North West Mounted Police (film)
| Northwest Mounted Police | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Produced by | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Written by | R. C. Fetherstonhaugh (novel The Royal Canadian Mounted Police) (uncredited) Alan Le May Jesse Lasky, Jr. C. Gardner Sullivan |
| Starring | Gary Cooper Madeleine Carroll Paulette Goddard Preston Foster |
| Music by | Victor Young |
| Cinematography | W. Howard Greene Victor Milner |
| Editing by | Anne Bauchens |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 125 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
North West Mounted Police is a 1940 American action adventure film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll and Paulette Goddard. This was DeMille's first film in Technicolor. Released by Paramount Pictures,[1] the picture was filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies. The film tells the story of a Texas Ranger who joins forces with the North-West Mounted Police to put down a rebellion.[2][3] The supporting cast features Preston Foster, Robert Preston, George Bancroft, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Robert Ryan.
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Plot [edit]
Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (Gary Cooper) is sent to Canada during the 1880s in pursuit of outlaw Jacques Corbeau (George Bancroft), arriving in the midst of the Riel Rebellion. Dusty meets nurse April Logan (Madeleine Carroll) and quickly falls in love with her. However, she is already involved with Canadian Mountie Sergeant Jim Britt (Preston Foster). Dusty and April have become involved with one another, which becomes evident to Jim, to whom April wishes to remain loyal.
Meanwhile, April's brother, Ronnie Logan (Robert Preston), who also is a Mountie, is in love with Corbeau's daughter, Louvette (Paulette Goddard). Louvette loves Ronnie intensely and is determined to protect Ronnie in the coming fight at all costs, using Ronnie's feelings for her father's benefit at times.
Corbeau is eventually tracked down to his hideout. When the showdown between Dusty, the Mounties, and the supporters of Corbeau finally arrives, Louvette tricks Ronnie, and ties him to a chair to keep him safe, after he had given her information vital to the Mounties' planned attack on the outlaws. Ronnie is unable to warn his fellow Mounties and Rivers that they are riding into a trap. The lawmen are ambushed and think Ronnie is a deserter. Dusty Rivers helps to turn the tide of the battle and Sergeant Jim arrests Corbeau. Rivers tracks down Ronnie at Louvette's hideout and convinces him to turn himself in, however he is killed in a case of mistaken identity.
Afterwards, Dusty Rivers is set to return to Texas, but first gives April and Jim his blessing.
Cast [edit]
- Gary Cooper as Dusty Rivers
- Madeleine Carroll as April Logan
- Paulette Goddard as Louvette Corbeau
- Preston Foster as Sergeant Jim Brett
- Robert Preston as Ronnie Logan
- George Bancroft as Jacques Corbeau
- Lynne Overman as Tod McDuff
- Akim Tamiroff as Dan Duroc
- Walter Hampden as Big Bear
- Lon Chaney, Jr. as Shorty
- Montagu Love as Inspector Cabot
- Francis McDonald as Louis Riel
- George E. Stone as Johnny Pelang
- Willard Robertson as Supt. Harrington
- Regis Toomey as Constable Jerry Moore
- Richard Denning as Constable Thornton
- Douglas Kennedy as Constable Carter
- Robert Ryan as Constable Dumont
- Ralph Byrd as Constable Ackroyd
- Rod Cameron as Constable Underhill
- Chief Thundercloud as Wandering Spirit
- David Dunbar as Vitale
Production [edit]
DeMille narrated portions of the story, a practice he followed in all of his Technicolor films, except for the 1958 version of The Buccaneer, in which he, visibly frail at the time due to an ultimately terminal illness, appeared only in the prologue.[4]
Awards [edit]
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning in the category for Best Film Editing.[5]
- Art Direction (Color) (Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson)
- Cinematography (Color) (Victor Milner, W. Howard Greene)
- Film Editing (Anne Bauchens) - Won
- Music (Original Score) (Victor Young)
- Sound Recording (Loren L. Ryder)
References [edit]
- Notes
- ^ "The Legacy of the NWMP Today: The RCMP in Popular Culture." virtualmuseum.ca. Retrieved: 24 September 2010.
- ^ Meyer 1998, p. 146.
- ^ Martin and Porter 1997, p. 1312.
- ^ Birchard 2004, p. 302.
- ^ "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners." oscars.org. Retrieved: December 8, 2011.
- Bibliography
- Arce, Hector. Gary Cooper: An Intimate Biography. New York: Bantam Books, 1980, First edition 1979. ISBN 978-0-553-14130-6.
- Birchard, Robert S. Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8131-2324-0.
- Martin, Mick and Marsha Porter. Video Movie Guide. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997. ISBN 0-345-42099-3.
- Meyer, Jeffrey. Gary Cooper: American Hero. New York: William Morrow, 1998. ISBN 978-0-688-15494-3.
- Moses, Robert. AMC Classic Movie Companion. New York: Hyperion, 1999. ISBN 978-0-7868-8394-3.
- Swindell, Larry. The Last Hero: A Biography of Gary Cooper. New York: Doubleday, 1980. ISBN 0-385-14316-8
External links [edit]
- North West Mounted Police at the TCM Movie Database
- Northwest Mounted Police at the Internet Movie Database
- North West Mounted Police on Lux Radio Theater: April 13, 1942
- 1940 films
- English-language films
- Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille
- 1940s adventure films
- American films
- Paramount Pictures films
- Films set in Canada
- Films shot in Canada
- Films shot in Technicolor
- Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award
- 1940s Western (genre) films
- North-West Rebellion
- Films about rebellions
- Canadian films
- Films based on actual events
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction
