This was originally titled Northwest Passage Book 1: Rogers’ Rangers. Based on Kenneth Roberts’ epic novel, the film only covered the first half, with the intention of making a sequel that would tell the rest of the story (ironically, the part actually about the Northwest Passage). That never happened, most likely because Northwest Passage was expensive and didn’t recoup its budget at the box office. Still, it tells a complete story, and while I personally don’t think it’s one of director King Vidor’s best, a lot of people do.
One thing is certain…considering the era, Northwest Passage presents a grueling, surprisingly violent journey. The film takes place 1759, when America was still under British rule. Robert Young plays Langdon Towne, an artist whose outspokenness gets him expelled from Harvard. Returning home, he hopes to marry his girl, Elizabeth (Ruth Hussey), and make a living as a painter, which is derailed once he’s belittled by her preacher father.
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| "Eew! Bug!" |
After escaping arrest for criticizing one of the king’s appointed officials, Langdon and buddy Hunk Marriner (Walter Brennan) meet Major Robert Rogers (Spencer Tracy), who famously commands a group of hardened soldiers known as “Rogers’ Rangers.” Impressed with Langdon’s map-making skills, he recruits the two for their next mission, which is to destroy a Native American tribe’s town, St. Francis. This arduous journey comprises the bulk of the narrative. Not only do the Rangers encounter enemy French troops and vicious native tribes, the attrition is exacerbated by disloyalty, soldiers going mad and the eventual threat of starvation.
Some of this is exciting and suspenseful, compounded by an effective score by Herbert Stothart and great use of wilderness locations. Other times the film is just plain exhausting and ends rather anticlimactically. While I’m a big Spencer Tracy fan, this is one of his blander performances (not helped by being stuck with a character who isn’t particularly dynamic to begin with). Conversely, Young and Brennan are quite good in their roles.
It also must be said that certain aspects of this film haven’t aged well at all, mainly how it presents Native Americans. While I certainly understand that many older movies need to be viewed in the context of the time they were made, the racial depictions in this one are kind of cringeworthy. Still, Northwest Passage looks great and boasts good action scenes. The survival aspects of the story are also pretty interesting.
EXTRA KIBBLES
PROMOTIONAL FEATURETTE - Northward, Ho!
TRAILER
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