Northwest Passage (1940) | |
| Director(s) | King Vidor, Jack Conway (uncredited), W.S. Van Dyke (uncredited) |
| Producer(s) | Hunt Stromberg |
| Top Genres | Adventure, Drama, Historical, Romance, War, Western |
| Top Topics | |
Featured Cast:
Northwest Passage Overview:
Northwest Passage (1940) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and Jack Conway and produced by Hunt Stromberg.
Academy Awards 1940 --- Ceremony Number 13 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Cinematography | Sidney Wagner, William V. Skall | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
NORTHWEST PASSAGE On Blu-ray From Warner Archive
By Dan Day, Jr. on Mar 29, 2025 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogWarner Archive once again presents a magnificent restoration of a classic Technicolor Hollywood film with their Blu-ray release of MGM's NORTHWEST PASSAGE (1940). NORTHWEST PASSAGE is one of the great historical epics of the pre-World War II sound era, and it is one of the very few films concerning ... Read full article
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Quotes from
Maj. Robert Rogers:
[referring to Langdon's abdominal wound] Are ypu hurt bad?
Langdon Towne: First thing I've had in my stomach in days.
[last lines]
Elizabeth Browne: [standing alongside Langdon Towne as Major Robert Rogers and his rangers march into the distance] Is there, Langdon? Is there a Northwest Passage?
Langdon Towne: Who knows.
[pause]
Langdon Towne: It's every man's dream to find a short route to his heart's desire. If the major dreams long enough, he'll find it.
Elizabeth Browne: Will we hear from him?
Langdon Towne: Hear from him?
[pause]
Langdon Towne: Every time we look across the river we'll hear his voice calling us through the wind. He'll be within us, Elizabeth - wherever we are or he may be - for that man will never die.
Langdon Towne: [Slapping at mosquitoes as they walk through wetlands] Mosquitoes don't bite you, do they?
Hunk Marriner: Nope.
Langdon Towne: You put something on that keeps them off?
Hunk Marriner: Rancid bear grease. They hate the stink worse than I do.
Langdon Towne: [Smelling some of the bear grease that Hunk offers him] thanks. I'll take the mosquitoes.
read more quotes from Northwest Passage...
Langdon Towne: First thing I've had in my stomach in days.
[last lines]
Elizabeth Browne: [standing alongside Langdon Towne as Major Robert Rogers and his rangers march into the distance] Is there, Langdon? Is there a Northwest Passage?
Langdon Towne: Who knows.
[pause]
Langdon Towne: It's every man's dream to find a short route to his heart's desire. If the major dreams long enough, he'll find it.
Elizabeth Browne: Will we hear from him?
Langdon Towne: Hear from him?
[pause]
Langdon Towne: Every time we look across the river we'll hear his voice calling us through the wind. He'll be within us, Elizabeth - wherever we are or he may be - for that man will never die.
Langdon Towne: [Slapping at mosquitoes as they walk through wetlands] Mosquitoes don't bite you, do they?
Hunk Marriner: Nope.
Langdon Towne: You put something on that keeps them off?
Hunk Marriner: Rancid bear grease. They hate the stink worse than I do.
Langdon Towne: [Smelling some of the bear grease that Hunk offers him] thanks. I'll take the mosquitoes.
read more quotes from Northwest Passage...
Facts about
Kenneth Roberts, the author of the best-selling 1936 novel on which the film is based, described Rogers Rangers as wearing "green buckskin" clothing. The initial attempts made at dyeing the buckskin uniforms made them a bright Kelly green. They were subsequently re-dyed to attain the forest green color seen in the finished film. The uniforms were occasionally "touched up" with paint spray guns, while being worn, with the actors wearing protective bags on their heads - as seen in Northward, Ho!, a period making of.
The most demanding scene for the actors involved the filming of the "human chain" employed by the Rangers to cross a treacherous river. The actors themselves had to do the shots without the benefit of stunt doubles. The sequence was begun at Payette Lake in Idaho but had to be completed in the studio tank because the lake was far too dangerous. For Spencer Tracy, who once complained that the physical labors required of actors "wouldn't tax an embryo," it was his most difficult shoot to that point, surpassing even the taxing ocean scenes of his Oscar-winning Captains Courageous.
In 1938, Lana Turner was set to play the siren.
read more facts about Northwest Passage...
The most demanding scene for the actors involved the filming of the "human chain" employed by the Rangers to cross a treacherous river. The actors themselves had to do the shots without the benefit of stunt doubles. The sequence was begun at Payette Lake in Idaho but had to be completed in the studio tank because the lake was far too dangerous. For Spencer Tracy, who once complained that the physical labors required of actors "wouldn't tax an embryo," it was his most difficult shoot to that point, surpassing even the taxing ocean scenes of his Oscar-winning Captains Courageous.
In 1938, Lana Turner was set to play the siren.
read more facts about Northwest Passage...
