North of the Border

This relatively short (45 minute) adventure offers a fairly standard plot: White-hat-wearing good guy Utah Neyes (Russell Hayden) searches for his missing friend and partner and in the process battles fur thieves led by black-hat-wearing head honcho Nails Nelson (Douglas Fowley). After getting crossways with a credulous but honest Mountie (Lyle Talbot), Utah wins the day and gets the pretty girl (Inez Cooper). Clearly made with a low budget, the action is entertaining enough, with the necessary fistfights, shootouts and last-second life savings.

The chief attraction is the presence of the very likeable leads, Hayden and Cooper, whose chemistry works well with each other while avoiding any saccharine moments. Hayden is probably best known as sidekick Lucky Jenkins in 27 Hopalong Cassidy films. Cooper had a short career, but she is lovely and plays the tough frontier woman well.