River’s End (1940)

Dennis Morgan is John Keith, a man convicted of killing Roger Cass and sentenced to hang.

Instead, he jumps out a courthouse window, leaps on a horse and flees.

After all, he didn’t commit the murder. So he heads north, deep into the Canadian wilderness with a $1,000 price on his head.

Dennis Morgan also plays Sgt. Derry Conniston, the Mountie dispatched to capture Keith and bring him back to face justice.

The chase goes on for 14 months, four days and about eight hours, at which point Keith, presumably safe in a cabin, hears shots ring out.

He dashes into a blizzard and finds Sgt. Conniston lying in the snow unconscious. He takes him inside and tries to nurse him back to health.

During their time together, the sergeant decides a man as kind as Keith couldn’t possibly be a murderer.

So when Conniston’s nearing death, realizing they look much alike, he suggests they swap places.

Meaning John Keith will don a Mountie uniform and return to River’s End as Sgt. Derry Conniston.

Keith figures it will give him time to investigate the crime and find the real killer of Roger Cass.

Complications arise when Conniston’s sister Linda (Elizabeth Inglis) returns for a joyful reunion, unknowingly becoming the house guest of a man who doesn’t even know her.

Dennis Morgan as John Keith, waiting to hear the verdict in his murder trial in River’s End (1940)

Dennis Morgan as Sgt. Derry Conniston, getting orders to track down John Keith in River’s End (1940)

Review:

It’s the old one actor in two roles gimmick, made simpler from a filming standpoint this time because one of the characters dies early in the film.

Given the rather implausible premise, it’s also a movie that’s most effective when Keith’s borrowed identity is used for humor.

The most memorable scene comes when the new Sgt. Conniston is settling into his cabin. A strange woman shows up, one thrilled for the chance of a reunion with the sergeant.

Was she Conniston’s wife? His fiancée? A pannicked Keith has no idea. He doesn’t even know her name.

His best friend Andy Dijon, played by George Tobias, overhears the answer. She’s his sister. But how can he possibly relay that information to Keith in front of the woman?

What eventually becomes more concerning for Keith is that his “sister” seems to be falling for Norman Talbot, played by Victor Jory, the very man he suspects of murdering Cass.

The marked the third filming of the story, following a 1922 silent version and a 1930 sound film, starring Charles Bickford in the dual role.

Elizabeth Inglis (aka Elizabeth Earl) as Linda Conniston, thrilled for a reunion with the man she thinks is her brother in River’s End (1940)

Victor Jory as Norman Talbot, the man Keith suspects of committing murder in River’s End (1940)

Directed by:
Ray Enright

Cast:
Dennis Morgan … John Keith / Sgt. Derry Conniston
Elizabeth Inglis … Linda Conniston
as Elizabeth Earl
George Tobias … Andy Dijon
Victor Jory … Norman Talbot
James Stephenson … Inspector McDowell
Steffi Duna … Cheeta
Edward Pawley … Frank Crandell
John Ridgely … Constable Jeffers
Frank Wilcox … Constable Kentish
David Bruce … Bait
Gilbert Emery … Justice
Stuart Robertson … Sgt. Cruze

Runtime: 73 min.

George Tobias as Andy Dijon, John Keith’s good friend in River’s End (1940)

Steffi Duna as Cheeta, the girl who desperately wants to marry Andy Dijon, though she’s not certain why in River’s End (1940)

Memorable lines:

Inspector McDowell, about to dispatch Sgt. Derry Conniston on a mission to bring back convicted murderer John Keith: “They always break, these fellows, if you don’t let up on them.”
Sgt. Conniston: “I won’t, sir.”

Sgt. Derry Conniston, resting with a broken leg in John Keith’s cabin: “Why did you not finish me off out there?”
John Keith: “You’re Scotch, aren’t you?”
Conniston: “Aye.”
Keith: “Ever do any grouse shooting?”
Conniston: “Course. On the moors, back home.”
Keith: “Ever shoot them on the ground?”

John Keith, posing as Sgt. Conniston, riding up to friend Andy Dijon’s campsite: “I’m looking for a man named Dijon. Andre Dijon. I’ve got a warrant for his arrest. Do you know him?”
Andy Dijon, not recognizing his friend: “Dijon? What kind of fellow he look like?”
John Keith, realizing his friend doesn’t recognize him: “Ugly. Homely as the butt end of a ham. Got the brains of a beetle, I here.”
Dijon: “He’s one big stranger to me.”

Cheeta, Andy Dijon’s wannabe wife, shocked to find him behind bars: “Andre?”
Dijon: “What?”
Cheeta: “If I get you out here, will you marry me then?”
Dijon: “Why should I get out of one jail and into another?”

James Stephenson as Inspector McDowell, the man who sends Sgt. Conniston to bring back John Keith in River’s End (1940)

Edward Pawley as Frank Crandell, a man who could be crucial to proving John Keith’s innocence in River’s End (1940)

Dennis Morgan as Sgt. Derry Conniston, resting in bed in John Keith’s cabin in River’s End (1940)

Dennis Morgan as John Keith, posing as a Mountie for the first time in River’s End (1940)