Back to God's Country on AllMovie

Nell Shipman stars in this handsomely mounted James Oliver Curwood production as Dolores LeBeau, a child of nature on a voyage to the Arctic circle with her new husband, Peter Burke (Wheeler Oakman). En route, she discovers to her horror that the Captain, Rydal (Wellington Playter), is none other than the escaped prisoner who killed her father (Ralph Laidlaw). Rydal threatens the girl to silence and then causes an "accident" that seriously injures Peter. Arriving at their destination, Dolores learns from trader Blake (Charles Arling), Rydal's accomplice, that the nearest doctor is at Fort Confidence, miles away across the inhospitable Barrens. Dolores, however, demands a team of dogs and the villains give in, secretly concocting a scheme to separate husband and wife along the route. "So that only the woman will return -- for you!" as Blake puts it in an inter-title. But Dolores manages to get a minor head start by shooting the trader, racing into the white wilderness with Rydal in hot pursuit. The killer is soon closing in on the fugitives by Dolores is saved in the nick of time by Wapi, a "half-breed" dog she had rescued from the brutal Blake. Husband and wife reach safety and Rydal pays for his sins with his life. Back to God's Country was filmed again in 1927, starring Renée Adorée, and a third time in 1953, starring Marcia Henderson.