After years of hinting at a fun-loving, broad sense of humor in his movies, Wayne pulls out all the stops and plays NORTH TO ALASKA strictly for laughs. This sprawling western comedy proved so successful for Wayne that he played many of his last roles in this endearing style of gentle
self-parody. The film is set in north Alaska circa 1890 and finds Wayne, Granger, and Granger's kid brother, Fabian, partners in a gold mine. Having struck it rich, Wayne travels to Seattle to buy more machinery and retrieve Granger's French-born fiancee, who was supposed to wait while the men dug
out a fortune. Granger has sent Wayne on the mission because he intends to stay at the mine site and put the finishing touches on the honeymoon cabin he has built for the occasion. Unfortunately, when Wayne locates the girl in Seattle, it turns out she is married to another man. Dreading having to
return to Alaska with the bad news, Wayne visits a Seattle brothel to console himself with drink and women. There he meets another young French girl, Capucine, and, figuring that one French girl is as good as another, decides to bring her back with him as a replacement. Capucine likes Wayne and
thinks that he is bringing her to Alaska to make her his bride, not Granger's. Meanwhile, oily con man Kovacs (whom Wayne had run into before he left) has slyly befriended Granger and Fabian with an eye toward grabbing their gold mine. Such is the trust between Kovacs and Granger that Granger buys
a "diamond" ring from the trickster as a wedding present to his bride (of course it is fake). On the ship back to Alaska, Capucine is dismayed to learn that Wayne intends to marry her off to his partner and not himself. Beside himself because the girl is upset, Wayne tries to offer her money for
wasting her time, but she throws the cash overboard. Back home, Wayne gets a room for Capucine in a hotel now owned by the wily Kovacs. As it turns out, Kovacs and Capucine used to be lovers, and now the delighted con man wants to revive the relationship so that the lovely Frenchwoman can help him
steal Wayne's and Granger's mine.
Eventually Capucine makes her way to the mine, but while Wayne and Granger are away defending their spread against some claim jumpers, she finds herself left alone with Fabian, who develops a quick crush on her. After defending herself from the adolescent advances of Fabian, Capucine is shocked
when Granger, after learning the truth about his original fiancee, rejects her and condemns Wayne. Seeking to mend the bridges between the two friends, Capucine explains the whole situation to Granger and tells him that it is Wayne she truly loves. Snapping out of his doldrums, Granger devises a
plan to make Wayne jealous enough to admit his attraction to Capucine. He pretends to have changed his mind about his "bride" and together they enter the honeymoon cabin, making sure Wayne is within earshot. They then make plenty of noise popping champagne corks and clinking glasses, the sounds of
which begin to drive Wayne crazy. After several minutes Capucine gets discouraged (she can't see Wayne outside doing one of the longest "slow burns" in history), so Granger makes her laugh. Her giggles finally push Wayne over the edge and the big man lets out a blood-curdling yell while heading
for the door of the honeymoon cabin. Before Wayne can break it down, Granger wisely opens the door, sending the Duke crashing across the room. Failing to understand what has just happened and feeling humiliated, Wayne packs his bags. Before he can leave, however, soldiers arrive and impound the
mine because a cross-claim on the land has been filed due to the insidious efforts of Kovacs. Wayne, Granger, Fabian, and Capucine are reunited in the battle to retain ownership of their land. The climax of the film sees the heroes catch up with Kovacs and start a huge, rollicking, and extremely
funny fight in the streets of Nome, with dozens of participants slugging it out in the mud. After finally being beaten to his senses, Wayne tells Capucine he loves her and they kiss, much to the delight of the townsfolk.
NORTH TO ALASKA is pure, unabashed Hollywood hokum done to perfection. The entire cast plays it with relish and seems to be having fun while doing it. Wayne is a joy to watch and the comic scene where he works up an insane jealousy over Capucine and Granger in the honeymoon cabin has become one of
the beloved actor's quintessential screen moments. Kovacs, whose brilliant career was cut tragically short by his death in an auto accident in 1962, gives a wonderfully malevolent performance as the con man. A wholly enjoyable film. leave a comment
