Canadian Pacific (film)
Encyclopedia
Canadian Pacific is a 1949 historical Western
, directed by Edwin L. Martin and starring Randolph Scott
and Jane Wyatt
. Filmed in Cinecolor
on location in the Canadian Rockies
, it spins a fanciful account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
.
Andrews heads for Calgary to his girlfriend, Cecille Gautier (Olson). Andrews and Cecille's father (Parrish) attend a meeting at which Rourke campaigns against the railway, claiming it will mean the end of trade in the area. Andrews tries to convince the crowd that the railway will benefit them, and that Rourke objects only because it will end his business monopoly. He and Rourke get into a fist fight, which is broken up by Père Lacombe
(Hamilton). To keep the peace (and because Cecille's father sides with Rourke), Andrews decides to return to work on the railway; Cecille, not understanding and upset at his intention to spend another year away, breaks their engagement.
At the camp, Dynamite Dawson (Naish) tells Andrews of his suspicion that Indians have been stealing dynamite; Andrews later finds several cases of dynamite buried at an Indian village. The chief says that young braves had been paid by a white man to steal them. Back at the camp, Cagle and Rourke shoot at one of the cases as Andrews unloads them. Andrews is seriously injured in the resulting explosion. On board a train back to the base hospital, Dr Cabot transfuses her own blood to save Andrews's life.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Cecille overhears Rourke, her father and others plotting to stop the railway by inciting the Indians to cause trouble. When she objects, her father threatens to disown her. Suspecting Rourke of having caused the explosion that injured Andrews, she decides to join him at the hospital, but is dissuaded by Dynamite, who persuades her to return home to gather evidence and to pass it on to him.
Saboteurs cause a series of explosions, closing down railway construction for the winter. By the spring, Andrews has recovered, and has wooed Edith. Hearing of trouble at the camp, Andrews prepares to return, but Edith persuades him not to wear a gun. Rourke has stirred up the Indians and has established a saloon and gambling hall at the camp. When a man is shot at the saloon, Edith goes to help but is too late. Andrews straps on his guns again and closes the saloon. Cecille arrives, announcing that Rourke and the Indians are about to attack; Dynamite rides off to get reinforcements while the others take refuge in the hospital car.
Cecille's injured father is brought in and tells them that they are considerably outnumbered. Andrews goes after Rourke and Cagle and, as the Indians prepare for a final attack, shoots Cagle. Rourke is killed by a falling branch from a tree that had been set on fire as a signal to the Indians. The Indians attack but reinforcements arrive by train at the last moment, and the they are driven off. Later, the Indian chief walks into the camp and sues for peace. Dismayed by the violence she has experienced in the west, Edith takes the train back east.
Cecille looks on as Andrews joins the train and it moves off, but after apparently saying goodbye to Edith he jumps off and comes back to her.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, directed by Edwin L. Martin and starring Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
and Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
. Filmed in Cinecolor
Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M...
on location in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
, it spins a fanciful account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
.
Plot
Tom Andrews (Scott) is a surveyor involved in the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which is stalled by the Rocky Mountains. While mapping a route through the mountains, Andrews is shot at by Dirk Rourke (Jory), a fur trader, and his accomplice Cagle (Haggerty). When Andrews returns to the construction camp, he sees Cagle working there and attacks him. Dr Edith Cabot (Wyatt) intervenes - she is a pacifist and disapproves of violence.Andrews heads for Calgary to his girlfriend, Cecille Gautier (Olson). Andrews and Cecille's father (Parrish) attend a meeting at which Rourke campaigns against the railway, claiming it will mean the end of trade in the area. Andrews tries to convince the crowd that the railway will benefit them, and that Rourke objects only because it will end his business monopoly. He and Rourke get into a fist fight, which is broken up by Père Lacombe
Albert Lacombe
Albert Lacombe , commonly known in Alberta simply as Father Lacombe, was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic missionary who lived among and evangelized the Cree and Blackfoot First Nations of western Canada...
(Hamilton). To keep the peace (and because Cecille's father sides with Rourke), Andrews decides to return to work on the railway; Cecille, not understanding and upset at his intention to spend another year away, breaks their engagement.
At the camp, Dynamite Dawson (Naish) tells Andrews of his suspicion that Indians have been stealing dynamite; Andrews later finds several cases of dynamite buried at an Indian village. The chief says that young braves had been paid by a white man to steal them. Back at the camp, Cagle and Rourke shoot at one of the cases as Andrews unloads them. Andrews is seriously injured in the resulting explosion. On board a train back to the base hospital, Dr Cabot transfuses her own blood to save Andrews's life.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Cecille overhears Rourke, her father and others plotting to stop the railway by inciting the Indians to cause trouble. When she objects, her father threatens to disown her. Suspecting Rourke of having caused the explosion that injured Andrews, she decides to join him at the hospital, but is dissuaded by Dynamite, who persuades her to return home to gather evidence and to pass it on to him.
Saboteurs cause a series of explosions, closing down railway construction for the winter. By the spring, Andrews has recovered, and has wooed Edith. Hearing of trouble at the camp, Andrews prepares to return, but Edith persuades him not to wear a gun. Rourke has stirred up the Indians and has established a saloon and gambling hall at the camp. When a man is shot at the saloon, Edith goes to help but is too late. Andrews straps on his guns again and closes the saloon. Cecille arrives, announcing that Rourke and the Indians are about to attack; Dynamite rides off to get reinforcements while the others take refuge in the hospital car.
Cecille's injured father is brought in and tells them that they are considerably outnumbered. Andrews goes after Rourke and Cagle and, as the Indians prepare for a final attack, shoots Cagle. Rourke is killed by a falling branch from a tree that had been set on fire as a signal to the Indians. The Indians attack but reinforcements arrive by train at the last moment, and the they are driven off. Later, the Indian chief walks into the camp and sues for peace. Dismayed by the violence she has experienced in the west, Edith takes the train back east.
Cecille looks on as Andrews joins the train and it moves off, but after apparently saying goodbye to Edith he jumps off and comes back to her.
Cast
- Randolph ScottRandolph ScottRandolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
as Tom Andrews - Jane WyattJane WyattJane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
as Dr. Edith Cabot - J. Carrol NaishJ. Carrol NaishJoseph Patrick Carrol Naish was an American character actor born in New York City. Naish was twice nominated for an Academy Award for film roles, and he later found fame in the title role of CBS Radio's Life With Luigi , which was also on CBS Television .Naish appeared on stage for several years...
as Dynamite Dawson - Victor JoryVictor JoryVictor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930...
as Dirk Rourke - Nancy OlsonNancy OlsonNancy Ann Olson is an American actress.In Sunset Boulevard she played Betty Schaefer, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress...
as Cecille Gautier - Robert BarratRobert BarratRobert Harriot Barrat was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.-Career:Born in New York, Barrat's theatrical debut was in a stock company in Springfield, Massachusetts...
as Cornelius Van HorneWilliam Cornelius Van HorneSir William Cornelius Van Horne, KCMG was a pioneering Canadian railway executive.-Life and career:Born in 1843 in rural Illinois, he moved with his family to Joliet, Illinois when he was eight years old... - Walter Sande as Mike Brannigan
- Grandon Rhodes as Dr. Mason
- Don HaggertyDon HaggertyDon Haggerty was an American film actor appearing in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Before entering films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the US military...
as Cagle - John Parrish as Mr. Gautier
- Mary Kent as Mrs. Gautier
- John HamiltonJohn Hamilton (actor)John Hamilton was an American actor, who appeared in many movies and television programs. He is probably best remembered for his role as the blustery newspaper editor Perry White on the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman.-Biography:Burly, stentorian-voiced John Hamilton was born John...
as Pere LacombeAlbert LacombeAlbert Lacombe , commonly known in Alberta simply as Father Lacombe, was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic missionary who lived among and evangelized the Cree and Blackfoot First Nations of western Canada... - Howard Negley as Mallis