In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Kirby Grant starred in a series of Mountie films with "Chinook," a white German shepherd. Each film featured a mixture of adventure and mystery plots set in the wild Northwest territory of Canada. Grant played Corporal Roy Webb, a very personable officer of the Royal Mounted Police who traveled nowhere without his heroic companion Chinook. All of the stories featured Webb being assigned to a district to investigate a murder, robbery, or other crime. Usually when he arrives, he dons the garbs of the local folk and tries to weedle information from the suspects while incognito. The 10 films, released by Monogram Pictures, are all less than 70-minutes each and are very entertaining... even though they follow the same formula and tend to be forgotten within a week after watching. This formula included having the crime take place within the first three minutes of the film, Corporal Webb being assigned to the case, another murder to follow shortly after, Webb or Chinook being attacked and later recovering, a chase through the woods and over lots of large boulders, and finally, Webb catching his man... as all good Mounties are told to do.
All of the Chinook films were based on novels written by James Oliver Curwood who, oddly enough, was not a former Mountie but rather a reporter who was hired by the Canadian government to tour Canada and write about the land to encourage tourism. Whether his stories helped to increase tourism is unknown, but they certainly made Curwood famous! He became one of the most popular adventure writers in the world and the highest paid writer of his era.
The action in these pictures is better than most B-films and the stories keep you guessing. Sometimes the criminal is obvious and other times it is someone surprising like the kindly shopkeeper, the man who called the police in the first place (a clever way to divert suspicion), or even the sweet young woman whom Corporal Webb was beginning to fall in love with. The action scenes don't hold back on the grisly attacks either.... sometimes Webb gets shot, Chinook gets roughed up by a lone wolf or a mean hunter, or even the hero of the story might get killed suddenly.
Kirby Grant does a wonderful job of playing the heroic Mountie and Chinook is good in the role, too, although he doesn't have the acting chops of Lassie. The series provided some B-actors with jobs and occasionally featured players who went on to more fame, such as Martha Hyer.
Here are some short plot summaries to each of the films:
Trail of the Yukon (1949)
In retaliation for jumping their mining claim, Matt Blaine and his son rob Dawson's Bank. While escaping, the men they hired to help them double-cross them and kill Matt. Corporal McDonald (he later became Webb) is then sent on the case to recover the bank's money and solve the murder.
The Wolf Hunters (1949)
Four fur trappers have been slain and their furs stolen from them, so Corporal Webb investigates and saves the life of a fifth trapper enroute. Chinook has the only clue to the killer, a torn piece of cloth from the man's coat. Edward Norris and Helen Parrish star.
Snow Dog (1950)
A fur-trapper and his sister help Corporal Webb track down a killer wolf while searching for their late uncle's treasure which is supposedly hidden in the woods. Elena Verdugo and Milburn Stone star.
Call of the Klondike (1950)
Men are disappearing near an abandoned gold mine and Colonel Webb is sent to investigate. He finds a disgruntled foreigner causing trouble and the bodies of two of the men who went missing. Tom Neal and Anne Gwynne star.
Yukon Manhunt (1951)
Payrolls from a mining camp are being stolen enroute to the men, so Corporal Webb is called in to help discover who could be robbing the payroll deliveries. Gail Davis, Margaret Field and Rand Brooks star.
Northwest Territory (1951)
Corporal Webb escorts recently orphaned Billy to his grandfather Pop Kellogg who lives in the woods of the Northwest Territory but finds Pop murdered and his "worthless" stake in land being scouted by a number of suspicious characters. Warren Douglas and Gloria Saunders star.
Yukon Gold (1952)
The owner of a gambling saloon in the Klondike is tied in with a recent murder and Webb is sent to investigate. Martha Hyer and Frances Charles star.
Fangs of the Arctic (1953)
A trapper is killed in Blackfoot Crossing territory and illegal beaver pelts are being smuggled out. Webb disguises himself as a trapper and investigates as more bodies pile up...including his new deputy. Warren Douglas and Lorna Hansen star.
Northern Patrol (1953)
Corporal Webb hunts for the killer of a man who supposedly committed suicide in his cabin and gets tied up in a love triangle in the process. William Phipps, Marian Carr star.
Yukon Vengeance (1954)
Corporal Webb travels to the wilds of Bear Creek to investigate the murders of three mail carriers, all of whom were mauled by a bear. Webb goes undercover as a mail carrier to see if the "bear" is of the two-footed variety. Monte Hale and Mary Ellen Kay star.
All of the Kirby Grant and Chinook films have been beautifully restored and released by Warner Archives on DVD in three volumes.
