Gilbert Roland is Louis La Bey, who’s been stealing gold in the snowy Canada wilderness and hiding it in the fireplace at his cabin.
Robert Elliott is Sergeant Mooney, the quick-thinking Mountie detective who’s sent to investigate a rash of gold robberies.
Two women complicate matters. La Bey meets Nedra Ruskin (Barbara Leonard) when she comes to Canada with her father to visit their gold mine at Wolf Creek.
Woolie-Woolie, who considers La Bey her man, senses their attraction to one another and tells Mooney the truth about the gold.
After that, it’s a game of cat and mouse with La Bey on the run from Mooney.
Until a blizzard hits. Suddenly, La Bey is confronted with a couple of tough decisions. Continue his attempt to flee, or try to save the man chasing him and the woman with whom he’s fallen in love.
Gilbert Roland as Louis La Bey, the man with a secret cache of gold in Men of the North (1930)
Barbara Leonard as Nedra Ruskin, the city girl from Montreal who turns La Bey’s head in Men of the North (1930)
Review:
The action scenes and sled chases through snow and blizzard are impressive considering this was made at the beginning of the sound era, but poor Gilbert Roland seems badly miscast in the role of a Frenchman. Fact is, with the broken English he’s asked to speak, he might have been better off if this were a silent film.
We are served up a neat ending, and I’m talking about the scene after La Bey’s thievery is explained away. Not to mention a delightfully confused performance from Nina Quartero, forced to play the part of a character named Woolie-Woolie, who squeals to the Mounties about La Bey’s stolen gold, then frets that she’s gotten him in trouble.
The dark-haired beauty had an uncredited role as a saloon girl in 1929’s “The Virginian.” In fact, it was her flirting that prompted a dispute between The Virginian and Trampas, prompting Gary Cooper’s famous line, “You wanna call me that, smile.” Quartero’s final film was a tiny role as one of John Wayne’s female friends in the 1943 comedy, “Lady Takes a Chance.”
As for Roland, he was 25 when this film came out and had already appeared in a number of silent films. He would continue acting for another 50 years.
Robert Elliott as Sgt. Mooney, the investigator trying to find the man who’s stealing gold in Men of the North (1930)
Nina Quartero as Woolie-Woolie, the dark-haired beauty jealous over La Bey’s fascination with Nedra Ruskin in Men of the North (1930)
Directed by:
Hal Roach
Cast:
Gilbert Roland … Louis La Bey
… aka Monsieur Le Fox’
Barbara Leonard … Nedra Ruskin
Arnold Korff … John Ruskin
Robert Elliott … Sgt. Mooney
George Davis … Cpl. Smith
Nina Quartero … Woolie-Woolie
Robert Graves … Priest
Runtime: 61 min.
Robert Graves as the priest, wise to the way of Louis La Bey in Men of the North (1930)
Robert Elliott as Sgt. Mooney, trying to catch Louis La Bey (Gilbert Roland) in a lie in Men of the North (1930)
Memorable lines:
Woolie-Woolie, showing her jealousy: “You try to see this girl (Nedra) tonight?”
Lois La Bey: “What you think I am? An owl? Seeing everything at night.”
Sgt. Mooney: “You women are a queer lot. I can’t understand them.”
Sgt. Mooney: “Louie, I’m afraid you’re a bad egg.”
Louis La Bey: “The egg which is bad was good egg once. Maybe something spoiled him. The chicken, she do not lay the bad egg.”
Sgt. Mooney, to Louis La Bey, about his nickman, ‘The Fox’: “Fox, huh? Just plain skunk.”
Gilbert Roland as Louis La Bey, trying to find out why Woolie-Woolie (Nina Quartero) was spying on him in Men of the North (1930)
Barbara Leonard as Nedra Ruskin and Gilbert Roland as Louis La Bey, getting an unexpected visitor in Men of the North (1930)
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