North to Alaska – John Wayne and Stewart Granger strike it rich in this comedy adventure set during the Alaskan gold rush as prospectors who hit the mother lode with gold, but not with women!
North to Alaska (1960) starring John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Capucine, Fabian
Ole: [after Sam has left to get Angel a coffee refill] Angel! Don’t you remember me? I’m Ole, the logger.
Angel: Oh, please go away.
Ole: I was going to come up to see you tonight.
Angel: [as Ole paws her] No. I said please go away. Let me go!
Sam McCord: [Sam returns, sees what is happening, and knocks out Ole with one punch; says to Angel] Brought you some coffee.
Angel: [surprised] Wasn’t that man a friend of yours?
Sam McCord: [matter-of-factly] Sure. Still is – or will be, when he sobers up.
Angel: Well, why did you do it, then?
Sam McCord: Habit, I guess. I guess a fella gets sore, and… What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever had a fella fight over you before?
Angel: Well, over me, yes, but… never for me.
Sam McCord: Well, I… I guess I got sore, that’s all.
Angel: Why did you get sore?
Sam McCord: Well, how do I know? A fella gets sore, that’s all.
In short, North to Alaska is an enjoyable comedy, set in the Alaska gold rush. John Wayne is very good at comedy, and definitely does a fine job here. There’s a romantic triangle between himself, Stewart Granger, and Capucine. Fabian’s a cute tag-a-long who follows John Wayne’s character like a faithful puppy dog. And Ernie Kovacs does a good comedy turn as a comedic villain, trying to steal their gold claim.
Product Description
John Wayne and Stewart Granger strike it rich in this sprawling, brawling comedy-adventure set in the rowdy heydey of the Alaskan gold rush. When prospectors Sam McCord (Wayne) and George Pratt (Granger) finally hit the mother lode, George asks Sam to go to Seattle and fetch his sweetheart, Jennie, but she’s already married someone else. Heartbroken for his buddy’s sake, Sam visits a saloon, meets dancer (Capucine) and invites her back to Nome as Jennie’s replacement – the plan goes perfectly until Sam falls in love with her too!
Amazon.com
Even people habitually hostile to John Wayne movies tend to cast an indulgent eye on this rumbustious comedy-Western–partly because the Alaska gold rush setting seems more exotic than, say, Texas or Arizona, and because there are no Indians to discriminate against and no macho gunplay to fret about. As for John Wayne as all-purpose icon of male chauvinism, Big Sam McCord (the Duke) spends much of North to Alaska in a state of growing discombobulation because he has fallen in love with, and is thoroughly flummoxed by, “Angel” (Capucine), the woman he’s brought back from Seattle to marry his heartsick partner George (Stewart Granger). Henry Hathaway directs in a broader vein than usual, but he hits pay dirt. Even Fabian, the latest pop music idol to be dragooned into supporting the elder roughnecks, is fun, and Ernie Kovacs is droll casting as chief “villain.” –Richard T. Jameson
Cast of characters
- John Wayne (The Quiet Man; McLintock!) … Sam McCord
- Stewart Granger (The Secret Invasion; Scaramouche) … George Pratt
- Ernie Kovacs (Wake Me When It’s Over; It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World) … Frankie Cannon
- Fabian (Five Weeks in a Balloon; Dear Brigitte) … Billy Pratt
- Capucine (The Pink Panther) … Angel
- Mickey Shaughnessy (Never A Dull Moment) … Peter Boggs
- Karl Swenson (The Cincinnati Kid) … Lars Nordquist
- Joe Sawyer (The Walking Dead 1936) … Land Commissioner
- Kathleen Freeman (The Disorderly Orderly; The Fly) … Lena Nordquist
- John Qualen (I’ll Take Sweden) … Logger Judge
- Stanley Adams (Lilies of the Field) …Breezy