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Northwest Passage Overview:

Northwest Passage (1940) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by King Vidor, Jack Conway (uncredited) and W.S. Van Dyke (uncredited) and produced by Hunt Stromberg.

Academy Awards 1940 --- Ceremony Number 13 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best CinematographySidney Wagner, William V. SkallNominated
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Northwest Passage Quotes:

[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.
Cap Huff: [to Langton] If you're tryin' to drink yourself outta lovesickness, why don't you switch to rum? We've got some rum that'll burn the knots out of a pine plank.
Langdon Towne: [Drunkenly] Bring 'em me.
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.
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.
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Northwest Passage Facts
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, George Washington refused Rogers request to command troops. Washington suspected that after Rogers' long stay in Britain prior to the outbreak of hostilities that he might be a spy. Washington's fears proved correct as an infuriated Rogers formed a group called the "Queen's Rangers" (later the "King's Rangers") and fought on the side of the Canadians against the Colonies. Canada's "Queen York Rangers" claim to be a direct descendant of Rogers' irregular militia.
According to historical accounts, 204 Roger's Rangers left for St. Francis and 100 survived to return home.
W.S. Van Dyke was assigned to direct the movie before King Vidor, and scouted locations throughout the American West in 1938. About 60,000 feet of background shots had been completed in Idaho before Van Dyke was taken off the picture because of a scheduling conflict and replaced by Vidor; Jack Conway eventually shot some additional scenes as well.
In 1938, Lana Turner was set to play the siren.
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.
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