Spawn of the North

Fishermen buddies Henry Fonda (Jim) and George Raft (Tyler) meet up in Alaskan waters when Raft gives Fonda a business proposition to move away from fishing Alaskan salmon and join him for bigger profits. Raft is set on buying a bigger boat and just needs to make the purchase. However, Fonda has settled into his own business and is now very much part of the Alaskan village community. Raft needs to make money fast - he wants his new boat. Akim Tamiroff (Red) is the Russian bad guy who steals fish from everyone else's traps and George Raft allies himself with this evil-doer. This brings him into conflict with Fonda.

The film is ok. It is also too long and a bit boring and we've seen the story before - a buddy-buddy movie where friends fall out. The best in the cast is Tamiroff followed by barmaid Dorothy Lamour (Nicky) who is Raft's girlfriend. Raft and Lamour are a more interesting couple than Fonda and snooty Louise Platt (Di). John Barrymore is also put into the mix as Platt's father and pretty much plays an old drunkard who thinks he's eloquent. The standout moment for me comes one evening when the Alaskan Indians perform a salmon ceremony to encourage a good fishing season. The chanting is quite haunting and provides a memorable occasion.

At the film's start, we see a documentary montage showing the wildlife - salmon and bears - as well as the fishing vessels carrying out their tasks for this particular industry. It ends with a climax - literally - as we see the salmon reproductive process and lots of sperm. I mean spawn. It's a fish porno. What a horrid title for a film and what a horrid word 'spawn' is. Spawn. Say it again. Spawn. See what I mean?

The setting could have been the OLD WEST or a Prohibition Gangster film, the plots are that interchangeable. Instead we have the great North-West territory of Alaska at the beginning of the 20th Century. The formula, a standard one for the 1930s, two Friends from similar back-rounds in Childhood. Upon maturity both come to a fork in the roads one going for the 'fast buck' the other wanting to build a new civilization.

Casting George Raft as Tyler Dawson assured that his character was going to take short-cuts. That left Henry Fonda's Jim Kimmerlee as the forthright and upright Friend. Each has a girl reflecting their respective temperaments. Dawson's Nicky Duval, Dorothy Lamour with a questionable background and good girl, Diane 'Di' Turlon, Louise Platt. Daughter of Windy Turlon, John Barrymore and with a name like 'RED' Skain you knew Akim Tamiroff was going to be up to no good.

The fight is over the annual Salmon run. 'RED' and Tyler just wanting to skim off others hard work. Jim and his Friends form a Vigilence Committee and with 'Harp Guns' at the ready do battle with the FISH PIRATES. Plenty of action, scenery with skillful directing by Henry Hathaway. Seldom seen now it was often shown on the old AMC. Available on DVD, good print, but NO extras, not even subtitles for the hard of hearing. Ask your library to order this one it is worth the viewing. Though John Barrymore was slipping into a caricature of himself and no longer 'The Great Profile'.

None of the other reviews have mentioned that SPAWN OF THE NORTH is in fact a remake of THE VIRGINIAN, with a change in locale from Wyoming to Alaska. There is also one other notable change. While Akim Tamiroff is Trampas and Henry Fonda steps into Gary Cooper's boots as The Virginian, the emphasis has been shifted to the likable but shady Steve character (Richard Arlen in the '29 talkie, George Raft here). SPAWN OF THE NORTH would itself be remade in 1954 as ALASKA SEAS, with a nice cast including Robert Ryan, Brian Keith, and Gene Barry in the roles played by Raft, Fonda, and Tamiroff respectively. On its own terms SPAWN OF THE NORTH is very effective entertainment, thanks to the guiding hand of director Henry Hathaway as well as its cast, not only the aforementioned stars but also experienced scene-stealers John Barrymore and Lynne Overman in support.

This is a real good movie. Henry Fonda and George Raft Play the rival fishermen. Near the end of the movie George Raft is shot. While resting in bed he smokes a cigarette and the smoke comes up out of the bullet holes in his chest!? I remember when I was in high school. We were learning about first aid. The teacher told us about never giving a cigarette to an injury victim. Then he told us about a Humphrey Bogart movie where after being shot he smoked a cigarette and the smoke came out of his chest. I searched for years and found out it was the "Spawn of The North", With GEORGE RAFT not Bogart. Watch for this movie on AMC or TCM, just to see this scene. It is well worth watching, with fine acting and great scenery.

... from Paramount Pictures and director Henry Hathaway. Alaskan fish-cannery owner Jim (Henry Fonda) reconnects with old pal Tyler Dawson (George Raft), a seal hunter. They both have to deal with the illegal shenanigans of boat captain Red Skain (Akim Tamiroff) and his crew who keep looting the community's salmon traps. Jim also finds himself in a love triangle, as he pines for recently-returned gal Diane (Louise Platt), while hotel owner Nicky Duval (Dorothy Lamour) yearns for Jim from afar. Also featuring Lynne Overman, Fuzzy Knight, Vladimir Sokoloff, Duncan Renaldo, John Wray, Henry Brandon, and John Barrymore.

The subject matter isn't something that's frequently covered in cinema, and the cast is unexpected, as well. Raft isn't bad, while Fonda is very good, easing into the earnest, noble hero mold that served him well in his career leading up to the war. One of the most notable things about the movie is the presence of John Barrymore as the hopelessly drunk father of Platt's character. Barrymore's standing had sunk so low by this point that he's listed fifth in the credits. The movie was awarded an honorary Oscar for the sound effects and visual effects (there's a lot of rear projection on display).