Plot Summary 

Robert Rogers leads his Rangers against an enemy stronghold during the French and Indian War.

Review 

Langdon Town (Robert Young) has recently returned home to Portsmouth, New Hampshire after being expelled from Harvard for speaking his mind. He hopes to rekindle a romance with Elizabeth Browne (Elizabeth Browne) but her father objects to his new career path as an artist and his opinions land him in further trouble with powerful men in Portsmouth. Fleeing Portsmouth with his friend Hunk Marriner (Walter Brennan), they run into a man in a backwoods tavern who gets them drunk on rum. They wake up at a military camp and the man, who turns out to be Major Robert Rogers (Spencer Tracy), recruits them to his famous Rangers regiment.

It is the French and Indian War, and the regiment leaves that evening on an expedition to attack the enemy stronghold of St. Francis on the St. Lawrence River. After a journey by boat and through the wilderness, the rangers reach St. Francis and successfully destroy the fort. All that is left is to return home through nearly 200 miles of wilderness pursued by vengeful French and Indian forces. 

Northwest Passage is a film I have watched many times and always enjoy. While there have been hundreds or thousands of films made about the relatively brief period of the old west, there are only a few films I can recall about the much longer colonial and revolutionary periods. The frontier of 1760 was very different from the frontier of 1860. The woodlands of the east created a far different battleground for the frontier wars of the times. 

That difference is clear in this movie which depicts savagery on both sides. The Rangers brutally attack the village of Abenaki and are pursued and almost wiped out in return. Rogers was a controversial figure in his time and Spencer Tracy’s portrayal reflects both the good and the bad. On the one hand, he leads his men through incredible hardship while, on the other, he has no qualms about destroying the village. The Rangers brutality and rants about bloodthirsty savages have caused portions of the film, especially the scenes where the village is attacked, to be seen as racist. 

Nevertheless, this is a film worth watching. It has always been one of my favorite adventures from classic Hollywood because of its star power and storyline.  If parts of it feel inappropriate, remember that it reflects both the time it portrays and the Hollywood era during which it was created. 

Why You Should Watch It 

An adventure film that portrays the brutality of the early American frontier. 

Things to Watch For 

The Rangers famously portaged their boats over a ridge as portrayed in the movie. However, it occurred several years earlier and not part of the St. Francis raid. 

The human chain formed by the Rangers to cross the river was filmed mostly in a raging river in Idaho but had to be completed in a tank due to dangerous conditions. Many local extras joined the actors to film the scene, and everyone was rushed to heated tents at once after filming. 

During the battle at St. Francis, one of the dead Abenaki moves his head to avoid someone running past him. 

Did You Know? 

Northwest Passage was based on a book of the same name by Kenneth Roberts. The book was an enormous bestseller and precipitated a bidding war for the movie rights. MGM paid an undisclosed record amount for the rights.

Northwest Passage was filmed on location in central Idaho. The cost of shooting on location, the many extras and the cost of buying the film rights caused the film to be very expensive. As a result, the film’s box office success was not enough to make the film profitable. 

Rating (16) 

Overall (4) An engaging adventure portraying a time often overlooked by Hollywood. 

Star Power (4) Spencer Tracy was at the height of his career, winning consecutive Oscars in the two years before this film.  Robert Young appears in one of his early roles and Walter Brennan makes one of his many appearances as a supporting character in western and frontier films. 

Movie History (4) A film that sparked discussion about the treatment and Hollywood depiction of native Americans. 

Innovation (4) Filmed on location in the wilderness of Idaho at a time when most films were filmed on studio lots or in the California countryside.