Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

Director: King Vidor, Jack Conway, W.S. Van Dyke
Cast: Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
, Robert Young
Robert Young
Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

Director: King Vidor, Jack Conway, W.S. Van Dyke
Cast: Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
, Robert Young
Robert Young

DVD (Full Frame)

$12.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Friday, March 22
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Kenneth Roberts' fact-based novel Northwest Passage would seem too raw and explicit a book to be considered for an MGM film adaptation-much less one in Technicolor. Amazingly, MGM retained many of the grim episodes from the Roberts' novel, though - thanks to the Hays Code - most are discussed rather than shown. The film is set in 1759, when the headstrong and gifted young artist Langdon Towne (Robert Young) is expelled from Harvard much to the chagrin of his parents and his fiancee, Elizabeth Browne (Ruth Hussey). Towne and his tough-as-nails sidekick, Hunk Marriner (Walter Brennan) get soused one night in a pub and - while intoxicated - viciously insult Elizabeth's father, Rev. Browne (Louis Hector). The two men are nearly arraigned for the incident, but escape just in time and ultimately wind up at the camp of famed Indian hunter Major Robert Rogers (Spencer Tracy). Rogers then invites Towne to join his troupe as a cartographer, and suggests that Marriner tag along. Together, the hundreds of Indian fighters under Rogers's aegis team up and chart their way through the wilderness, headed straight for St. Francis, the base of the French-supported Abenaki tribe, notorious for bloodily wiping out British-controlled colonies, after which they will forge the titular 'northwest passage' to the Pacific. Along the route, the boys counter such obstacles as traitorous Native American guides and exploding gunpowder. Metro Goldwyn-Mayer originally slated this production for Tracy, Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor and Franchot Tone, but only Tracy signed on; the studio reeled in Brennan and Young as last-minute additions, to support Tracy's lead. Northwest Passage marked Vidor's first Technicolor film. William V. Skall and Sidney Wagner received Oscar nominations for their outstanding cinematographic work on the film. Nineteen years after its premiere, Northwest Passage later became an NBC TV series between 1959-60, starring Keith Larsen in the Tracy role, Buddy "Jed Clampett" Ebsen in the Brennan role, and Don Burnett in the Young role.

Product Details

Release Date: 11/22/2011
UPC: 0883316336281
Original Release: 1940
Source: Warner Archives
Region Code: A
Presentation: [Full Frame]
Sound: [monaural]
Language: English
Time: 2:08:00
Sales rank: 16,162

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Spencer Tracy Maj. Richard Rogers
Robert Young Langdon Towne
Walter Brennan 'Hunk' Marriner
Ruth Hussey Elizabeth Browne
Nat Pendleton 'Cap' Huff
Louis Hector Rev. Browne
Robert Barrat Humphrey Towne,Humphrey Towne
Lumsden Hare Lord Amherst,Gen. Amherst
Donald MacBride Sgt. McNott(as Donald McBride)
Isabel Jewell Jennie Coit
Douglas Walton Lt. Avery,Lt. Avery
Addison Richards Lt. Crofton
Hugh Sothern Jesse Beacham
Regis Toomey Webster,Webster
Lester Matthews Sam Livermore,Sam Livermore
Andrew Pena Konkapot
Tom London Ranger
Truman Bradley Capt. Ogden
Eddie Parker Ranger
Don Castle Richard Towne
Rand Brooks Eben Towne
Kent Rogers Odiorne Towne
Verna Felton Mrs. Towne
Ray Teal Bradley McNeil
Edward Gargan Capt. Butterfield
John Merton Lt. Dunbar
Gwendolyn Logan Mrs. Browne
Addie McPhail Jane Browne
Helen MacKellar Sarah Hadden
Arthur Aylesworth Flint Innkeeper
Ted Oliver Farrington
Lawrence Porter Billy Indian Boy
Tony Guerrero Capt. Jacobs
Ferdinand Munier Stoodley
George Eldredge McMullen
Robert St. Angelo Solomon
Denis Green Capt. Williams
Peter Lynn Turner,Turner
Frederic Worlock Sir William Johnson
Hank Worden Ranger
Iron Eyes Cody Scout
Frank Hagney Capt. Grant
Herbert Stothart Composer

Technical Credits
King Vidor Director,Director
Jack Conway Director,Director
W.S. Van Dyke Director,Director
Hunt Stromberg Producer
Talbot Jennings Screenwriter
Kenneth Roberts Screenwriter
Bruno Frank Screenwriter
Noel Langley Screenwriter
Frances Marion Screenwriter
Jane Murfin Screenwriter
Conrad Richter Screenwriter
Richard Schayer Screenwriter
Robert E. Sherwood Screenwriter
Douglas Shearer Sound Effects
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews