North to Alaska
Posted: August 9th, 2009, 6:12 pm
North To Alaska
While channel surfing, I stopped at the Western channel and caught the last 5 minutes of NtA and laughed a couple of times, so I pulled out my $5.00 copy of it from Walmart which surprisingly is in letterbox and HD. This one was directed by Henry Hathaway and starred John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Capucine, and Fabian. Although it's a different setting geographically, and none of the stars are drunks, it's very much like El Dorado, and Rio Bravo. In this one Ernie Kovacs is the slimeball who tries to overtake their gold claim by kidnapping the drunken former owner and using him as a facade while going about illegal ways using the government. I've noticed in his movies, Kovacs played either comedy or the slimeball. Sometimes they were joined together, but it was always one or the other. He rarely played just a nice neighbor or friend.
One scene really caught my eye this time. There was a fight and the Duke was blind-punched and he went flying - I'm sure it wasn't him, but whoever it was might well have been badly hurt - he flew under a pack-mule who was startled and kicked and stepped on the actor at least once, maybe twice. I've seen other close calls with animals during fights, but this is the first that I thought the actor could have been hurt.
Also, this is a movie made about Alaska made in the springtime where you can really appreciate the beauty of the mountains and ranges. The mountains are only snow capped half way down so you can see the green valleys, and scenery in general.
Anne
While channel surfing, I stopped at the Western channel and caught the last 5 minutes of NtA and laughed a couple of times, so I pulled out my $5.00 copy of it from Walmart which surprisingly is in letterbox and HD. This one was directed by Henry Hathaway and starred John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Capucine, and Fabian. Although it's a different setting geographically, and none of the stars are drunks, it's very much like El Dorado, and Rio Bravo. In this one Ernie Kovacs is the slimeball who tries to overtake their gold claim by kidnapping the drunken former owner and using him as a facade while going about illegal ways using the government. I've noticed in his movies, Kovacs played either comedy or the slimeball. Sometimes they were joined together, but it was always one or the other. He rarely played just a nice neighbor or friend.
One scene really caught my eye this time. There was a fight and the Duke was blind-punched and he went flying - I'm sure it wasn't him, but whoever it was might well have been badly hurt - he flew under a pack-mule who was startled and kicked and stepped on the actor at least once, maybe twice. I've seen other close calls with animals during fights, but this is the first that I thought the actor could have been hurt.
Also, this is a movie made about Alaska made in the springtime where you can really appreciate the beauty of the mountains and ranges. The mountains are only snow capped half way down so you can see the green valleys, and scenery in general.
Anne