Belle of the Yukon (1944)

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

Houston Branch (story)
James Edward Grant (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 December 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Western

Plot:

Set in the days of the great Canadian Gold Rush, this rousing musical stars Randolph Scott as a "reformed"...

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Cane | Con Man | Gambling | Girlfriend

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Honest John Calhoun aka Gentleman Jack
Gypsy Rose Lee	...	Belle De Valle
Dinah Shore	...	Lettie Candless
Bob Burns	...	Sam Slade
Charles Winninger	...	Pop Candless
William Marshall	...	Steve Atterbury
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Sheriff Mervin Maitland (as Guinn Williams)
Robert Armstrong	...	George
Florence Bates	...	Viola Chase
Victor Kilian	...	Professor Salsbury
Wanda McKay	...	Cherie Atterbury
Edward Fielding	...	C.V. Atterbury
Jane Hale	...	Dance Specialty

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company:

International Pictures (I)

Trivia:

American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films, 1941-1950, erroneously lists the release date as 1 January 1944, instead of the correct date of 1 January 1945.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The A-Team: Water, Water Everywhere (#2.10)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Sleighride in July

I came out humming the costumes....

One of the most confused, boring, ploddingly directed attempts at an original musical in Hollywood history. Even Gypsy Rose Lee and her constant wise-cracking in the lead can't enliven these funereal goings-on. Randolph Scott registers one expression - bewilderment (as in how did I get cast in this turkey?) and Dinah Shore looks awfully horsey in the soubrette role (she's much too old already for this sort of casting). The rest of the cast - even the old stalwarts like Charles Winniger and Florence Bates - are likewise lacklustre. The script gets so confused halfway through you'd swear the actors are making it up as they go along. The routine scoring (along with one of the forgettable songs) inexplicably earned Oscar Noms. The only plusses here are the Technicolor color design and the EXTRAORDINARY Color Costume Design - had the category existed then this might have won hands down. A visual treat, but a real clod of a film!