The Wild North
Jules Vincent, a French-Canadian trapper (Stewart Granger), while in a northern Canadian town, helps an attractive Indian singer (Cyd Charisse), fend off unwanted attentions of a drunken Max Brody (Howard Petrie). The next day, Vincent sets off by canoe into the Canadian wilderness, taking the Indian girl up north to her tribe, now accompanied by a contrite Brody.
When the group arrives at her Chippewa village, Vincent tells the chief (John War Eagle), after Brody had acted recklessly on the rapids that he wanted to send him a warning, shooting into the air but accidentally killing Brody when the canoe pitched wildly. Frightened by the prospect of arrest, Vincent heads into the wilderness. After Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constable Pedley (Wendell Corey) arrives at the village on another matter, he learns about Brody's death.
Pedley finds Vincent's cabin where the Indian girl tells him that Vincent is not a murderer. The RCMP Constable, however, is determined to bring Vincent in, saying running away makes the trapper look guilty.
While on his trapline, Vincent finds a half-frozen Father Simon (Morgan Farley) who had gone into the wilderness, to try to persuade the trapper to turn himself in. As Father Simon pleads with Vincent, Pedley arrives to hear the dying priest's last words. Despite Vincent's warnings that the weather will turn worse, Pedley takes Vincent into custody and starts a long trek back to the RCMP station.
The treacherous trip back puts both men in peril as two other trappers, Ruger (Ray Teal) and Sloan (Clancy Cooper) menace them. Facing harrowing conditions and the attack of wolves, the unlikely bond that forms between the trapper and the constable allows both to survive.
murder