TomJH Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 In honour of Canada Day just passed, here is a very brief tribute to some of the brave lads who have played Canada's men in red, courtesy Hollywood fantasy. Remember now, the Mounties always get their man. Or, in this case, his woman too: Yes, it's Robert Preston, making RED! HOT! LOVE! to Meties half breed Paulette Goddard. Preston is so eager that he even forgot to take off his uniform. Well, that's what a flashing eyed temptress like this one will do to ya. Preston Foster in the same film, looking a little grim, possibly because he doesn't have any RED! HOT! LOVE! scenes with Paulette Goddard Nelson Eddy as Sergeant Bruce - perhaps the most famous of all Hollywood Mounties, certainly the one most likely to burst out into song whenever he heard an orchestral cue. Nelson and Jeanette doing a breath test? Quite possibly, but also ready to launch into their Indian Love Call. Okay, well at least the Mountie in this film was played by an Aussie, for a change, rather than an American, and Canadian character actor Gene Lockhart does have a prominent role in the production. The lady is clearly impressed. And if our stalwart Mountie would actually turn to take a look at her, he'd see that she's having a few problems keeping her dress on, too. She really likes him. That's right - you see it on the poster - "Actually Filmed in the Canadian Rockies" - as in Banff, Alberta to be exact. You see Saskatchewan is flat, very flat. There are no mountains. I guess the title "Alberta" just wasn't available for the filmmakers when they made this one. '50s TV's Dick Simmons as the intrepid Sgt. Preston, with his faithful companion, Yukon King As you can see, the sergeant was also good at merchandising himself 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 And yet another, and perhaps the noblest Mountie of them all: That's right. It's Dudley Do-Right, initially a by product of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show before he got a TV series of his own. That's his perennial enemy, the dastardly Snidely Whiplash, that he has tied up under control. Dudley's bulb may not have been the brightest one lit on screen but, on the other hand, didn't he wear his suit well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMeingast Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 RCMP page on subject here: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hist/hnud-nhut/hollywood-eng.htm "Susannah of the Mounties" with Randolph Scott as the Mountie and also starring Shirley Temple:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah_of_the_Mounties_%28film%29 Posters and photos of various Hollywood Mounties here:http://www.b-westerns.com/mounties.htm To quote Don Miller (author of the B-Western history "Hollywood Corral": http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/545217.Don_Miller_s_Hollywood_Corral ): "Hollywood never did right by the mounties. The challenge was there, with unlimited opportunities for adventure with fresh, picturesque locales; a group of law enforcers with a noble, proud and inspiring tradition, not to mention their distinctive redcoats; and the potential of blending rugged, Western-type action with, to non-Canadians, a tinge of the exotic allure of a foreign country. With everything at their disposal, the movies generally blew it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 everything at their disposal, the movies generally blew it. Try telling that to Dudley Do-Right. Thanks very much for the links, Randy, showing that "B" movie products undoubtedly used Mounties as main characters far more than did the "A" productions upon which I concentrated. They were northern westerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I brought this up in that Canada Day thread, but got no response (well, there was a lot going on in that thread at the time.) Has anyone -especially my Canadian pals - heard about this RCMP officer who wanted to openly smoke weed on the job? Here's a couple of links to the story: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/rcmp-officer-insists-he-can-smoke-medical-marijuana-on-the-job/article15654537/ I just thought it was interesting and funny. And a little bit sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Steven Wright played a great Mountie in the comedy CANADIAN BACON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 Yes, MissW, unusual story and, when you read about the Mountie's history, a bit sad, as you say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 In THE WILD NORTH, Wendell Corey isn't exactly the most convincing Mountie that I've seen, nor is Stewart Granger's French Canadian accent convincing either. But the cinematography (with Idaho subbing for Canada) is just fine, the AnscoColor doesn't hurt this one much. The twist is that Corey is on Granger's trail, but the former is injured and it's up to Granger to bring him back alive. Lee Marvin makes for a determined Mountie as he chases Charles Bronson in DEATH HUNT. the film goes to show how fortunes change in Hollywood - by 1981, Marvin was a shadow of his former self, theone who had top billing over Bronson in THE DIRTY DOZEN. But Lee does get to appear with Angie Dickinson once again, they were the headliners of two previous films, THE KILLERS and POINT BLANK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Aaah...and Tom, let us not forget the "F-Troop" episode "The Singing Mountie", and where Paul Lynde as the episode's title character is in hot pursuit of Corporal Agarn's(Larry Storch) French-Canadian "cousin", The Burglar of Banff-ff-ff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zegz65_8wuQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 And yet another, and perhaps the noblest Mountie of them all: That's right. It's Dudley Do-Right, initially a by product of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show before he got a TV series of his own. That's his perennial enemy, the dastardly Snidely Whiplash, that he has tied up under control. Dudley's bulb may not have been the brightest one lit on screen but, on the other hand, didn't he wear his suit well? Don't forget, he was brought to life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 This is a pretty good Mountie movie: North West Mounted Police (1940) Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Paulette Goddard, Preston Foster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaD-Tx78C3c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casablanca100views Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I brought this up in that Canada Day thread, but got no response (well, there was a lot going on in that thread at the time.) Has anyone -especially my Canadian pals - heard about this RCMP officer who wanted to openly smoke weed on the job? Here's a couple of links to the story: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/rcmp-officer-insists-he-can-smoke-medical-marijuana-on-the-job/article15654537/ I just thought it was interesting and funny. And a little bit sad. I didn't know about that story, and I have a thing for Mounties. And it is a little sad. Just thinking of Paul Gross back in the day will have dreaming pretty dreams tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Undoubtedly the biggest "A" production of the studio era to make a tribute to the Mounties was director Cecil B. DeMille's lavish North West Mounted Police in 1940. The film deals with the North West Rebellion (in what today is the province of Saskatchewan) in 1885, lead by spiritual leader Louis Riel. Riel would be played in a reduced role in the film by character actor Francis McDonald. To add to the appeal for American viewers, the screenplay adds a fictitious Texas Ranger (Gary Cooper) who comes to Canada and interacts with the Mounties in his hunt for an American fugitive from justice. DeMille was smart enough to know that with the bright red uniforms of the Mounties this would be an ideal subject matter for his first film in Technicolor. It's a fun film, with one of the producer-showman's largest cast of stars. It's also a juvenile ludicrous movie in many respects (as a kid I saw a black-and-white version of this film on TV all the time, and loved it). Even compared to other DeMille films, not known for a lot of intelligence in their dialogue, North West Mounted Police has some humdinger bad lines for the cast to have to battle. Some examples: Leading lady Madeleine Carroll at one point gratefully turns to Gary Cooper as Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (yeah, you read that right, Dusty Rivers) and says, "Oh, Dusty, you're an angel in leather." To which the aw shucks bashful Cooper responds, "I'd look kinda funny in leather wings." At another point, when the Ranger invites Carroll to have a cup of coffee with him, his dialogue tongue-twister is a memorable one, "Look, just sort of surround some of this high lopping java." Randy Mountie Robert Preston gets to tell his half breed hot tomale sweetheart Paulette Goddard, "You're the sweetest poison that ever got in a man's blood." But my favourite dialogue moment in the film is courtesy of everyone's favourite scene stealing character actor, Akim Tamiroff. Here his Russian accent is mixed in his attempt at sounding like a French Canadian, with the French Canadian accent definitely losing out. Playing a beaver trapper fatally shot, Tamiroff, as he lies dying, manages to get off the biggest eye rolling dialogue disaster of the film, as he intones, "The Big Trapper got me by the neck." Do you see any fear in this Mountie's eyes? I don't. The Mounties meet a Texas Ranger. And they get along fine, but watch out for that high lopping java. Metis fur trapper Akim Tamiroff, doomed by The Big Trapper, but trying his Russian accented mangling best to steal every scene in the film offered to him beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Great Mountie montage! I'm of French Canadian descent and had to tolerate uncles singing "Rosemarie" (my given name) for years. However, my heritage is more likely heavily metis (like Paulette Goddard's character?), as I did my genealogy a few years back and found 3 lines of my family descended from the Micmaq tribe. However, my family tree did not experience any of these adventures. They spent most of their time "rock farming," doing bad carpentry, and eating tons of tourtiere and gouton. Somehow, I never see any French Canadian cuisine in these movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Great Mountie montage! I'm of French Canadian descent and had to tolerate uncles singing "Rosemarie" (my given name) for years. However, my heritage is more likely heavily metis (like Paulette Goddard's character?), as I did my genealogy a few years back and found 3 lines of my family descended from the Micmaq tribe. However, my family tree did not experience any of these adventures. They spent most of their time "rock farming," doing bad carpentry, and eating tons of tourtiere and gouton. Somehow, I never see any French Canadian cuisine in these movies. So, rosebette, do you envision Nelson somehow singing that song to you? A friend of mine is part Cree. You wouldn't really know it to look at her except that she does have beautiful high cheek bones. She has participated in some native ceremonies, and is fully devoted to exploring the Indian part of her heritage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 No, I prefer Howard Keel. He was a dead ringer for a choir director I had a crush on. I come from a long line of dark-eyed people with high cheekbones. A few of them even had the almond-shaped eyes and acquiline nose. When my dad was in the Pacific during WWII, he was often mistaken for the "enemy." If I had my choice of movie mounties, it would be Flynn or Coop, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 No, I prefer Howard Keel. He was a dead ringer for a choir director I had a crush on. I come from a long line of dark-eyed people with high cheekbones. A few of them even had the almond-shaped eyes and acquiline nose. When my dad was in the Pacific during WWII, he was often mistaken for the "enemy." If I had my choice of movie mounties, it would be Flynn or Coop, though. Actually, Keel and Eddy both had strong baritones but Keel was clearly the better actor. I guess that the closest that Coop ever came to looking like a Mountie in the movies was when he played a Bengal Lancer. Entirely different climate, of course, and there aren't that many cobras sliding around Canada either but Coop looked good in that uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I have a tree in my yard that's a better actor than Nelson Eddy. Yeah, Coop in uniform in Lives of a Bengal Lancer.... Or partly out of it in the shaving scene. One forgets that he was so handsome in his younger days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Yeah, Coop in uniform in Lives of a Bengal Lancer.... Or partly out of it in the shaving scene. One forgets that he was so handsome in his younger days. Well, here he is, rosebette, just to drive you a little bit crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Good thing I put my air conditioner on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Good thing I put my air conditioner on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Who is the actress in this picture? It looks like Lombard, but I don't think Coop made a picture with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Who is the actress in this picture? It looks like Lombard, but I don't think Coop made a picture with her. Coop not only made a picture with Lombard, but he also made Lombard. Sorry, tacky to say, but true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Not surprising. He had a reputation for being quite a ladies' man in the 20s and 30s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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