It's rare a movie's title doesn't have anything to do with the plot. One prime example is February 1940's "Northwest Passage," a French and Indian War adventure picture focusing on the Rogers' Rangers and their 1759 raid on a Canadian Indian village. Even though there is a couple brief mentions of seeking the water passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans through North America, the movie never delves into the actual journey to find the unbroken waterway.
Film reviewer Glenn Erickson notes, "We do get a bit of conversation about a future goal of finding a Northwest Passage to the Pacific, but in the context of the story that comes as pie-in-the-sky talk."
MGM originally was planning to tackle Kenneth Roberts' best selling 1936 two-part novel of the same name into separate movies, with the first titled "Northwest Passage, Book One: Roger's Rangers." Roberts' opening section dealt with Roger's soldiers consisting of New Englanders conducting a raid on the village of the hostile Abenaki tribe in Quebec, Canada. The company's ordeal of evading French scouts by tramping through miles of swampland to reach the village named St. Frances was stirring enough. But after the village's destruction, the journey back to New Hampshire was horrific in the rangers' struggle to stave off starvation, where some resorted to cannibalism. All the while the bedraggled rangers were chased by French soldiers and their allied Indians looking for revenge, providing a story of human endurance in its extreme.
Film reviewer Brian Koller questions the motivation of the men under Major Robert Rogers (Spencer Tracy) to volunteer for this assignment. "Why would anyone join Tracy's outfit? You march, starve, and kill, and for this you get ... nothing." Today's critics harp on the slaughter Roger's Rangers commited inside the Indian village. "One of the more unpleasant aspects of the MGM film is the sheer glee with which they burn down the village, massacre all the men of fighting age, steal all the food they have left and cheerfully joke that anyone else can feast on roast Indian," writes film reviewer Jeff Arnold, describing a scene where a mentally unstable Sergeant McNott (Donald MacBride) feeds on an Indian's severed head to fight off his hunger. But critic Patrick Nash sees the village scene, directed by King Vidor, differently. "It clearly cost a pretty penny to shoot this scene as it rivals the burning of Atlanta for sheer scope," praises Nash, comparing it to 1939's "Gone With The Wind's" spectacular Atlanta footage. "It is easily one of the most impressive action sequences made during the classic studio era."
Another movie highlight is when Rogers orders his men to create a human chain across a raging river to get the remainder of the rangers to the other side. Without using any paid stunt men, the actors themselves had to endure the rapids in the cold Idaho water where most of the movie was filmed. Tracy said it was one of his most difficult shoots he had to endure, surpassing even his harrowing drowning scene in 1937's "Captains Courageous."
"Northwest Passage" was MGM's most expensive production since its 1925's "Ben Hur." The motion picture was the sixth highest grossing picture in 1940. But because of the tremendous expense bringing the film to the screen, the movie lost money for the studio. Director Vidor was scheduled to direct the second part of Roberts' book, but the unprofitable results likely put a halt to MGM's plans. Television revisited 'Northwest Passage' in the 1958-1959 series with Keith Larsen and Buddy Ebsen. The Technicolor film was nominated for Best Cinematography (Color).
Film reviewer Glenn Erickson notes, "We do get a bit of conversation about a future goal of finding a Northwest Passage to the Pacific, but in the context of the story that comes as pie-in-the-sky talk."
MGM originally was planning to tackle Kenneth Roberts' best selling 1936 two-part novel of the same name into separate movies, with the first titled "Northwest Passage, Book One: Roger's Rangers." Roberts' opening section dealt with Roger's soldiers consisting of New Englanders conducting a raid on the village of the hostile Abenaki tribe in Quebec, Canada. The company's ordeal of evading French scouts by tramping through miles of swampland to reach the village named St. Frances was stirring enough. But after the village's destruction, the journey back to New Hampshire was horrific in the rangers' struggle to stave off starvation, where some resorted to cannibalism. All the while the bedraggled rangers were chased by French soldiers and their allied Indians looking for revenge, providing a story of human endurance in its extreme.
Film reviewer Brian Koller questions the motivation of the men under Major Robert Rogers (Spencer Tracy) to volunteer for this assignment. "Why would anyone join Tracy's outfit? You march, starve, and kill, and for this you get ... nothing." Today's critics harp on the slaughter Roger's Rangers commited inside the Indian village. "One of the more unpleasant aspects of the MGM film is the sheer glee with which they burn down the village, massacre all the men of fighting age, steal all the food they have left and cheerfully joke that anyone else can feast on roast Indian," writes film reviewer Jeff Arnold, describing a scene where a mentally unstable Sergeant McNott (Donald MacBride) feeds on an Indian's severed head to fight off his hunger. But critic Patrick Nash sees the village scene, directed by King Vidor, differently. "It clearly cost a pretty penny to shoot this scene as it rivals the burning of Atlanta for sheer scope," praises Nash, comparing it to 1939's "Gone With The Wind's" spectacular Atlanta footage. "It is easily one of the most impressive action sequences made during the classic studio era."
Another movie highlight is when Rogers orders his men to create a human chain across a raging river to get the remainder of the rangers to the other side. Without using any paid stunt men, the actors themselves had to endure the rapids in the cold Idaho water where most of the movie was filmed. Tracy said it was one of his most difficult shoots he had to endure, surpassing even his harrowing drowning scene in 1937's "Captains Courageous."
"Northwest Passage" was MGM's most expensive production since its 1925's "Ben Hur." The motion picture was the sixth highest grossing picture in 1940. But because of the tremendous expense bringing the film to the screen, the movie lost money for the studio. Director Vidor was scheduled to direct the second part of Roberts' book, but the unprofitable results likely put a halt to MGM's plans. Television revisited 'Northwest Passage' in the 1958-1959 series with Keith Larsen and Buddy Ebsen. The Technicolor film was nominated for Best Cinematography (Color).