Pierre of the Plains (1942)

John Carroll is Pierre, a wandering, womanizing rascal who gets into a scuffle with a man named Clairou about selling whiskey to Indians.

Since he has a history of getting into scuffles, that earns Pierre a Royal Mounted Police invitation to vamoose.

But Pierre gets around that order with a fib: That he’s finally decided to settle down and marry Daisy Denton (Ruth Hussey).

Ah, but he’s in for a surprise. Tired of waiting to marry for love, Daisy has decided to marry for business, to Jap Durkin (Bruce Cabot).

Pierre uses a clever ploy to short-circuit that union, but earns a new enemy in the process.

And he and Daisy quickly find themselves with a new problem. Her brother Val has killed Clairou in self-defense.

But he’s arrested for murder because he’s found standing over the dead man’s body holding a gun.

The key witness against him: Jap Durkin.

John Carroll as Pierre, pleading his case before the Mounties in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Ruth Hussey as Daisy Denton, surprised at the ploy that disrupts her planned marriage in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Review:

A spirited performance by John Carroll in the lead role helps enliven a contrived plot set in Canada at a time when most folks drove cars, but the Mounties still rode horses. Fans of Westerns are not likely to be impressed.

The best scene comes late in the film when Carroll’s character Pierre faces a murder charge. The officer holding the hearing becomes more and more befuddled as one friend after another explains why they should be a suspect in the death.

This was a remake of a 1914 silent film and a 1908 Broadway hit. And this version was produced by Edgar Selwyn, who starred in the 1914 silent.

Bruce Cabot as Jap Durkin, clashing with Pierre for the first time in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

John Carroll as Pierre pours out the whiskey Clairou (Sheldon Leonard) is trading to the Indians in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Directed by:
George B. Seitz

Cast:
John Carroll … Pierre
Ruth Hussey … Daisy Denton
Bruce Cabot … Jap Durkin
Phil Brown … Val Denton
Reginald Owen … Noah Glenkins
Henry Travers … Percival Wellsby
Evelyn Ankers … Celia Wellsby
Patrick McVey … Sgt.. Dugan
Frederick Worlock … Inspector Cannady
Charles Stevens … Crying Loon
Sheldon Leonard … Clairou
Lois Ranson … Claire

Runtime: 66 min.

Evelyn Anders as Celia Wellsby, the woman Pierre takes on a fishing excursion with her dad in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Henry Travers as Percival Wellsby at Pierre’s criminal hearing in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Memorable lines:

Val Denton: “I left the pieces of one very good heart in the road yesterday when I told Pierre you were getting hitched.”
Daisy Denton: “Pierre? Is he here?”
Val: “I don’t know if he’s here, but he’s very unhappy.”
Daisy: “Unhappy? I bet.”
Val: “Go down to the station. There’s a print of his face in the dirt where it fell when I told him you were getting married to Jap. I don’t think he’ll ever smile again.”

Pierre, boasting of his own gambling ability: “Just wait til Pierre gets up the river with this rich fellow. Those little fellows (dollar bills) will multiply like mosquitoes.”
Daisy Denton: “I wish they could multiply into something without a stinger. I don’t like the sound of this.”

Celia Wellsby: “You’re fired.”
Pierre: “I’m fired? Why? Because I saved you from drowning?”
Celia: “Saved me? Look at you. You’re not even wet.”
Pierre: “Ah, I see. You think I could save you better if I got wet.”
Celia: “Well, at least you’d look more like a hero.”

Pierre, as he dodges dishes being thrown at him by Daisy: “I think if you stopped yelling, aimed good and hit me once, you might feel better.”

Frederick Worlock as Inspector Cannady, presiding over Pierre’s hearing in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Patrick McVey as Sgt. Dugan, the Mountie who tries to keep Pierre in line in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Phil Brown as Val Denton, Daisy’s brother who winds up in trouble in Pierre of the Plains (1942)

Charles Stevens as Crying Loon, the crazy Indian, with John Carroll as Pierre in Pierre of the Plains (1942)