Mountie: Canada's Mightiest Myth

Everyone knows the Canadian Mounties. With their red serge tunics and broad-brimmed hats, Canada's mounted police have become powerful symbols of bravery, honesty and fair play--mythic figures recognized around the world as decent, and often death-defying, upholders of law and order.

How did a police officer on horseback become such a potent national image? The award-winning Mountie: Canada's Mightiest Myth traces the legendary history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the evolution of the Mountie as a larger-than-life figure--from its 1873 origins on the Canadian frontier, to the hit TV series "Due South" and the merchandising of the Mountie image.

Juxtaposing film and TV clips with dramatic re-creations and archival news footage, Mountie pits Hollywood myth against Canadian reality, illustrating how mass media images simplify the real world of the Mounties. Nelson Eddy, Sergeant Preston, Dudley Do-Right and Paul Gross are all here, and there's no denying they've left a lingering legacy. But so have their real-life counterparts.

The Mounties may not always get their man. But they've captured our imaginations.