John Wayne and Stewart Granger play gold miners in Alaska. Wayne goes to Seattle to bring back Granger's fiancée. But when he gets there he finds out she's already married. Not wanting his friend to be disappointed, he brings back French dance hall girl Capucine. The rest of the movie is everybody trying to get with Capucine. Fabian plays Granger's brother. Ernie Kovacs plays a con man. Both are definitely products of this era and I don't mean that as a compliment. Wayne is good in a role he could play in his sleep. It's a light-hearted comedy with some cartoonish action. It's dumb but all in good fun and hard to dislike.

(5.5/10) Didn't work for me as much as it has for many other Wayne enthusiasts. I found the movie to be overlong, overloaded on campy humor, and predictable. When it came out in 1960, it was a fresh film that showcased Wayne in unfamiliar roles of comedian and repressed lover. But succeeding films McLintock! and to a lesser extent War Wagon not only added on but improved on the comedic elements in Wayne Westerns. In this flick, you could tell the Duke was somewhat out of place, although you could definitely see flashes of John Wayne's underrated comedic ability. Capucine does a great job as Wayne's equal despite what some reviewers have expressed while Stewart Granger maintains good chemistry with both the male and female leads. Fabian surprisingly has good acting and comedy talent and did a much better job than fellow pop star Ricky Nelson did in Wayne's film a year before "Rio Bravo". Opening and ending brawl sequences were way too watered down with camp; the various lame sound effects made the fights more suitable for the Three Stooges or a Warner Brother's cartoon. I would have given this an even lower rating if this was set in say Texas, but I was won over by the Alaskan scenery and terrific chemistry between Wayne and Capucine. Highlights of the movie were just about every scene between Capucine and Fabian.

John Wayne and Stewart Granger should have done more comedies. In NORTH TO ALASKA the two veterans play freewheeling partners in a gold mine in 1901 Alaska. The action shifts from Alaska to Seattle and back, although it is pretty apparent the whole thing was shot in California. Wayne goes to Seattle to take care of some business and looks up Granger's love, who has married someone else in Granger's absence. Wayne then meets Capucine, as a saloon gal (aka hooker) and decides she'll do just as well for his lovesick partner. Complications ensue when Capucine falls for Wayne instead. Beginning in the late 1940s, Wayne was often paired with a young actor, and in this case that role is filled by Fabian as Granger's kid brother. The lighthearted mood of the film is established within minutes of the opening, with a huge and lengthy barroom brawl replete with zany sound effects and outrageous mugging by all. I was never fond of Hollywood's decision in the 1950s and '60s to cast foreign actresses in leading lady roles. Sophia Loren could get away with it; Capucine (and many others like her) could not. I did not buy her for one minute as Wayne's love interest here. She's way too refined to be playing a prostitute, and her acting is stilted. Unfortunately, she was the producer's gal pal at the time. Anyhow, Wayne was in pretty good shape in 1960, and he and Granger (and to some lesser extent Fabian) keep things rocking and rolling. They are 1901's answer to The Three Stooges. Ernie Kovacs plays the film's nominal villain, a sleazy saloon owner and claim jumper. As always in a Wayne film, the cast is dotted with several old familiar aces, including John Qualen, Joe Sawyer and Kathleen Freeman.

i really enjoyed this comedy/western/.the comedy aspect of it actually does work here,without sacrificing any of the conventions of the Western genre.the comedy doesn't overpower the western elements and the western elements don't overpower the comedic elements.the film is fast paced and fun.there's a romance angle that works because it's not spread on too thick.being part comedy,this one is obviously more lite hearted than your typical western,and everyone is more than equal to the task.John Wayne can certainly be funny when he wants to be,as he has demonstrated on other films.the melding of the two genres works well here in my opinion.for me,North to Alaska is a 7/10