Northwest Passage (Book I - Rogers' Rangers) (1940)

Directed by King Vidor

An “Eastern Western” set in the 18th century dramatizes the exploits of Major Robert Rogers (Tracy), whose fighters worked to create safe lands for white settlers, i.e., by eliminating hostile Indian tribes. Despite the film’s largely unexamined belief in Manifest Destiny, its depiction of Rogers as an inspiring leader of men is a tour-de-force for Tracy, who must keep hope alive against incredible odds, and despite unstated personal fears and agonies.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. Producer: Hunt Stromberg. Based on the novel by Kenneth Roberts. Screenwriter: Laurence Stallings, Talbot Jennings. Cinematographer: Sidney Wagner, William V. Skall. Editor: Conrad A. Nervig. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton.

35mm, color, 125 min.