- North West Mounted Police (film)
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Northwest Mounted Police 
Theatrical release posterDirected 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 SullivanStarring Gary Cooper
Paulette Goddard
Madeleine Carroll
Preston FosterMusic by Victor Young Cinematography W. Howard Greene
Victor MilnerEditing by Anne Bauchens Release date(s) October 22, 1940 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, Paulette Goddard, and Madeleine Carroll. This was DeMille's first film in Technicolor. Released by Paramount Pictures,[1] it 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]
Contents
Plot
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
- 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
Production
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
The film was nominated for x 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
- ^ "The Legacy of the NWMP Today: The RCMP in Popular Culture." virtualmuseum.ca. Retrieved: 24 September 2010.
- ^ IMDB "North West Mounted Police". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032850/ IMDB. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ Martin, Mick and Marsha Porter. Video Movie Guide. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997, ISBN 0-34542-099-3.
- ^ Moses, Robert. AMC Classic Movie Companion. New York: Hyperion, 1999, ISBN 978-0786883943.
- ^ "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/13th-winners.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
External links
- North West Mounted Police at the TCM Movie Database
- Northwest Mounted Police at the Internet Movie Database
Categories:- 1940 films
- American films
- English-language films
- Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille
- 1940s adventure 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 films
- North-West Rebellion
- Canadian films
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Films based on actual events
- Canada in fiction
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction
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