User Reviews

Should have been titled 'Hudson's Bay Company', since that is the main point of the film. Not a film about the discovery of the bay by Henry Hudson: another epic story.

Paul Muni was born to play Louis Pasteur, Emile Zola, Benito Juarez, and, in the present film, Pierre Raddison, in partial biographical treatments. Spending his early life in eastern Europe, his family emigrated to NYC, where he came to shine in the local Yiddish theater, before being tapped by Hollywood in the early talky period. His roles mostly involved serious dramas, with little comic content. Thus, he must have enjoyed making the present film, in which he portrays a very bombastic, but often fun-loving, Radisson. No other actor could have come close to his portrayal, with constantly rolling fiery eyes, to help get his points across in serious or jestful moods. It's doubtful if the real Radisson had near this degree of charisma, but it's fun for the audience to imagine that he did. Muni largely carries this film, although some fine supporting actors help. Laird Cregar, all 300 lbs. of him, plays Muni's constant sidekick: Mr. Gooseberry, who is based on Radisson's real brother in law: Medard des Groseilliers(master of the gooseberries, in English translation). Although Cregar largely serves as Muni's enforcer and comic foil in the film, Groseilliers was probably equally important to Radisson in importance in leading to the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company. Radisson gets more credit probably because he wrote up many of their experiences, not always accurately. Cregar would have a short Hollywood career, mostly playing sinister villains, including Jack the Ripper. Again, Mr. Gooseberry must have been his most fun role. He would die young a few years later, shortly after stomach surgery, necessitated by the consequences of an extreme crash diet initiated in an effort to avoid being further type-cast as a heavy heavy.

John Sutton, who plays the fictional romantic lead, with much screen time, was a real life adventurer, born in British India, traveling much of the world, doing odd jobs, before landing in Hollywood. He would often be cast in swashbuckler roles in the '40s.. A very young Gene Tierney is the fictional female romantic lead, although her screen time was very limited. Vincent Price is well cast as King Charles II, and Virginia Field as his real life mistress: Neil Gwyn.

Some aspects of the plot have reasonable historical accuracy. Radisson lived a while with the Mohawks, after being captured, escaped to Albany, NY, and eventually returned to New France via Europe, where he teamed up with Groseilliers on a fur trapping expedition to the Lake Superior region. Their furs were confiscated on a technicality,upon returning to Montreal, which instigated their seeking alliance with British financial backers. Radisson did have great rapport with most of the relevant Native American tribes, partly because of his insistence that they be fairly compensated for the furs they brought to the trading posts. This gave him great leverage in his demands upon his financial backers, as portrayed in the film. The film doesn't deal with the many later complications this pair of Frenchmen had in their relations with the Hudson's Bay region, and their complicated back and forth relations with the French and British crowns, which sometimes were officially at war with each other. Rather, in good Hollywood tradition for these times, the plot ends on a tidy note, in which all the principals seemingly get what they want, after resolving the complicated crisis created by the news that Tierney's (fictional) brother had been executed for disobeying Radisson's strict order to avoid giving the Native Americans alcoholic drinks.

A few further notes.The plot suggests that Radisson and Mr. Gooseberry had no wives, being 'married' to the pristine Canadian wilderness. In fact, they both had wives at times. Radisson was 20 years younger than the middle-aged to elderly Groseilliers during their long association. In contrast, Muni was nearly 20 years older than Cregar, although the audience, no doubt, would be surprised to learn this.