charisse, a half-breed Chippewa, and takes her to the mountains in his canoe, as who wouldn't, along with an ugly and duplicitous roughneck whom Granger accidentally kills.
Constable Wendell Corey is ordered by Segeant Preston of the RCMP to dogsled up into the snow-veined Rockies and bring back his man.
Corey does find Granger and they begin their trek towards civilization but the journey is frought with every hazard that the thought of the untamed north Canadian woods brings to mind -- avalanches, wolves, rapids.
Cyd Charisse has little to do.
Her hair style is ill suited and makeup has turned her face and the face of all the other Indians purple.
Granger is the boistrous, hard living frontiersman, expansive, always cheerful and never overly sentimental.
As the RCMP constable, Corey is his opposite.
Surprisingly, Corey does all right in what could have been an extremely pedestrian role.Overall, the film is typical of adventure movies of the period.
Kind of fun, shot in alluring settings, and sometimes positively exciting..
Good old-fashioned adventure movie..
In 1952, many "outdoors" adventure films would be shot on the studio back-lot, with fake-looking backgrounds and interior sets masquerading as exteriors.
The Wild North benefits greatly from the fact that much of it was shot on authentic locations (the American state of Idaho standing in for northern Canada).
The film also benefits from a clutch of strong leading performances from Stewart Granger and Wendell Corey, plus the ravishing Cyd Charisse (cast  some might say miscast  as a native Indian).
The whole film is smartly presented by Andrew Marton, whose last film prior to this was another outdoor adventure with Stewart Granger, the 1950 version of King Solomon's Mines.Wise, handsome and resourceful fur-trapper Jules Vincent (Stewart Granger) is accused of a killing, and an inexperienced Mountie named Pedley (Wendell Corey) is the man who must bring him in.
Vincent knows the rugged wilderness like the back of his hand, so he heads off into the snowy wastelands to hide from his pursuer.
Pedley is determined to prove that he is suited to the dangerous Mountie's work for which he has signed up, so he chases his quarry into the frozen wilds regardless of the risk to his life.
After a long and arduous chase, Pedley finds himself lost in the middle of nowhere, totally exhausted and half-mad after his hair-raising journey.
As winter closes in, it looks like the Mountie is facing certain death but during their cat-and-mouse chase Vincent has grown to respect his pursuer.
As a mark of this respect, Vincent helps Pedley to survive the winter, after which the mismatched pair make their way towards civilisation.MGM used to be able to knock out these stirring adventure flicks in their sleep, and this one is a pretty entertaining example of their output.
Granger and Corey share a good on-screen chemistry, while director Marton successfully makes the scenery against which their adventures occur look suitably wild and beautiful.
Within its 97 minute running time, the film is very fast-paced and crammed with incident.
Amongst the more thrilling segments, Granger and Corey find themselves in one sequence attacked by a marauding wolf pack.
Looking at the film nowadays, it has an old-fashioned style about it that viewers of a certain age and taste might not appreciate.
And there have been so many films set in barren, far-flung corners of the world that some of us might no longer find the icy plains of Canada as fascinating as we once did.
But, on the whole, The Wild North is a highly enjoyable chase adventure, worth watching for its nostalgic pleasures and its strong performances.
As a wise man once said, they don't make 'em like this any more..
A very fine adventures movie with a great Stewart Granger ,an actor so nice that even when he tries to become nasty we don't believe him.The fifties were his heyday,with such exciting works as "Moonfleet" "the prisoner of Zenda" or "the last hunt"."The wild north" shows Granger at the top of his game: with a mediocre actor,the character would have been trite.Wendell Corey's portrayal seems monotonous by comparison.Granger turns what could have been another cop-and-prisoner movie into an endearing absorbing story: it may have inspired Nicholas Ray for some of the scenes between Anthony Quinn and Peter O'Toole in "the savage innocents" .In the wild north, White is everywhere.This is white madness,says Jules Vincent ,a white madness which kills the minister and drives the constable crazy.Jules shows himself a real shrink who uses a real shock therapy: Pedley lost his reason in the snow,he recovers it in the white swirls of the river.Cyd Charisse is a dancer extraordinaire but as an Indian she is...well...Andrew Marton shows much tenderness in the scenes with the cat or when he films a boy's smile when he gets a chocolate bar.