Northwest Rangers (1942)

In the Canadian west, Blackie Marshall and Jim Gardiner grew up together, friends even before they were adopted by Northwest Mounted Police officer Duncan Frazier to be raised as his own after their respective parents were killed by marauding natives. Their childhood games of "the Queen's Service" where Jim was always the Mountie chasing after Blackie the outlaw who would provide guidance to Jim after the game as to what he did wrong in not capturing the outlaw would be omens as to their paths as adults, Jim following Duncan's footsteps to indeed become a Mountie and Blackie who ended up as a professional gambler with the trappings of general success. Blackie's fate was arguably sealed when he walked into the Topaz Casino as a child and was humiliated and ultimately realized that he was swindled by the owner, Martin Caswell. Blackie, in getting back at Caswell, would ultimately take over the Topaz. Blackie and Jim's divergent lives, which nonetheless belies their loyalty to each other, would become even potentially more divergent which in turn would test that loyalty, both with Jim falling in love with Blackie's girl, singer Jean Avery, who in turning to Jim was looking for a more settled life than what Blackie could ever commit to providing her, and in Caswell wanting to get back at Blackie by regaining the Topaz by whatever means.