Spawn of the North

LAMOUR, FONDA AND BARRYMORE
In the thirties, all-star action melodramas didn't come much better than SPAWN OF THE NORTH, an eventful yarn of the war between Russian and American salmon-fishing fleets along the Alaskan coast. It was a winner for Paramount, which made several such big-scale mass entertainments in a period when other companies were scooping up all the Oscars and critics' awards. Even some of the reviewers enthused about the rugged vigour of Henry Hathaway's direction of this Barrett Willoughby story, scripted by Jules Furthman and Talbot Jennings. Performances pleased, too: Henry Fonda as the stalwart skipper, Dorothy Lamour as the gal who stands by him, defying the world, the flesh and the devil; George Raft as Fonda's pal (who goes over to the bad guys but thinks better of it). The great John Barrymore is great fun as a grizzled, guzzling newspaperman and Akim Tamiroff is good as the Russian heavy. Charles Lang's photography (the exteriors shot mostly in Alaska) was magnificent.

Four Great Stars in a Five Star Film
SPAWN OF THE NORTH is one of the most underrated films from the late 1930's although at the time it was a big hit and won Academy Awards for it's excellent special effects (so impressive they were lifted in put in later films). The movie stars Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, George Raft, and John Barrymore and is set in Alaska. Dorothy Lamour has one of the best dramatic roles of her career as the cannery girl torn between Raft and Fonda and Barrymore is excellent in one of his best "character" parts as a drunken newspaperman but the emphasis is on action. The fairly recent movie THE PERFECT STORM seems to have been a little inspired by this classic. This movie is a must for those who love big-budget "big" movies with top production values.

Excellent historical drama of trap fishing in Alaska
I enjoyed the authentic depiction of the challenges and dangers of fishing in Alaska in the thirties and earlier using fish traps. Some of the footage was on site and spectacular!

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