This film begins with a prospector by the name of "Jack Thornton" (Clark Gable) deciding to call it quits after finding gold in the Yukon and head back to the United States. But prior to that, he decides to stop off in a small town called Skagway to celebrate his good fortune by drinking and gambling--subsequently losing all of his money in the process. Just then, as luck would have it, he happens to run into an old friend named "Shorty Hoolihan" (Jack Oakie) who tells him of a letter he had stolen which indicated where a rich gold strike was located back in the Yukon. And to prove it, he shows Jack a rough map he had copied from memory which indicates where the gold is supposedly located. Although Jack is initially reluctant to believe Shorty's claims, he eventually changes his mind and decides to use whatever credit he has to purchase the necessary equipment for the two of them to conduct a search of that area. And it's in the process of purchasing the equipment that he comes upon an extremely savage sled dog that makes everything possible. Not only that, but it's also during their trek into the Yukon that they come upon a young woman named "Claire Blake" (Loretta Young) who had been stranded in the arctic wilderness and left to fend for herself against a pack of wolves. Not only that, but as it turns out, her husband "John Blake" (Frank Conroy) just happened to be the recipient of the detailed letter describing where the gold strike was located and had left Claire in search of food a couple of days earlier. To that effect, since he hasn't returned, both Jack and Shorty conclude that he is dead and decide to take Claire--who is initially reluctant to leave the area--to the Canadian town of Dawson City where she will be safe. Of course, the fact that she knows the exact location of the gold also gives them the opportunity to question her about that as well. What they don't count on, however, is that a cruel and extremely vicious person named "Mr. Smith" (Reginald Owen) has become aware of the gold strike and is headed their way--and he is quite willing to do whatever it takes to stake his claim to it. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was loosely based on the famous novel written 32 years earlier by Jack London. And while it doesn't adhere that closely with the book, the film still managed to maintain my interest for the most part anyway. Admittedly, I didn't especially care for the manner in which the character of Shorty was utilized for comedic effect but, for some odd reason, movie studios back then liked having someone play the buffoon in films of this sort. Oh well. Be that as it may, while not a great film by any means, it passed the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
Review of Call of the Wild
