North to Alaska (1960)

During the Alaska gold rush, prospector George sends partner Sam to Seattle to bring his fiancée but when it turns out that she married another man, Sam returns with a pretty substitute, the hostess of the Henhouse dance hall.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

John Lee Mahin (screenplay), Martin Rackin (screenplay)

Stars:

John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Sam McCord
Stewart Granger	...	George Pratt
Ernie Kovacs	...	Frankie Canon
Fabian	...	Billy Pratt
Capucine	...	Michelle Bonet - aka Angel
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Peter Boggs
Karl Swenson	...	Lars Nordquist
Joe Sawyer	...	Land Commissioner
Kathleen Freeman	...	Lena Nordquist
John Qualen	...	Logger Judge
Stanley Adams	...	Breezy

Storyline

Sam and George strike gold in Alaska. George sends Sam to Seattle to bring George's fiancée back to Alaska. Sam finds she is already married, and returns instead with Angel. Sam, after trying to get George and Angel together, finally romances Angel, who, in the meantime, is busy fighting off the advances of George's younger brother, Billy. Frankie is a con man trying to steal the partners' gold claim.

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Plot Keywords:

alaska | partner | younger brother | con man | gold rush | 

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Taglines:

These were the adventures . . . fighting, laughing and brawling their way from Seattle to Nome! [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1960 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Alaskans

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Capucine said that John Wayne wore lifts in the film.

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Goofs

In the major fight, Frankie Canon is knocked face-down into fairly deep mud. Seconds later he is shown "pre-fight clean" and then somewhat muddied shortly thereafter (but, even then, not as muddy as he should be).

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Quotes

Michelle: [Sam enters the cabin and picks up his revolver belt] Is he that mad?
Sam McCord: He's not even here! Over at another mine, fighting some claim-jumpers. One good thing about that, them shootin' at him will take George's mind off Jenny.
Michelle: Yes. A bullet through the head is always the best cure for love.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: NOME, 1900

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Connections

Referenced in Wildlife (2018)

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Soundtracks

When the Saints Go Marching In
(uncredited)
Music by James Milton Black
Played by the Salvation Army Band

User Reviews

entertaining and historically correct movie

North to Alaska is one of the most northerly western to be brought out, playing mostly in Nome. The movie is complete fiction, but the location and how it looked there during the gold rush are surprisingly correct. After Klondyke, Nome had a kind of second rush, but since most people searched for gold in/near the rivers - like Sam (Wayne) and his companions did - the real rush came to Nome after a local was chased away from his claim and as he started to wash at the beach(!) he found a real bonanza! Nome had no haven, which is shown in the movie: ships (mostly arriving from Seattle) had to anchor before the coast and freight and passengers had to be brought aland by smaller vessels. Also characters like Frankie are realistic, for crooks where indeed not hesitating to kill people or steal claims (as I mentioned above). How it looks in Nome is also realistic: however most of the year frozen, in the short period the ice melts, the streets were one ditch of thighhigh mud; Frankie is made aware of that fact very firsthand.

Humanity note: After Sam brought a girl from Seattle to Nome, which was an silly alcohol decision, he regrets it and leaves her in town so she could take the next boat back. Also in this movie there are people offering apologies, even Sam himself; try to find regret and apologies in other westerns!

Music: The title song by Johnnie Horton is a real C&W hit.

Totally: The movie is very entertaining, funny, human and realistic in historical context. A good film for the whole family!