"Northwest Mounted Police" Is Cecil B. De Mille's tale of the famous Canadian Police Force in 1885 that is. It takes place during the Riel Rebellion where the Metis are fighting to obtain separate nation status. This story takes place in the Province of Saskatchewan, a prairie province with hardly the forestation depicted by De Mille. Filmed largely on the Paramount sound stages, it shows the conflict between the 50 man police force and the growing number of Metis.
Jacques Corbeau (George Bancroft) and Dan Duroc (Akim Tamiroff) go to a small school house in Montana where Louis Riel (Francis McDonald) has been hiding out. They convince him to return to Canada to lead the rebellion against the Canadian government. On the way back Corbeau, kills one mountie and wounds another (James Seay). He returns to the fort and reports to Inspector Cabot (Montagu Love). Cabot sends out Sgt. Jim Brett (Preston Foster) and Cst. Ronnie Logan (Robert Preston) to investigate. Meanwhile, Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (Gary Cooper) arrives seeking Corbeau for a murder in Texas.
Brett is in love with nurse April Logan (Madeleine Carroll) who is Ronnie's sister. Dusty also takes an interest in her. Ronnie at the same time is courting a treacherous Metis girl Louvette Corbeau (Paulette Goddard) who is Jacques Corbeau's sister.
Corbeau has secured a Gatling Gun which plans to use to entice the Crow nation under Chief Big Bear (Walter Hampton) to join the rebellion. To make a long story short, Ronnie and Cst. Jerry Moore (Regis Toomey) are sent to a deserted cabin over looking a strategic river crossing the Insp. Cabot feels will be a crossing point for the Metis. Louvette lures Ronnie away from his post and imprisons him to protect him from the Metis attack. Moore is killed and the river crossing is left to the Metis.
A column of Mounties is drawn to the river where they are ambushed and cut to pieces by the Gatling Gun. The survivors return to the fort where Insp. Cabot dies leaving Brett in charge. Rivers leaves the fort and destroys the Gatling Gun while discovering Ronnie's situation. Brett assembles the seven able bodied men and rides to the Indian Village to confront Big Bear and Corbeau and......................................................................................
This was both De Mille and Cooper's first technicolor film. There's plenty of red coated color and (American) forests on display. The love triangle between Cooper, Foster and Carroll is little out of place here. Goddard is good as the sinister Louvette and Bancroft is an evil bad guy complete with French accent.. There's a comedic interplay between Tamiroff and Lyne Overman) as scout Tod McDuff that ends in tragedy.
The cast includes many recognizable faces many of whom were on their way up. There's Richard Denning, Douglas Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Lane Chandler, Ralph Byrd, Jack Pennick, Rod Cameron as various Mounties and Lon Chaney Jr. and Anthony Carouso as Metis warriors as well as, Chief Thunder Cloud and Iron Eyes Cody as Indian warriors.
Beware of the syrupy unlikely ending.
Jacques Corbeau (George Bancroft) and Dan Duroc (Akim Tamiroff) go to a small school house in Montana where Louis Riel (Francis McDonald) has been hiding out. They convince him to return to Canada to lead the rebellion against the Canadian government. On the way back Corbeau, kills one mountie and wounds another (James Seay). He returns to the fort and reports to Inspector Cabot (Montagu Love). Cabot sends out Sgt. Jim Brett (Preston Foster) and Cst. Ronnie Logan (Robert Preston) to investigate. Meanwhile, Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (Gary Cooper) arrives seeking Corbeau for a murder in Texas.
Brett is in love with nurse April Logan (Madeleine Carroll) who is Ronnie's sister. Dusty also takes an interest in her. Ronnie at the same time is courting a treacherous Metis girl Louvette Corbeau (Paulette Goddard) who is Jacques Corbeau's sister.
Corbeau has secured a Gatling Gun which plans to use to entice the Crow nation under Chief Big Bear (Walter Hampton) to join the rebellion. To make a long story short, Ronnie and Cst. Jerry Moore (Regis Toomey) are sent to a deserted cabin over looking a strategic river crossing the Insp. Cabot feels will be a crossing point for the Metis. Louvette lures Ronnie away from his post and imprisons him to protect him from the Metis attack. Moore is killed and the river crossing is left to the Metis.
A column of Mounties is drawn to the river where they are ambushed and cut to pieces by the Gatling Gun. The survivors return to the fort where Insp. Cabot dies leaving Brett in charge. Rivers leaves the fort and destroys the Gatling Gun while discovering Ronnie's situation. Brett assembles the seven able bodied men and rides to the Indian Village to confront Big Bear and Corbeau and......................................................................................
This was both De Mille and Cooper's first technicolor film. There's plenty of red coated color and (American) forests on display. The love triangle between Cooper, Foster and Carroll is little out of place here. Goddard is good as the sinister Louvette and Bancroft is an evil bad guy complete with French accent.. There's a comedic interplay between Tamiroff and Lyne Overman) as scout Tod McDuff that ends in tragedy.
The cast includes many recognizable faces many of whom were on their way up. There's Richard Denning, Douglas Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Lane Chandler, Ralph Byrd, Jack Pennick, Rod Cameron as various Mounties and Lon Chaney Jr. and Anthony Carouso as Metis warriors as well as, Chief Thunder Cloud and Iron Eyes Cody as Indian warriors.
Beware of the syrupy unlikely ending.