Northwest Passage (1940)

My Review

Spencer Tracy plays Major Robert Rogers, an elite militia leader who fights for the British in the French and Indian Wars in 1759 in “Northwest Passage.” Director King Vidor (“The Fountainhead” 1949) put much effort to fill the movie with plenty of action sequences and good production values. However, the storyline was a bit muddled which gave “Northwest Passage” a sluggish feel to it. The film therefore felt a bit long with a 125 minute running time. The mediocre screenplay by Lawrence Stallings and Talbert Jennings was adapted from the 1937 novel of the same name by Kenneth Roberts.

The cast includes Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Donald MacBride, Montagu Love, and Regis Toomey as Webster. “Northwest Passage” was the sixth highest grossing movie of 1940 for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but struggled to make a profit due to a high budget. It was beautifully filmed in and around McCall, Idaho, and received one Oscar nod for Best Cinematography/Color (William V. Skall).