Northwest Passage | |
---|---|
Directed by | King Vidor |
Screenplay by | Laurence Stallings Talbot Jennings |
Based on | Northwest Passage 1937 novel by Kenneth Roberts |
Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
Starring | Spencer Tracy Robert Young |
Cinematography | William V. Skall Sidney Wagner |
Edited by | Conrad A. Nervig |
Music by | Herbert Stothart |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2,687,000 [1] [2] |
Box office | $3,150,000 [1] |
Northwest Passage, also billed as Northwest Passage (Book 1: Rogers' Rangers), is a 1940 American Western film in Technicolor, directed by King Vidor. It stars Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan and Ruth Hussey. The film is set in 1759, and tells a partly fictionalized version of the real-life St. Francis Raid by Rogers' Rangers, led by Robert Rogers (played by Tracy) on the primarily Abenaki village of St. Francis, in modern-day Canada. The screenplay, by Laurence Stallings and Talbot Jennings, is based on the 1937 historical novel Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts.
Roberts' novel is split into two parts, referred to as "Book 1" and "Book 2". The film, which is based entirely on Book 1, makes significant changes in the story (including a “happy ending”) that so displeased Roberts that he vowed not to sell film rights to any more of his books. There was originally discussion about filming a sequel that would cover Book 2, but this did not happen. [3] Ironically, Rogers' quest to find a Northwest Passage through North America, which gave both the novel and the film their title, takes place in Book 2, and is only briefly mentioned in the film.
In 1759, Langdon Towne, son of a ropemaker and ship rigger, returns to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after his expulsion from Harvard University. Although disappointed, his family greets him with love, as does Elizabeth Browne. Elizabeth's father, a noted clergyman, is less welcoming and denigrates Langdon's aspirations to become a painter.
At the local tavern with friend Sam Livermore, Langdon disparages Wiseman Clagett, the king's attorney and the Native American agent Sir William Johnson, unaware that Clagett is in the next room with another official. Facing arrest, Langdon fights the two men with the help of "Hunk" Marriner, a local woodsman and both escape into the countryside.
Fleeing westward, Langdon and Marriner stop in a backwoods tavern, where they help a man in a green uniform. After a night of drinking "Flip" (similar to hot buttered rum), the two men wake up at Fort Crown Point, where they learn the man they met is Major Robert Rogers, commander of Rogers' Rangers. In need of Langdon's map-making skills, Rogers recruits the two men for his latest expedition to destroy the hostile Abenakis tribe and their town of St. Francis, far to the north.
Rogers's force rows north in whale boats on Lake Champlain by night, evading French patrols, but several soldiers are injured in a confrontation with Mohawk scouts. Rogers sends not only the wounded back to Crown Point, but also the disloyal Mohawks provided by Sir William Johnson and a number of men who disobeyed orders. Concealing their boats, the depleted force marches through swampland to conceal their movements. Informed by Stockbridge Indian scouts that the French have captured their boats and extra supplies, Rogers revises his plan and sends an injured officer back to Fort Crown Point requesting the British send supplies to old Fort Wentworth, to be met by the returning rangers.
Making a human chain to cross a river, the rangers reach St. Francis. Their attack succeeds, and they set fire to the dwellings and cut the Abenakis off from retreat. After the battle, the rangers find only a few baskets of parched corn to replenish their provisions. Marriner finds Langdon shot in his abdomen. The rangers set out for Wentworth, pursued by hostile French and Indian forces. Their initial objective is Lake Memphremagog, with the injured Langdon bringing up the rear.
Ten days later, Rogers's men reach the hills above Lake Memphremagog. Encountering signs of French activity, Rogers prefers to press on a hundred miles to Fort Wentworth, but the men vote to split up into four parties to hunt for food. Game proves scarce and two of the detachments are ambushed by the French, leaving most of the men dead. Persevering through harsh conditions, Rogers and the remaining fifty men finally reach the fort, only to find it unoccupied and in disrepair, and the British relief column has not arrived. Though personally despairing, Rogers attempts to perk up their flagging spirits with a prayer. They then hear the fifes and drums of approaching British boats with the supplies. Reporting that the Abenakis have been destroyed, the British honour Rogers’ men by presenting their firearms and shouting "Hip, hip, hooray".
Returning to Portsmouth, Langdon reunites with Elizabeth while the Rangers are given a new mission: to find the Northwest Passage. Rogers fires them up with a speech about the wonders they will see on the march to the first point of embarkation, a little fort called "Detroit". He passes by Langdon and Elizabeth to say goodbye; Elizabeth informs him that she and Langdon are headed for London, where she is hopeful Langdon will become a great painter. Rogers bids them farewell, and marches down the road, into the sunset.
The film is set in the mid-18th century during the French and Indian War (as the Seven Years' War in North America is usually known in the US). It is a partly fictionalized account of the St. Francis Raid, an attack by Rogers' Rangers on Saint Francis (the current Odanak, Quebec), a settlement of the Abenakis, an American Indian tribe. The purpose of the raid was to avenge the many attacks on British settlers and deter any further ones.
The title is something of a misnomer, since this film is a truncated version of the original story, and only at the end do we find that Rogers and his men are about to go on a search for the Northwest Passage.
The film was shot in central Idaho, near Payette Lake and the city of McCall.
The film wound up as MGM's most expensive film since Ben Hur (1926). [2] The picture was originally slated for an even more lavish budget in an earlier incarnation and was to star Wallace Beery and Tracy but management difficulties between Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer interceded at that time.
According to MGM records the film earned $2,169,000 in the US and Canada and $981,000 elsewhere but because of its high cost incurred a loss of $885,000. [1]
The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography (Color) in 1941, but lost out to The Thief of Bagdad .
According to one source, the script was revised by as many as 12 other writers, in addition to the two credited. [4] Author Kenneth Roberts served as a co-writer on a second draft of a proposed script for the movie, one that covered the entire novel, not just the first book of it. However, executives at MGM scuttled the revision and instead used the first draft of the script, which covered only the first book, as the basis for the finished film. This is why the film Northwest Passage was subtitled Book One: Rogers' Rangers.
Director King Vidor then attempted to make a sequel to the film in which Rogers' Rangers find the Northwest Passage, although Roberts refused to cooperate with the project. But filming never began, because MGM ultimately refused to green-light it.
MGM produced a 1958-1959 American television series Northwest Passage starring Keith Larsen as Robert Rogers, with Buddy Ebsen costarring as "Hunk" Marriner, replacing Walter Brennan, who had his own TV series, The Real McCoys , in production at the time. The show aired on NBC. [5]
The film's depiction of American Indians came to be criticized as racist, even by the standards of Hollywood at the time. This appraisal mirrors that of the section of the novel set during the French and Indian War, which has become equally regarded as racist.
Clive Denton, in his 1976 book The Hollywood Professionals: Volume 5, made these observations on the subject:
Vidor’s Northwest Passage “sits more than a trifle uneasily that [Spencer] Tracy and his submissive band attack and burn a sleeping Indian village. The tribe has massacred and outraged [innocent whites], we are told, but we have not seen them do anything wrong, and they are certainly not belligerent in their sleep. Perhaps I should not berate Vidor for the conventions of good guys and bad guys in adventure movies. But I am still somewhat bothered by Major Rogers, who, beneath Tracy’s charm, is something of a bastard...” (emphasis in original) [6]
The film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career. [7]
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, from nine nominations. During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, humane, and sympathetic depiction of contemporary social issues. Considered an auteur director, Vidor approached multiple genres and allowed the subject matter to determine the style, often pressing the limits of film-making conventions.
Major-General John Stark was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.
Buddy Ebsen, also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971); afterwards he starred as the title character in the television detective drama Barnaby Jones (1973–1980).
Boys Town is a 1938 American biographical drama film based on Father Edward J. Flanagan's work with a group of underprivileged boys in a home/educational complex that he founded and named "Boys Town" in Nebraska. It stars Spencer Tracy as Father Edward J. Flanagan, and Mickey Rooney with Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, and Gene Reynolds.
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Rogers was a British Army officer and frontiersman. Born in Methuen, Massachusetts, he fought in King George's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. During the French and Indian War, Rogers raised and commanded Rogers' Rangers, a ranger unit trained for carrying out asymmetric warfare.
Rogers' Rangers was a company of soldiers from the Province of New Hampshire raised by Major Robert Rogers and attached to the British Army during the Seven Years' War. The unit was quickly adopted into the New England Colonies army as an independent ranger company. Rogers was inspired by colonial Frontiersman Ranger groups across North America and the teachings of unconventional warfare from Rangers such as Benjamin Church. Robert Rogers trained and commanded his own rapidly deployable light infantry force, which was tasked mainly with reconnaissance as well as conducting special operations against distant targets. Their tactics were built on earlier Colonial precedents and were codified for the first time by Rogers as his 28 "Rules of Ranging". The tactics proved remarkably effective, so much so that the initial company was expanded into a ranging corps of more than a dozen companies. The ranger corps became the chief scouting arm of British Crown forces by the late 1750s. The British forces in America valued Rogers' Rangers for their ability to gather intelligence about the enemy. They were disbanded in 1761.
John Lovewell was a militia captain in the 18th century who fought during Father Rale's War. He lived in present-day Nashua, New Hampshire. He led three expeditions against the Abenaki Indians. Lovewell became one of the most famous rangers of the 18th century.
The Northwest Passage is a historical sea route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, through the Arctic waters of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland.
Northwest Passage is an historical novel by Kenneth Roberts, published in 1937. Told through the eyes of primary character Langdon Towne, much of the novel follows the exploits and character of Robert Rogers, the leader of Rogers' Rangers, who were a colonial force fighting with the British during the French and Indian War.
The Fort at Number 4 was a mid-18th century stockade fortification protecting Plantation Number 4, the northernmost British settlement along the Connecticut River in the Province of New Hampshire until after the French and Indian War. It was located in the present-day town of Charlestown, New Hampshire. A recreation of the fort, dating to 1960, now functions as an open-air museum, and was added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in July 2020.
Fort Wentworth was built by order of Benning Wentworth in 1755. The fort was built at the junction of the Upper Ammonoosuc River and Connecticut River, in Northumberland, New Hampshire, by soldiers of Colonel Joseph Blanchard's New Hampshire Provincial Regiment including Robert Rogers. In 1759, Rogers' Rangers returned here hoping for resupply after their raid on St. Francis, Quebec, but the fort had no garrison and no supplies. Rogers had to travel down the Connecticut River to Fort at Number 4 for reinforcements and supplies for his hungry men.
Odanak is an Abenaki First Nations reserve in the Central Quebec region, Quebec, Canada. The mostly First Nations population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 481. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. It is partly within the limits of Pierreville and across the river from Saint-François-du-Lac. Odanak is an Abenaki word meaning "in the village".
Northwest Passage is a 1958–59 26-episode half-hour adventure television series produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer about Major Robert Rogers during the time of the French and Indian War (1756–63).
Keith Larsen was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer who starred in three short-lived television series between 1955 and 1961.
The St. Francis Raid was an attack in the French and Indian War by Robert Rogers on St. Francis, near the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River in what was then the French province of Canada, on October 4, 1759. Rogers and about 140 men entered the village, which was reportedly occupied primarily by women, children, and the elderly, early that morning, slaughtered many of the inhabitants where they lay, shot down many who attempted to flee, and then burned the village. Rogers reported killing as many as 200 people, while French reports placed the number closer to thirty, mainly women and children. One of Rogers' men was killed, and seven were wounded.
Whipsaw is a 1935 American crime drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy. Written by Howard Emmett Rogers, based on a story by James Edward Grant, the film is about a government agent working undercover traveling across the country with an unsuspecting woman, hoping she will lead him to her gang of jewel thieves. The film was produced by Harry Rapf for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was released on December 18, 1935, in the United States.
Gorham's Rangers was one of the most famous and effective ranger units raised in colonial North America. Formed by John Gorham, the unit served as the prototype for many subsequent ranger forces, including the better known Rogers' Rangers. The unit started out as a Massachusetts provincial company, which means it was not part of the province's normal militia system. Recruited in the summer of 1744 at the start of King George's War, Governor William Shirley ordered the unit raised as reinforcements for the then-besieged British garrison at Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal. The unit was primarily used to secure British control in Nova Scotia, whose population consisted primarily of hostile Acadian and Mi'kmaq. Initially a sixty-man all-Indian company led by British officers, the original Native American members of the unit were gradually replaced by Anglo-Americans and recent Scots and Irish immigrants and were a minority in the unit by the mid-1750s. The company were reconnaissance experts as well as renowned for their expertise at both water-borne operations and frontier guerrilla warfare. They were known for surprise amphibious raids on Acadian and Mi'kmaq coastal or riverine settlements, using large whaleboats, which carried between ten and fifteen rangers each. This small unit was the main British military force defending Nova Scotia from 1744 to 1749. The company became part of the British Army and was expanded during the Seven Years' War and went on to play an important role in fighting in Nova Scotia as well as participating in many of the important campaigns of the war, particularly distinguishing itself at the Siege of Quebec in 1759.
Frontier Rangers is a 1959 film composed of 3 episodes of the TV series Northwest Passage, The Gunsmith, The Bond Women, and The Burning Village (1959).
The Sainte-Thérèse Raid was a military raid on the town of Sainte-Thérèse in French Canada conducted by British elite forces known as Rogers' Rangers that took place during the French and Indian War from 3 to 18 June 1760. Led by Robert Rogers the raid was a pre-emptive strike ordered by Major General Jeffery Amherst as a prelude to his three pronged attack on Montreal the following month.