Main Cast: Errol Flynn, Julie Bishop, Helmut Dantine, John Ridgely, Gene Lockhart
Release Year: 1943
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
Plot
The fact that star Errol Flynn had been recently embroiled in a real-life rape trial only served to increase the box-office "pull" of Warner Bros. Northern Pursuit. Flynn is cast as Canadian mountie Steve Wagner, assigned to track down and capture downed Nazi pilot Hugo von Keller (Helmut Dantine) in the snowier Hudson Bay regions. Once Wagner and fellow mountie Jim Austin (John Ridgely) catch up with Von Keller, they pretend to be on his side, hoping that he'll reveal his espionage plans. Taken in, Von Keller leads the mounties towards a secret Nazi hideaway, where the Germans have hidden a huge bombing plane, to be used against North America. The fact that Wagner is posing as a Nazi sympathizer hardly endears him to Von Keller's hostage Laura McBain (Julie Bishop), but when the truth is revealed she professes her love for him. In the light of Flynn's recent legal problems, one line in Northern Pursuit invariably brought down the house in 1943: After assuring Laura that she's the only woman he's ever loved, Wagner/Flynn turns to the camera and quips "What am I saying?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Northern Pursuit is an okay adventure yarn/spy thriller -- nothing great, made up mostly of bits and pieces we've all seen before, but put together professionally and with just enough spirit to make it entertaining. With Errol Flynn on hand, you know that the lead character will evince sufficient charm and sufficient derring-do, but at the same time there's simply something disconcerting about seeing Flynn as a Mountie. It just doesn't seem natural, and that impression dogs the whole film. Very much a product of its day, modern viewers may find its heavyhanded depictions of the Nazis a bit much to swallow; they're drawn too much as stock screen villains, evil personified, and it's difficult to view them without thinking they could have been shown to be just as evil in a less stereotypical manner. That said, Helmut Dantine's performance as the particularly nasty Nazi is exactly what the screenplay calls for; he delivers a performance that's memorably vile. Less memorable is Julie Bishop, who as the love interest looks attractive but adds little in the way of a dramatic performance. Raoul Walsh directs with an eye toward the adventure elements and provides enough tension and suspense to help one leap over some of the holes in the screenplay. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Tom Tully - Inspector Barnett; Bernard Nedell - Dagor; Warren Douglas - Sergeant; Monte Blue - Jean; Alec Craig - Angus McBain; Tom Fadden - Hobby; Rose Higgins - Alice; John Royce - German Aviator; Joe Herrera - Indian Guide; Carl Harbaugh - Radio Operator; Richard Allen - Heinzmann; John Alvin - Orderly; Robert Ashley; Glen Cavender - Workman; Ken Christy - Warden; Wallis Clark - Judge; Jimmie Dugan - Mountie; Ben Erway - Immigration Officer; James Farley - Turnkey; John Forsythe - Soldier; Arno Frey - Submarine Captain; Arthur E. Gould-Porter - Little Man on Train; Joe Haworth; Herbert Heywood - Farmer; Russell Hicks - Chief Inspector; Paul Irving - Lawyer; Fred Kelsey - Conductor; Bill Kennedy - Mountie; Robert Kent - Soldier; Milt Kibbee; Guy Kingsford - Campbell the Mountie; George Kirby - Hotel Clerk; George Lynn - Johnson the Mountie; Charles Marsh - Man in Camel Hair Coat; Lester Matthews - Colonel; James Millican - Army Driver; Pat Moriarity - Recruiting Sergeant; Martin Noble - German Cook; Hugh Prosser - Corporal; Eddie Searles - German Ski Trooper; George Sherwood - Ticket Seller; Jay Silverheels; Robert Hutton - Guard; Sam Waagenaar - German Assistant Cook
Credit
Leo K. Kuter - Art Director, Leah Rhoads - Costume Designer, Raoul Walsh - Director, Jack Killifer - Editor, Jack L. Warner - Executive Producer, Adolph Deutsch - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Perc Westmore - Makeup, Sidney Hickox - Cinematographer, Jack Chertok - Producer, Casey Roberts - Set Designer, Roy Davidson - Special Effects, James Leicester - Special Effects, Don Siegel - Special Effects, Stan Jones - Sound/Sound Designer, Frank Gruber - Screenwriter, Alvah Bessie - Screenwriter, Leslie T. White - Short Story Author
