Alaskan hurjapäät

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!