Northwest Rangers

This B movie remake of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA set in the Yukon was the one of the salvos that MGM fired in its attempt to use James Craig as a replacement for Gable while the King of Hollywood was at war. Craig is pretty good at the Gable role and there is a pretty good supporting cast, including Keenan Wynn, Jack Holt and particularly John Carradine as a crooked gambler.

The problem is that Patricia Dane in the female lead is pretty stiff trying to play her role like Myrna Loy and William Lundigan, although competent, brings not a hint of the sparkle that William Powell did to his performance. Nor does director Joseph Newman take advantage of the nominally outdoor nature of the big finale. Everyone moves as if they are on a sound stage and the ending is abrupt. Perhaps it comes down to the fact that Newman did not serve the material as well as might be hoped.