(Review originally written at 19 July 2007)
Aren't singing Mounties the first sign of the Apocalypse?
This is a below average standard MGM musical, from the period when the genre was already dying.
Problem is that the movie really lacks a good story. It's not until the second halve that the movie is finally starting to show some progress and some plot lines but it's then already too late to still really make something good of the movie.
The love story, which is always essential in this type of movies, isn't much interesting which is due to the characters and actors that portray them. Ann Blyth is mostly irritating with her thick overdone French-Canadian accent, that by the way seems to come and go randomly. She also doesn't look convincing enough as a woman who feels at home in the wilderness. She looks far too timid and pretty for that. Also hard to imaging that she would really fall and really become happy with such a 'criminal' as Duval.
The character treatment is also quite poor. Seemingly important characters just suddenly disappear out of the movie for too long and basically all characters are extreme stereotypes.
You know it's one of those musicals in which the characters just suddenly burst into singing, in the middle of some dialog, to express their thoughts and feelings. This always have been quite ridicules in my book.
The movie does get extra points for its environment. The Canadian natures serves as a beautiful backdrop for this movie!
Not a complete waste of time but still a below average late MGM attempt.
5/10
Watch trailer
Aren't singing Mounties the first sign of the Apocalypse?
This is a below average standard MGM musical, from the period when the genre was already dying.
Problem is that the movie really lacks a good story. It's not until the second halve that the movie is finally starting to show some progress and some plot lines but it's then already too late to still really make something good of the movie.
The love story, which is always essential in this type of movies, isn't much interesting which is due to the characters and actors that portray them. Ann Blyth is mostly irritating with her thick overdone French-Canadian accent, that by the way seems to come and go randomly. She also doesn't look convincing enough as a woman who feels at home in the wilderness. She looks far too timid and pretty for that. Also hard to imaging that she would really fall and really become happy with such a 'criminal' as Duval.
The character treatment is also quite poor. Seemingly important characters just suddenly disappear out of the movie for too long and basically all characters are extreme stereotypes.
You know it's one of those musicals in which the characters just suddenly burst into singing, in the middle of some dialog, to express their thoughts and feelings. This always have been quite ridicules in my book.
The movie does get extra points for its environment. The Canadian natures serves as a beautiful backdrop for this movie!
Not a complete waste of time but still a below average late MGM attempt.
5/10
Watch trailer
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