Northern Pursuit

1943 "A woman's lips set the frozen north aflame."
6.6| 1h33m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 07 November 1943 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Canadian Mountie Steve Wagner captures a German Luftwaffe officer on a spy mission, who later escapes from the prison camp. To catch the spy ring, the Mounties employ a ruse so that the spies, believing Steve to be sympathetic, enlist him in their plans.

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Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
richard-1787 This is not a great movie, not Robin Hood or The Sea Hawk. But neither is it the bad movie some of the previous reviewers suggest.I found it very suspenseful.If you try viewing it as the original, intended audience did back in 1943, when the U.S. was not winning the war in Europe and there were fears of German infiltration everywhere, you can imagine how relevant this story would have been to audiences.Tension is maintained for much of the movie by keeping us in suspense regarding Flynn's character's allegiances. No, of course we can't believe he's really a Nazi, but for the first half of the movie, it certainly seems as if he might be.I was surprised, and thrown off guard, by the number of "good guys" who got killed in this movie. That made it seem more real to me.The last scene is pure Hollywood, and pure corn. But up until then, there is a lot to admire and enjoy in this movie.
LeonLouisRicci The Opening Scene of a Submarine Crashing through the Frozen Surface, and later, an Avalanche, are the Only Highlights in this Dull, Badly Acted, Poorly Written Propaganda Picture. One Guesses it was a Nod to America's Neighbors to the North for Their War Effort. A Handshake and a Friendly Slap on the Back.But this Errol Flynn and War Bond Vehicle, Directed by His Friend Raoul Walsh, who was more Tolerant of Flynn's Drinking and other Non Professionalisms than most, is a Goofy Adventure that is Snowbound as well as Studio Bound but was Bound to make Money for the War Bonds.Unintentionally Humorous at times and some of the Intended Humor is Embarrassing (the stereotypical miser McBain ). The Story is so Far Fetched Interest Wanes. It's a Stiff Looking Film that despite its Wide Open Wilderness Setting, comes off as a Claustrophobic, Constrained Clunker that was Forgotten Immediately and remains in the Periphery when Propaganda, War, or Errol Flynn Movies are Considered.
weezeralfalfa As anticipated, Errol Flynn typically brought down the house with his last line: "What am I saying?", while glancing at the audience, after cheerfully agreeing that his new bride Laura(Julie Bishop) is the only girl he ever loved. This was part of a running gag, as Laura's notoriously frugal Scottish father (Alec Craig) had just done this line, after agreeing to pay for the expensive wedding reception.How very ironic that Helmut Dantine: former leader of the anti-Nazi activists of Hitler's former hometown: Vienna, should be fated to play evil Nazi leaders in several war propaganda -slanted Hollywood films released during WWII.Presumably, the take home message for contemporary audiences was that North Americans had better be wary of Axis spies and sabotage attempts, even in the heartland, which was directly reachable by Nazi U boats, via Hudson's Bay. Also, Americans and Canadians of rather recent German immigrants should be kept under surveillance as potential spies and saboteurs. In fact, there was a Nazi-worshipping organization in the USA, although it deemphasized its support of Germany after Hitler declared war on the US. Fortunately, history proved such fears unfounded. In fact, it seems remarkable that Nazi and Japanese attempts at sabotage in North America, either by residents there or by outsiders, were virtually non-existent. In this respect, the message of this film seems very dated, as of no real relevance to the war. The far-fetched details of the screen-play also don't help a possible recommendation of this film.The screenplay begins with a Nazi submarine surfacing near an ice-choked western shore of Hudson's Bay, offloading a number of airmen, who somehow walk across the treacherous floating chunks of ice, to the shore, with skis, for a 5 day trip over snow to an abandoned mine shaft in northern Saskatchewan, where pieces of a bomber have been stored in crates since before WWII began.(Never mind that Hitler never expected to have to fight the British Commonwealth and France, in his goal to conquer the USSR!). Just how these crates were transported to this mine, hidden among mining equipment, is not apparent, as this area is now accessible overland in winter only by foot.The fliers are soon met by a local contact, who brings them instructions from an agent from the US(Gene Lockhart, as Ernst Willis), as well as Native American guides, who are promptly dispatched when they refuse to guide the party over a dangerous pass in the Canadian Rockies(which have been magically transposed to near the shore of Hudson's Bay!). The Germans are served poetic justice when all except their leader and pilot, Dantine, soon die in an(unrealistically -staged) avalanche, as the NAs had feared. Dantine skis on until near death from exhaustion and cold, burying his instruction packet in the snow. Mounties Wagner(Flynn) and Jim, inexplicably wandering around in this wilderness, find Dantine and transport him to their cabin. Wearing a German flier's uniform, they arrest him as a prisoner of war. However, discovering that Wagner is of recent German decent, Dantine tries to recruit him as an accomplice. Wagner comes under suspicion at headquarters as he dallies in bringing Dantine in. Wagner quits the Mounties, since they are suspicious of his loyalty, and is arrested after flattening several Mounties and damning Canada. Meanwhile, Dantine is sent to an internment camp, from which he soon escapes with a fresh set of German fliers. Willis bails Wagner out of jail, then asks him to help guide him to the mine, first by train, which they jump off, then by foot. Later, it's clear that Willis and Dantine suspect Wagner is still a RCMP agent, pretending to cooperate with them(even though the regional RCMP don't seem to know anything about this!). Wagner's girlfriend unexpectedly shows up(arranged by Willis for his own purpose). Dantine eventually kills Willis and Jim, who is lurking near the camp. They move on to the mine and put the bomber together(mere child's play!). Wagner now starts stealthily killing the Germans, one by one, then masquerades as one of the crew(very unlikely!), killing the crew as they fly toward their bombing target, causing the plane to spin out of control. A wounded Wagner parachutes to 'safety', somewhere in the wilderness.(How he survives a walk back to an outpost of civilization is left unexplored!). The film ends with a celebration of Wagner's accomplishment and marriage to Laura.It's difficult to give an overall assessment of this film. Obviously the screenplay has many gaping plausibility problems. If you're willing to overlook these, it's a cleverly assembled cat and mouse drama with a message. Although never specified, the clues given suggest the bombing target was the Soo Locks between Lakes Superior and Huron, far to the southeast of the mine. This was a complicated and very unlikely way to achieve that goal. A much simpler way would have been to load a ship with explosives and detonate them while in the lock(True, suicidal for the crew).The light bomber shown was a Lockheed Hudson, many of which were shipped in parts to the RAF in crates and assembled there, mainly used for anti-submarine operations, training, and surveillance. One was previously featured in "Desperate Journey", also starring Flynn.
Robert J. Maxwell Flynn is a corporal in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They used to dress every day in colorful red jackets. Now they're known as the RCMP and dress like the Highway Patrol. It is a great loss.Flynn is more or less kidnapped by German pilot Helmut Dantine and his three Nazi companions and forced to lead them across the wilderness of northern Manitoba, where a bomber is stashed. The plan is to bomb the locks of the St. Lawrence River or to mar the splendor of Niagara Falls and disappoint all the honeymooners or something. It's not made very clear.These Nazis are really bad boys, especially the stern and handsome Helmut Dantine. They kidnap a couple of women to take along as hostages. They kill anyone who gets in their way, as well as anyone they meet who is of no use to the Nazi cause. And if one of their own people is disabled, he can kiss his life good-bye. That's the kind of rats they are.Flynn is handsome as usual, this being 1943. He'd not gotten along at all well with his previous director, Michael Curtiz, and by this time he was being directed by the Irish-American Raoul Walsh, whose work had as much zip but who was more tolerant of Flynn's boozing. The two had an agreement that Flynn wouldn't start drinking until 5 in the afternoon.There's a supposedly comic introduction and close, involving Julie Bishop as the daughter of a cheapskate Scottish shop keeper at a trading post. At the very end, when Flynn and Bishop are finally married, he embraces her at the party. She asks, "How many women have you loved before me?". Flynn replies, "None, darling," then turns his face towards the camera, rolls his eyes, and mutters, "What am I saying?" Some joke. He'd recently been in court on charges of statutory rape brought against him by two teen-aged cutie pies who testified that he'd seduced them aboard his yacht and had made love while wearing his socks. Some wag suggested that the movie Flynn had just completed, "Gentleman Jim," should have its name changed to just "Jim." A couple of outdoor shots were done at Sun Valley, Idaho, including an exciting ski chase. Most of the film was shot at the Warners' Studios. Yet, the settings are reasonably convincing, except that nobody's breath steams and all the clothing is so immaculate and clean, even Helmut Dantine's white turtle neck, which he never seems to change. A kind of minor narrative thread alludes to the Canadians' treatment of Indians, which here generates a resentment soon dissipated when they see what the Nazis are like. Actually, Canadian Indians, probably Algonkin-speaking Woods Cree in this case, were treated fairly well, at least compared to American Indians.Even with all the suspense, this isn't a very fast-paced movie, and either I was asleep when Flynn and his superiors worked out the plan to discover what the Nazis were up to, or else the editor should be tied to an evergreen tree trunk and left to be eaten alive by ravenous timber wolves, or maybe -- this could get to be fun -- maybe he could be impaled repeatedly by an enraged moose.