River’s End (1930)

Charles Bickford plays two roles, that of hunter and the hunted. The hunter is a Northwest Mounted Policeman named Conniston, on the trail of a suspected killer with the help of guide Pat O’Toole.

The hunted is Jack Keith, who’s wanted for a murder he insists he didn’t commit and who has taken refuge on an ice-logged whale boat.

Conniston finds him there and, after a brief gunfight during which O’Toole is wounded, takes him into custody and is shocked by how similar they look.

The trip back to civilization is a rough one, and Keith tries to escape more than once.

On one occasion, he has a chance to get away clean, but returns to rescue O’Toole and Conniston after leaving them to die in the cold.

Conniston succumbs anyway. But having been saved by Keith, O’Toole figures he owes him a second chance.

So they cook up a scheme where Keith will pretend to be Conniston, return to a Mountie camp, then desert from there.

Things don’t go quite as planned. Keith meets and falls for the commander’s daughter, a woman Conniston had tried to romance with little success.

And he finds it difficult to disappoint O’Toole’s teenage son Mickey, who looks up to him like a father.

Charles Bickford as Sgt. Conniston coming face to face with John Keith (also Charles Bickford) in River’s End (1930)

Evalyn Knapp as Miriam McDowell, learning th admirer she was about to reject has returned from a manhunt a changed person in River’s End (1930)

Review:

In addition to playing two parts, Bickford’s character finds himself with all sorts of tough decisions to make over the course of this early talkie.

When he gets back to Mountie headquarters, he discovers he’s been cleared on the murder charge. Only he fears revealing his true identity will result in a new one because people will suspect he killed Conniston while escaping.

Still, the idea that Keith could pretend to be Conniston and go undetected for so long at police headquarters while surrounded by Conniston’s pas acquaintances is a bit far-fetched.

And Frank Coghlan Jr. quickly wears out his welcome as O’Toole’s son, who seems to spend most of his on-screen time crying or sulking.

Director Curtiz had already helmed dozens of silent films when the sound era dawned. In the 1930s and 1940s, he’d be teamed with Errol Flynn for several films, including “Dodge City” and “Virginia City.” He kept directing until 1961; his final film was “The Comancheros” (1961), starring John Wayne.

Frank Coghlan Jr. as Mickey O’Toole, spotting ‘Conni’s’ whip scars and realizing something is amiss in River’s End (1930)

J. Farrell MacDonald as Pat O’Toole, helping Sgt. Conniston track down John Keith in River’s End (1930)

Director:
Michael Curtiz

Cast:
Charles Bickford … Jack Keith / Conniston
Evalyn Knapp … Miriam
J. Farrell McDonald … Pat O’Toole
Zasu Pitts … Louise
Walter McGrail … Lesley Martin
David Torrence … McDowell
Frank Coghlan Jr. … Mickey
Tom Santschi … Shotwell

Runtime: 75 min.

Charles Bickford as John Keith, posing as Sgt. Conniston and facing a difficult decision as a result in River’s End (1930)

Wlater McGrail as Sgt. Martin, hoping his sleuthing will give him a new opportunity iwth Miriam McDowell in River’s End (1930)

Memorable lines:

Jack Keith: “Smoking snow moss was rather wearing on the throat.”
Pat O’Toole, figuring Keith has a date with a hangman’s noose: “You’re neck is sore on the inside, is it? Well, next month is will be sore on the outside.”

Jack Keith, after hugging the wrong girl: “Sorry, my exuberance has been on ice for some time.”

Commander to Keith: “I don’t even want to lay eyes on your bruised-up carcass in the street. Now get out.”

David Torrence as Inspector McDowell, ordering the man he believes is the married Sgt. Conniston out of his daughter’s life in River’s End (1930)

Zasu Pitts as Louise, Miriam McDowell’s confidant in matters of gossip and love in River’s End (1930)

J. Farrell MacDonald as Pat O’Toole with a badly ailing Sgt. Conniston (Charles Bickford) in River’s End (1930)

Charles Bickford as John Keith with Miriam McDowell, trying to defend whether to reveal the truth about his identity in River’s End (1930)