a5c7b9f00b Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (&quot;Isn&#39;t that a contradiction in terms?&quot;, another character asks him) travels to Canada in the 1880s in search of Jacques Corbeau, who is wanted for murder. He wanders into the midst of the Riel Rebellion, in which Métis (people of French and Native heritage) and Natives want a separate nation. Dusty falls for nurse April Logan, who is also loved by Mountie Jim Brett. April&#39;s brother is involved with Courbeau&#39;s daughter Louvette, which leads to trouble during the battles between the rebels and the Mounties. Through it all Dusty is determined to bring Corbeau back to Texas (and April, too, if he can manage it.) The Northwest Rebellion took place in western Canada. In 1885, three mismatched frontiersmen (teacher Riel, whiskey trader Corbeau, and trapper Duroc) foment rebellion in western Canada; only the local Mounties stand in their way. Constable Ronnie Logan loves Corbeau&#39;s savage daughter Louvette; his pal Jim Brett loves April, the district nurse, but finds a rival in visitor Dusty Rivers, a Texas Ranger who wants Corbeau for murder. Treachery, battle, and tense situations follow in rapid order, with more lighthearted intervals. this first demille color epic was a sensation in 1940, deep in the era of fitzpatrick traveltalks (&quot;sothe sun sinks slowly behind the rugged rockies we bid a reluctant adieu to the friendly metis people of canada.&quot;) it surely has many fine moments. but the plot is somewhat convoluted and the hero keeps picking up different horses along the way. &quot;the horse he rode in on&quot; was 1500 miles from home (texas). we see a somewhat distorted map of canada at the opening. the pivotal town of batoche is situated too close to the US border, about where regina should be. regina isn&#39;t shown, despite continual reference to it throughout. demille isn&#39;t the best director for gary cooper, who was allowed to brandish his bizarre mannerisms in a duel to the finish with paulette goddard. the cool blonde madeleine carroll and stout fella preston foster were pleasant to see, but best acting was done by george bancroftthe heartless whiskey runner, jacques corbeau. best lines include one by montagu lovethe mortally wounded inspector cabot: some fool at headquarters wants to change the uniform to green. stand up for the redcoats! it&#39;s a good color. and another colonialism from fostersgt. brett to an indian chief: will big bear kneel to the queen and be chief of his people again? it was a valiant two hour fight, but the scenery won. bonus quote by lynne overmanscottish-indian todd macduff: do they have fast horses in texas, mr. rivers? i&#39;m bettin&#39; they can nae keep up wi&#39; the men. NWMP has just had a rare outing on British TV and it&#39;s a Gary Cooper film I hadn&#39;t seen before. It wasn&#39;t bad by 1940s&#39; standards for a Western. The scenic shots at the beginning were a bit garish but then the colour seemed to settle down. <br/><br/>It&#39;s worth a look for:<br/><br/>1. Gary Cooper, who&#39;s never looked better facially; 2. Paulette Goddard, who looked fantastic; 3. the unusual historical setting; 4. early, albeit minor, appearances of Robert Ryan and Rod Cameron.<br/><br/>The police head-gear apart, some effort had been made to make the uniforms and civilian clothes look authentic.<br/><br/>The tragi-comic &quot;duel&quot; that the Scotsman involved himself did jar a little.<br/><br/>I&#39;m not perceptive enough to read much &quot;sub-text&quot; in films, but I did wonder about the date of issue (1940) and the gallant, laid-back US coming to the aid of the stuffy but devoted-to-duty Brits.<br/><br/>Not for the first time, I had a slight difficulty in distinguishing at first between the two Prestons on the small screen.<br/><br/>I would be happy to watch NWMP again, recording it if necessary, if it&#39;s screened again in a year or so.
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