Snow Dog (1950)

movie

(49)

Country: USA
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Release: 1950-07-16
Director: Frank McDonald
Writers: James Oliver Curwood , William Raynor
Language: English
Stars: Kirby Grant , Chinook , Elena Verdugo , Rick Vallin , Milburn Stone , Richard Karlan , Jane Adrian , Hal Gerard , Richard Avonde (1914–1981) , Duke York
Runtime: 63 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: O Lobo Fantasma (Brazil) , Tentacles of the North (United States of America) , Snow Dog , Snow Dog (India) , Snow Dog (United States of America)
Plot: Louis, a fur trapper in Northwestern Canada, sees a killer wolf while hunting, then returns to the La Fontaine Trading Post and tells his sister Andrée about it. Later, Canadian Mountie Rod MacDonald and his dog Chinook answer a call for help from the proprietor of the trading post, and as soon as they arrive, they see the wolf standing over a body it has killed. After Chinook attacks the wolf, Rod realizes the two animals are almost identical. Rod then visits Louis' cabin, where he is held at gunpoint until Andrée recognizes him as a friend of their Uncle Henri, who has been murdered recently by the wolf. That night, Rod shows them the collar that Chinook ripped off the neck of the wolf, which suggests the animal is trained. At an inquest into the latest trapper's death, Andrée reveals that Henri left her and Louis a map of supposed treasures located in the white woods, where the wolf roams. When Andreé and Louis return to their cabin with Rod, they find that thieves have knocked out Chinook and stolen the map. They revive Chinook, and Andrée tells Rod about Henri's reputation for eccentricity and prospecting. When Rod brings Chinook into town the next day, the townspeople think the dog is the killer wolf and, led by trapper Biroff, beat up Rod. Physician F. J. McKenzie warns Rod to leave town, but Rod is determined to fight, and the next day he hears from a local Indian, White Eagle, about the legend surrounding the wolf, who is said to protect the silver mines of the white woods, land which used to be an Indian burial ground. When Rod and Chinook then go to the white woods, Biroff's thug Antoine follows and shoots Rod, who collapses and is rescued by Louis. Dr. McKenzie revives Rod and tells his nurse, Red Feather, to stay with him. As she eavesdrops, Rod, Louis and Andrée re-draw and decipher Henri's map. Rod leaves the next day to find a duplicate map at the nearby trading post, but discovers that someone has beaten him to it. Meanwhile, Biroff kills Antoine to keep him from talking, and dumps the body where the doctor finds it and declares that Chinook is the killer. As the townsmen descend on Chinook, Andrée urges the dog to run into the woods. Later, Louis sets off to kill the wolf and clear Chinook. When he gets to the white woods, Biroff and his men, Dupree and Baptiste, torture him. Louis will not reveal the location of the mines, however, so Biroff kidnaps Andrée with Red Feather's help, while Chinook watches, trapped in the kitchen. Rod returns to the cabin, and after Chinook leads him to the canoe, where Rod sees Andrée's necklace, they set off for the white woods. There, they ambush the outlaws as they are about to burn Andrée, but Dr. McKenzie sneaks up behind Rod and takes his gun away, revealing that he is the force behind a scheme to keep everyone away from the mines while he excavates them, using the trained killer wolf as his front. Chinook attacks Dr. McKenzie and, after a fight, Rod, Chinook, Andrée and Louis subdue the outlaws, who then are arrested by Rod.
IMDB:tt0042979