The Man from Dakota (1940)

During the Civil War a beautiful woman helps two Union spies cross into the Confederacy and gather information.

Director:

Leslie Fenton

Writers:

MacKinlay Kantor (novel), Laurence Stallings (screenplay)

Stars:

Wallace Beery, John Howard, Dolores del Rio

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Wallace Beery	...	Sgt. 'Bar' Barstow
John Howard	...	Lt. Oliver Clark
Dolores del Rio	...	Eugenia 'Jenny' Sanford
Donald Meek	...	Mr. Vestry (Union sympathizer)
Robert Barrat	...	Parson Summers (Campbellite sect)
Addison Richards	...	Confederate Provost Marshal
Frederick Burton	...	Campbellite religious leader
William Haade	...	Union soldier who murders Carpenter
John Wray	...	Mr. Carpenter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gregory Gaye	...	Col. Borodin (scenes deleted)
Selmer Jackson	...	Surgeon (scenes deleted)
Louise Robinson	...	Slave Woman (scenes deleted)
H.B. Warner	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (scenes deleted)

Storyline

During the Civil War a beautiful woman helps two Union spies cross into the Confederacy and gather information.

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Plot Keywords:

civil war | melodrama | religious sect | prison escape | idealist | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Arouse and Beware

Filming Locations:

Kernville, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Same Old Man

Wallace Beery stars in this handsomely mounted MGM programmer, playing the gruff, old rowdy that he had made a specialty of for much of the last ten years of his career. The story, which somehow seems to involve Russian spies during the American Civil War, is most interesting for Ray June's handsome and darkly back-lit cinematography that shows off co-star Dolores Del Rio's beauty and John Howard's good looks. He favors simple compositions in this effort, which was cheaper to shoot -- although MGM boasted that it had no B units, this programmer is a classy B and no mistake about it. Beery was still a star, but....

Director Leslie Fenton started as an actor, went through the MGM shorts department, directing several of the CRIME DOES NOT PAY series, and then rose to features. He bounced around a bit and his movie career ended a decade later at Paramount. John Howard was best known for playing Bulldog Drummond in the 1930s and while a competent actor, never quite rose to be a star and Del Rio returned to Mexico after this to be a major star there, as she had been in 1920s Hollywood. The collaborators here have produced a pleasant, lightweight programmer that will please their fans.