Reviews & Ratings for
North West Mounted Police More at IMDbPro »

Page 1 of 2:

[1] [2]

24 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
You had trouble, my friends...right here in Manitoba., 27 February 2005

Author: theowinthrop from United States

Cecil B. DeMille's fame as a leading movie director is still secure because of his innovative nature. He certainly developed spectacle movies, and even today he is remembered as the pioneer. But that does not blind us to his flaws. His characters are not three dimensional usually but black or white in personality. His dialog is for the birds. He does fall into stereotypes too often. It is understandable that the Medveds included "Northwest Mounted Police" among the 50 worst movies ever made.

Yet one can't easily dismiss it. It was DeMille's first color movie. It was the second of four films with Gary Cooper, one of four made Goddard and one of three made with Robert Preston. Preston made good action films in this period but was always in support. In the early 1950s he returned to the stage and the fame that eluded him in Hollywood. Came "The Music Man", "The Lion In Winter", and "Mack and Mabel" and the recognition of Preston the adept entertainer. Came the call back to Hollywood for his filmed performances as Harold Hill and Toddy (in "Victor/Victoria"). Preston was that rarity: an actor who proved his star qualities in middle-age. DeMille would never have been his kind of director: he had no light touch for comedy, and he did not do musicals. Still, for some good straight performances as doomed weaklings, Preston did well in this film,"Union Pacific", and "Reap the Wild Wind".

The film's historic content is interesting. DeMille's earlier historic films ("Cleopatra", "Sign of the Cross", "The Crusades") dealt with old world history. But after the last DeMille concentrated on American history with "The Plainsman", "The Buccaneer", "Union Pacific", "Reap The Wild Wind", and "The Unconquered". Even the modern "The Story of Dr. Wassell" was based on a true tale connected with the current war in the Pacific.

Because of his American History period "Northwest Mounted Police" is an odd film. Cooper's character is the only link in it to American history in the 1880s, as a Texas Ranger after George Bancroft (Le Corbeau) for murder. The film is set firmly in Canada which was the scene of two revolts of the Metis people under Louis Riel in 1870 and 1885. As such this becomes somewhat unique among the historic films of Hollywood.

Canada does poorly regarding it's history in Hollywood. This movie actually covers one of the most troubling moments of modern Canadian history: the fate of Louis Riel. We don't know about it down here. Riel was a lawyer and teacher with some mental problems. Riel helped found the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, thus making him one of Canadian history's founding fathers. But he was also aware that French Canadians and his Metis people got a suspiciously short deal from the British Canadians in Canada. Canada was firmly controlled by the Tory party led by Sir John MacDonald. MacDonald was corrupt but made one of the great comebacks in political history in 1879. Riel had led a revolt in 1870 which was crushed. He fled to the U.S., and spent some time in asylums here. He was released, taught school in Montana, and then returned to Canada (illegally) in 1884. He organized a second Metis revolt, which nearly succeeded in winning an independent state. A British army crushed it in 1885, captured Riel, and he was tried for treason.

Lives had been lost, and property destroyed. MacDonald's son had been sent to Manitoba to run the province, and he had been humiliated by the revolt. Riel, however, had some legitimate gripes about the treatment of French Canadians, and the Metis. The treason trial came, and he was found guilty. MacDonald apparently never had a moment's hesitation about what to do. He refused to stop Riel's execution. The Tory Party in Canada has never recovered from this mistake. The backbone of Liberal Party strength (to the current day) is French Canadien Quebec - they have never forgiven the Tories for not acting humanely to Louis (and putting him in a Canadian asylum for life).

DeMille is not totally anti-Riel. Riel is not unlike the American John Brown (inthe contemporary film "Santa Fe Trail"), who is murderous and possibly insane but fighting for certain principles that actually get the audience's sympathy. In this film, Riel is committed to a Metis revolt and state and he will stop at nothing to prevent it's success. But he also is shown as a kindly man to young children (he was a school teacher, remember).He is trying to save a way of life that a juggernaut threatens. And he is resigned to his fate at the end, realizing that in dying he may still win (which happened). We need a subsidiary villain like Van Heflin in "Sante Fe Trail" who is villainous for money. Here it is Bancroft, a murderer and criminal who is Riel's assistant. His villainy is passed down through his genes to his daughter (Goddard) who tempts and betrays Preston. One wonders, had Riel formed a successful government and state, how long before Le Corbeau would have arranged an "accident" or "assassination" (by a "Tory" agent, of course) of Riel, in order to cement his control over the Metis nation. So when he gets his just deserts at the end, unlike poor Louis, we are cheered by it. One has to congratulate DeMille in trying to be fair to Louis, when he could have just made his a super villain.

18 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
The story of the Duck Lake Massacre, adding a Texas fictional cowboy., 30 December 2000

Author: Bob LeClerc (stetson9750) from Poplar Hill, Ontario

You first have to understand that DeMille has taken considerable poetic licence, while using the story of the return of Louis Riel to Canada, and the subsequent Duck Lake massacre of a large unit of Mounties. Even the pronunciation by DeMille of the word "Metis" at the introduction to the movie is quite incorrect.

Fun to watch the fictional introduction of Gary Cooper as a Texas marshal travelling into Canada in pursuit of a Metis criminal.

Some good aspects of the film include the historical accuracy of the uniforms at that time... no wide brimmed hats... and the correctness of the name of the Mounties at that time. The only item of historical inaccuracy is the fur hats that DeMille has the Mounties wear. During the warmer weather they wore either a pill box hat or a white helmet. They did wear fur hats during the winter with their Buffalo hide coats, but DeMille did not like the design of any of the head wear that was part of the actual uniform, so he had this design made for the picture.

The two key bad guys are historical fact, although whether they acted as they are shown in the movie is another question. Whether there was a gatling gun at the Duck Lake massacre is another question the historians will have to answer.

Generally, a good romp... a great movie to sit back and watch with popcorn and a soft drink.

15 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
DeMille's Tribute to the Royal Mounties, 13 November 1999

Author: guil fisher from New York City, NY

Cecil B. DeMille, once again, brings a Technicolor epic to the screen. This time it concerns the Royal Canadian Mounties (Red Coats) a Texas Ranger, in search of a criminal dealing with the Indians in frontier Canada, during the eighteen-eighties, by selling them guns, and the half-breeds that are being controlled by the Mounties.

Along the way the Texas Ranger(Gary Cooper)falls for a pretty Army nurse (Madelaine Carroll) who is also courted by a Mountie Officer (Preston Foster). The nurse's brother, also a Mountie (Robert Preston) is under the spell of a beautiful half-breed (Paulette Goddard) who's father is the criminal (George Bancroft) that is being sought.

As in DeMille plots, the hero saves the day, but not without a sacrifice of some of the supporting players. Won't tell you who. See the picture.

Coop and Carroll do a wonderful job, taking some pretty silly lines, even for the forties, and making them work. Both look their best at the peaks of their careers. Preston and Foster (Robert and Preston, that is) do admirable jobs. Robert Preston looking very young with a full head of blonde curly hair. Playing the tempestuous half-breed, Paulette Goddard got a big break in her career with this role. It is said she wanted the part so bad, she donned herself in dark skin make-up, put on an Indian get-up with feathers and walked into DeMille's office saying, "You teenk you wan beeg director, hah? Me, Louvette, show you!" She got the part and played it to the hilt with her dark skin and beautiful blue eyes, beating out Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth also up for the role. Goddard went on to play in two more DeMille pictures, REAP THE WILD WIND and UNCONQUERED, this time performing leading roles.

There is an excellent supporting cast of character actors, namely; Lynne Overman, Akim Tamiroff, Walter Hampden, Lon Chaney, Jr, Robert Ryan and Rod Cameron who went on to star in Republic Pictures westerns.

POLICE is not yet on video, although most other DeMille films are, but it can be seen once in a while on AMC Classic Movies on TV.

Great DeMille entertainment.

13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Canadian History DeMille Style, 12 March 2006

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

When Cecil B. DeMille started filming Northwest Mounted Police, Joel McCrea was Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (a cowboy name if there ever was one), but after a few scenes McCrea dropped out and Gary Cooper got to do his second of four DeMille features.

It was both DeMille and Cooper's first film in technicolor and when DeMille went in for technicolor we mean bright hues of every part of the rainbow. But back then color itself was a novelty so people liked seeing it. Northwest Mounted Police also won an Oscar for best editing. Taking home the prize was Anne Bauchens who edited every single DeMille film from back into the middle silent era. DeMille had it written into his contract at Paramount that he would not do a film unless Ms. Bauchens was available to be editor. He had many of the same folks on his various films, but only Ms. Bauchens rated that kind of treatment.

Michael Medved has Northwest Mounted Police listed among the fifty worst films of all time. It's not great, but it ain't as bad as all that. The Victorian DeMille type dialog is the main reason, but it is no more present here than in any of his other sound films.

Northwest Mounted Police takes place in the mid 1880s and concerns the famous 2nd Louis Riel Rebellion and the Duck Lake massacre of Royal Canadian Mounted Police in that conflict. Grafted on to that is the story of a Texas Ranger played by Gary Cooper who comes up to Canada with a warrant for one of Riel's confederates who killed a man in his state.

Of course Cooper gets himself mixed up in the politics of the area and also considerably mixed up with Maddeleine Carroll, much to the displeasure of her sweetheart Preston Foster, as stalwart a Mountie as you'll ever find this side of Nelson Eddy. That's a standard DeMille plot device, two men in heat over the heroine.

In some considerable heat himself is Robert Preston who is Carroll's brother also a Mountie. He's got it bad for Paulette Goddard a Meti who's got it real bad for Preston. In fact her little scheme concerning Preston is what drives the action of the film in the second half.

DeMille was never an actor's director or a writer's director. But he knew how to fill the screen and keep the action going. That he does in Northwest Mounted Police.

8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
De Mille's first Technicolor-epic, 12 April 2007

Author: nnnn45089191 from Norway

The master of spectacle doesn't let us down in that regard with his first movie shot in Technicolor.The action sequences are as exciting as in other De Mille spectacles but the hammy acting,the ridiculous dialog and slow pacing makes this a below par movie for De Mille. Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll look embarrassed throughout speaking those silly lines.Preston Foster as the third party of the love triangle has one of his more substantial parts in his career.But it is fun to watch Paulette Goddard's hilarious overacting.As her villainous father George Bancroft isn't far behind in that department.The best acting are provided by the two veterans Akim Tamiroff and Lynne Overman who provide some comic relief.The movie is beautiful to look at in bright colors and passes the afternoon quite painlessly.

10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A good old-fashioned, entertaining film., 11 September 2002
Author: CNO from England

I happened to see this last Sunday afternoon on the T.V. At first the film looked dated but the costumes and general appearance of the people in it convincingly portrayed people of that era (something that doesn't happen as often as it should in "Westerns"); it soon became apparent that things were being done rather well and by the time the credits came along and I saw the name of Cecil B DeMille I knew why.

This is an entertaining, undemanding film. There is a great deal to enjoy if one puts aside ones modern sophistication. I particularly enjoyed the way the mounties were portrayed as a dedicated and disciplined police force, loyal to the Crown and doing a worthwhile job in very difficult circumstances. Gary Cooper's Texas Ranger helped to highlight the qualities of the Mounties and provided interest and excitement.

Crowd scenes and action scenes are well done. The stunt towards the end involving Gary Cooper's character tumbling from his falling horse is breathtaking and the quick cut to a back projection immediately after is very effective; it is a scene that can match anything in today's films. Characters have interesting scenes and the humour is dealt with a sure touch. The film has all the signs of a good director.

I didn't expect to enjoy this film, but I did and I look forward to finding more from the same period.

5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
It takes a while to get you involved, but then it is good., 23 December 2007

Author: tmwest from S. Paulo, Brazil

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Watching the first 20 minutes of this film I thought I could not go on. It seems incredibly dated, with an overacting Paulette Godard and Gary Cooper seeming ill at ease. Color was something recent in 1940 and this film made quite good use of it. As the film goes on it becomes more interesting, it was also inspired by a real fact,the Riel Indian Rebellion. This rebellion was made by the Indians joining the Métis, under the command of Louis Riel. The Métis were part Indian and part French or British Canadian, but in this rebellion only the French Métis took part.There is a tragic love story between Paulette Godard and Robert Preston and a rivalry between Cooper and Preston Foster for the love of Madeleine Carrol. After a while you also get involved in the story and Cooper's performance improves. He is the gallant, modest, quiet Texan Dusty Rivers and at the end of the film they are all grateful to him including the audience , because after all he was quite a star.

3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
North West Mounted Police, 3 June 2006

Author: alubben from United States

Where can i obtain a copy of this Movie(North West Mounted Police) with Gary Coopr in it or at least Rent it?? Preferably on DVD, although i would accept a VHS rendition as well, I have looked a long time for this Movie. I first saw it when i was 12 years old an it made a lasting impression on me and I have always wanted to own it. I have many of "Coops" movies but till now this one has avoided me. I have always thought Garry Cooper as one of the BEST leading Men and all time best actors,it will be,in my Mind, a long time before the Movies will see his equal, I believe that Grapes of Wrath runs a close second to North Weast Mounted Police.

Clutzy De Mille Needed To Rewrite Entire Film as Setup For Coop, 23 February 2012

Author: mike rice from Wisconsin

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I just watched this movie for the first time. Coop made the Westerner for William Wyler, who had the script totally rewritten to accommodate Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean and Gary Cooper as Cole Harden. It was made the same year as this one, 1940. De Mille was a failed playwright who became something like a business partner to some very important nickelodeon owners in New York. They let him come west in 1913 and make the first film in Hollywood: The Squaw Man. De Mille was pretty much incompetent, but his films were nevertheless, often successful. The Westerner is arguably one of the funniest westerns ever made. Coop and Brennan were superb because the film was set up for them. De Mille tried to cut Northwest Mounted's script for Cooper, but Coop's lines didn't always fit in the square peg mounted police spectacle. That left Coop squirming to get the right grimace, wince or gulp, when the script just couldn't make room for it. The movie was close to good, but not quite. I just saw it on a downloaded DVD. I spotted Iron Eyes Cody as a young Indian in the cast, but note that he is not included in the IMDb cast. Perhaps someone wants to rectify that.

1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
The lengths I'll go to in order to feed my addiction or bad films...., 27 April 2011

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

"North West Mounted Police" is the 48th film that I have watched that was featured in Harry Medved's brilliant book "The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time"--and I just recently bought the last two, so I soon will have reviews for all of them. While I must admit that his list of 50 is flawed (a small number actually are not that bad), considering he wrote this book when he was 17 and it came out BEFORE he age of VCRs it is amazing--and an exceptionally good read--one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. While it's out of print, you can get used copies reasonably priced on the internet any bad movie buff worth their salt MUST have a copy.

So is this movie THAT bad? No...but it is bad and I think the respectable score of 6.5 and the generally positive reviews are a bit inexplicable. It seems that, in general, Cecil B. De Mille's films are thought of rather highly. After all, they often have HUGE scope, sets, lovely Technicolor (when most films of the day are black & white) and it's obvious his budgets were astronomical. However, I also think that a movie really doesn't need any of these things to be a good film. What is most important is what De Mille's films usually lacked--good dialog, realistic characters and good acting. It seems to me that this director really had no knack for human interactions on film unless they were BIGGER than life! And that is why I cannot recommend the film. Sure, it gets a few points for the sets and lovely look of the film but the rest....yuck! If I had to put my finger on what is worst about this particular film, I'd bluntly say Paulette Goddard. While several others chew the scenery a bit (such as Akim Tamiroff), she is absolutely laughably bad as 'the fiery half-breed'!!! While she was SUPPOSED to be part European and part Native-American, she sounded like some 4 year-old trying to imitate Chico Marx or Charro....on drugs! Her accent was ludicrous and her acting hammy and awful. Now some blame can clearly be placed on Goddard (who probably can attribute most of her roles to the fact she was married to Charlie Chaplin), but isn't it the director's job to notice this and coach the actor if they are missing the role this completely?! And the writing they gave her (and the others to a lesser extent) was just dumb and almost comic book-like (not a GOOD comic book but a bad one, by the way).

It's also odd how with a magnetic personality like Gary Cooper that he's practically lost in the film. Yes, he's there but he has no charisma and little chance to act. He's frankly too good for this material--as are Robert Preston and Preston Foster. Again, I blame De Mille for this.

The bottom line is that although Harry Medved was mistaken, in my opinion, for including the film, I could see exactly why he did and don't think his selection was that far off-base. And, I know this will ruffle a few feathers, but I also don't think this is De Mille's worst film. For dialog alone, his 1950s version of "The Ten Commandments" is god-awful and could lead many to convert to atheism--even though it's considered a classic and has a HUGE budget as well. I can hear Anne Baxter from this film now uttering the hilariously overdone line "...oooh, Moses.....Moooooses!!!!!" (like a cow in heat) or Edward G. Robinson bellowing "...he took us into the desert to die like dogs!!!!" for the 48th time in the film! Why is De Mille so adored? His dialog, acting and stories are often terrible--and VERY sacrilegious. Try watching "Sign of the Cross" and then try to convince me I am wrong about the sacrilegious comment, as it included scenes of bestiality, lesbianism and the like in a Biblical epic! Or how about the Claudette Colbert version of "Cleopatra" where you get to see Ms. Colbert's breasts--not exactly stuff to show your Sunday school class (and yes, I know "Cleopatra" is not a Biblical epic).

Watch at your own risk....Oh, and De Mille DID do a few very good films...and many bad ones.

Page 1 of 2:

[1] [2]

Add another review

Related Links