The Canadian
A British woman who has lost her wealth in England takes up residence at her brother's wheat farm in Canada, where she is as unwelcome as she is unhappy, and eventually offers herself as a wife to another wheat farmer. “Based on a 1913 play by Somerset Maugham, The Canadian is more notable perhaps as the first of an unofficial ‘woman vs. wilderness' quartet that also included Howard's White Gold, Sjostrom's The Wind and Murnau's City Girl. It's less melodramatic than any of them, but fully their equal in many ways, and a needed reminder that William Beaudine (who wound up making endless Bowery Boys comedies at Monogram) was once a director to be taken very seriously. This is quite possibly his finest film. Shot largely on location in Alberta, with some studio work done at Astoria in New York.” William K. Everson