North to Alaska: Difference between revisions
Derek4maria (talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
After striking [[gold]] in [[Alaska]], George Pratt ([[Stewart Granger]]) sends partner Sam McCord ([[John Wayne]]) to [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]] to bring back his fiancée. Finding that George's girl had already married another man, Sam brings back prostitute "Angel" ([[Capucine]]) as a substitute. There is a misunderstanding: she thinks Sam wants her for himself and begins to fall in love with him on the boat trip back. |
After striking [[gold]] in [[Alaska]], George Pratt ([[Stewart Granger]]) sends partner Sam McCord ([[John Wayne]]) to [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]] to bring back his fiancée. Finding that George's girl had already married another man, Sam brings back prostitute "Angel" ([[Capucine]]) as a substitute. There is a misunderstanding: she thinks Sam wants her for himself and begins to fall in love with him on the boat trip back. |
||
George |
George is rejected by the girl, though his young brother Billy ([[Fabian (entertainer)|Fabian]]) is very interested. Meanwhile, con man Frankie Canon ([[Ernie Kovacs]]) tries to steal their claim. |
||
==Production== |
==Production== |
||
Revision as of 03:34, 19 July 2009
| North to Alaska | |
|---|---|
 1960 movie poster | |
| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Written by | screenplay by John Lee Mahin Wendell Mayes Martin Rackin based on a play by Ladislas Fodor |
| Produced by | Henry Hathaway John Lee Mahin |
| Starring | John Wayne Stewart Granger Capucine Ernie Kovacs Fabian |
| Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
| Music by | Lionel Newman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | November 13, 1960 |
Running time | 120 min. |
| Language | English |
North to Alaska is a 1960 comedic western directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne and Stewart Granger. The film script is based on the play Birthday Gift by Ladislas Fodor.
The film featured Johnny Horton's hit song of the same name. Though Horton had sung several popular movie tie-in songs, this was the first one that actually appeared in the film being sung over the opening titles.
Plot
After striking gold in Alaska, George Pratt (Stewart Granger) sends partner Sam McCord (John Wayne) to Seattle to bring back his fiancée. Finding that George's girl had already married another man, Sam brings back prostitute "Angel" (Capucine) as a substitute. There is a misunderstanding: she thinks Sam wants her for himself and begins to fall in love with him on the boat trip back.
George is rejected by the girl, though his young brother Billy (Fabian) is very interested. Meanwhile, con man Frankie Canon (Ernie Kovacs) tries to steal their claim.
Production
With a working title of Trail of the Yukon,[1] the first choice of director by Wayne and Fox was Richard Fleischer. However Fleischer attempted to bow out of the film as he thought the script was bad insuring the film would fail and he would be blamed for a box office failure for Wayne. Fearing that his dropping out of the film would jeopardise his career he falsely blamed problems with the female lead Capucine that led to Charles K. Feldman who Fleischer felt to have undue influence at Fox to ask him to be replaced.[2] Spyros Skouras wanted the budget of the film reduced that Hathaway did by reducing location shots.[3]
Most of the film was shot in Point Mugu California, not Alaska,[4] although the landscape is evocative of old Nome and the gold fields northeast of Nome (the Alaska gold rush should not be confused with the more famous Klondike rush of Canada; the Nome gold-fever began in 1899 as Klondike gold-fever was waning; many Klondikers rushed to Nome and prospectors worked the gold-rich beach sand where passengers arrived via barge-style ferries. John Wayne's gold workings would have been inland but the exact location is never stated). The town of Nome as pictured in the film, circa 1900, was similar in appearance though not a perfect replica. Without docks due to variable tides, settlers and prospectors were ferried ashore as shown. The John Wayne and Stewart Granger "honeymoon" cabin scenes were filmed along steaming Hot Creek near volcanic Mammoth Mountain. Mt. Morrison appears in the background of many shots.
A good account of life in the Nome gold camp, as seen in "North to Alaska" between 1899 and 1901, is "Fool's Gold" (out-of-print), a book penned by saloonkeeper Jed Johnson. He owned Nome's notorious Ophir Saloon.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Wayne | Sam McCord |
| Stewart Granger | George Pratt |
| Ernie Kovacs | Frankie Canon |
| Fabian | Billy Pratt |
| Capucine | Michelle "Angel" |
| Mickey Shaughnessy | Peter Boggs |
| Karl Swenson | Lars Nordquist |
| Kathleen Freeman | Lena Nordquist |
| John Qualen | Logger |
| Stanley Adams | Breezy |
| Stephen Courtleigh | Duggan |
References
- ^ http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=variety100&content=jump&jump=article&articleID=VR1117996823&category=1924
- ^ Fleischer, Richard Just Tell Me When to Cry 1993 Carroll and Graf.
- ^ p. 236 Davis, Ronald L. Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne 2002 University of Oklahoma Press.
- ^ p. 481 Roberts, Randy & Olson, James Stewart John Wayne: American 1997 University of Nebraska Press.