THE PLOT THUS FAR
A farmer takes a job on a canal boat and finds a wife, much to the dismay of her father and the boat’s jealous captain.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
The accent here is on Fonda’s character, a farm kid who’s working on the Erie Canal in its last days because the railroad is coming through. Fonda just wants to earn enough money for good piece of farm land, not unlike Gary Cooper’s Sergeant York character before he went to war. He’s not into the Canal and what it’s meant to the history and economy of upstate New York, in fact the whole Northeast of the USA.
Apart from Fonda and Gaynor, the film’s biggest draw is it’s homespun characters who populate the water front where the most popular entertainment are the fights that frequently occur between rival boat owners. A man is measured by how eagerly he wants to engage in a brawl, so when Dan Harrow leaves the river on business just at the moment fighting Jotham Klore is looking for him, Molly is left shamed and snubbed by the townsfolk. Bickford attacked every role he was given with gusto and this part was no exception. His Klore is always the centre of attention whether walking alone drunk, in the centre of a crowd or commanding Molly to fix him some food.
The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is pretty sharp for standard definition. However, there are minor moments of digital noise. The Dolby track supports the dialogue and that’s all that matters for a classic genre release like this. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!