Northwest Rangers (1942) poster
An officer with the Mounties (Jack Holt at Sgt. Duncan Frazier) takes them under him wing, raising them as if they were his own sons.
Gardiner follows in the footsteps of his new “dad,” growing up to become a respected officer with the Mounties.
The wilder “Blackie” runs away, becomes a gambler, but returns to even the score with a saloon owner named Martin Caswell (John Carradine).
All too soon, a pretty girl (Patricia Dane as Jean Avery) and a murder investigation come between the two old friends.
Will Jim do his duty as a Mountie? Or will he give his “brother” preferential treatment?
James Craig as Blackie Marshall, returning home for the first time in years in Northwest Rangers (1942)
William Lundigan as Jim Gardiner, the duty-bound Mountie all grown up in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Review:
A decent “B” Western. As children, the two friends played Mountie and badman; then they find themselves in the same roles as adults.
Craig is especially effective as the likable scoundrel, but the entire proceedings are sorta spoiled an ending that’s well … incredibly hokey.
John Carradine, the villain here, had already appeared in films for a dozen years and would continue to do so for another 50.
Patricia Dane’s star was on the rise, but she’d soon step away from films to marry renown bandleader Tommy Dorsey, a four-year union that grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Patricia Dane as Jean Avery, introducing herself to Blackie Marshall in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Jack Holt as Sgt. Duncan Frazier, the Mountie who raises Jim and Blackie in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Directed by:
Joseph M. Newman
Cast:
James Craig … “Blackie” Marshall
William Lundigan … Jim Gardiner
Patricia Dane … Jean Avery
John Carradine … Martin Caswell
Jack Holt … Sgt. Duncan Frazier
Keenan Wynn … Slip O’Mara
Grant Withers … Tom Fowler
Darryl Hickman … Blackie as youth
Drew Roddy … Jim as youth
Runtime: 65 min.
John Carradine as Martin Caswell, the gambler feuding with Blackie Marshall in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Grant Withers as Tom Fowler, one of Martin Caswell’s allies in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Memorable lines:
Jim Gardiner: “Just don’t forget the slogan. A Mountie always gets his woman too.”
Blackie Marshall: “Yeah, but that don’t go for another fella’s woman.”
Jean Avery to Blackie: “Some night, you’ll win somebody’s mother in a dice game. Or maybe a baby. You think everything in your life can be paid off in chips.”
Jean Avery to Mountie Jim Gardiner: “You don’t wait for red or black to decide your life.”
Jim Gardiner, in admiration of his “brother”: “Nah, there’s only one Blackie.”
Jean: “No, you’re wrong. You’ll find them wherever there’s easy money. A bank roll, flashy clothes, a smart line of talk. Put them together, and you’ve got a Blackie. Easy to get, easy to forget. Once you catch on.”
Blackie Marshall: “I don’t need anything — anything except my luck.”
Keenan Wynn as Slip O’Mara, Blackie’s assistant at the Topaz in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Darryl Hickman as young Blackie and Drew Roddy as young Jim, best friends parting ways in Northwest Rangers (1942)
Patricia Dane as Jean Avery, entertaining guests of The Topaz with a song in Northwest Rangers (1942)
William Lundigan as Jim Gardiner, admiring a scarf that appears to clear Blackie Marshall (James Craig) in Northwest Rangers (1942)
William Lundigan as Jim Gardiner, the Mountie trying to track down his man in Northwest Rangers (1942)
James Craig as Blackie Marshall when trouble comes calling in Northwest Rangers (1942)
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