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.
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.
Roland 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.
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.
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.”
){kind=link}