Renfrew of the Royal Mounted: Ice, Counterfeits, and Very Simple Logic

Is this worth the hour of your life?

Honestly, only if you have a weird itch for 1930s B-movie fluff. If you want a deep, complex crime drama, you are going to be bored out of your mind within ten minutes. But if you like old-school Canadian wilderness vibes and heroes who never seem to get cold, you might actually get a kick out of it. 🏔️

The whole premise hinges on counterfeiters hiding cash in blocks of ice. It sounds like something a cartoon villain would cook up while twirling a mustache. Watching them lug those heavy ice blocks around without anyone asking, "Hey, why is the laundry delivery man carrying an iceberg?" is the highlight of the absurdity.

James Newill plays Renfrew, and he’s got that classic, stiff-upper-lip energy that just screams 1937. He’s not doing anything revolutionary, but he’s likable enough. He catches a guy with a fake bill, finds a microscopic message on it—which, let’s be real, is a miracle of 1930s printing technology—and off he goes.

There's a moment where he just rides off into the woods completely alone. No backup, no radio, just a horse and his hat. It reminded me a bit of the simplicity in The Pride of the Legion where things just happen because the plot says they need to happen. Don't look for logic here. Just look for the scenery.

Odd little things I wrote down:

• The villainy is so polite it’s almost funny.
• The way they handle the 'engraving' scenes—the guy is just scratching at a plate with a tiny needle for like three minutes. Riveting stuff, really. 🙄
• Every time someone speaks, they seem to be addressing the camera directly.
• The ice block logistics are never explained. Do they have a freezer? Why isn't the money soggy?

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely even a proper movie by modern standards. But there’s a certain charm to how fast they move. They don't waste time with unnecessary character arcs or existential dread. They just want to catch the bad guys and move the ice.

If you're looking for something that won't make you think too hard after a long day, this is it. Just don't expect it to change your life. It’s short, it’s silly, and it’s full of people in uniforms looking very serious about currency regulation. 👮‍♂️

Sometimes you just need to see a Mountie save the day without any CGI explosions getting in the way. It’s refreshing, in a dusty, black-and-white sort of way.