Hawks transformed Edna Ferber's historical novel into a sprawling adventure of hard-driving masculine will and a tragedy of its erotic limits.

Although there is nothing new in the theme, it has been simply and powerfully expressed by a number of admirable performances, and it has been played against an interesting background.

The first part of the film, the best, is unmistakably Hawks.

Edna Ferber's novel about Wisconsin's lumbering days, in a fine screen adaptation.