Tycoon (1947 film)
Encyclopedia
Tycoon is a 1947 Technicolor
romance film
starring John Wayne
based on the 1934 novel by C.E. Scoggins
.
) travels to South America
to build a mountain railroad tunnel for Frederick Alexander (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), a wealthy industrialist. Complications arise when Alexander insists upon a shorter, more dangerous passage and when his daughter Maura (Laraine Day
) develops a romantic interest with Johnny.
was originally cast as Wayne's leading lady, but RKO put her in Sinbad the Sailor instead. Set in the Andes
, the film was originally intended to be filmed at RKO's Estudios Churubusco
in Mexico but at the last minute production was shifted to Lone Pine, California
. Though successful, the film did not earn back its huge production costs of RKO's most expensive production up to that time.
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
based on the 1934 novel by C.E. Scoggins
Charles Elbert Scoggins
Charles Elbert Scoggins writing as C.E. Scoggins was a prolific American author who specialised in adventure stories set in Central America....
.
Plot
Johnny Munroe (John WayneJohn Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
) travels to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
to build a mountain railroad tunnel for Frederick Alexander (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), a wealthy industrialist. Complications arise when Alexander insists upon a shorter, more dangerous passage and when his daughter Maura (Laraine Day
Laraine Day
Laraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...
) develops a romantic interest with Johnny.
Cast
- John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
- Johnny Munroe - Laraine DayLaraine DayLaraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...
- Maura Alexander Munroe - Sir Cedric Hardwicke - Frederick Alexander
- Judith AndersonJudith AndersonDame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian-born American-based actress of stage, film and television. She won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.-Early life:...
- Miss Braithwaite - James GleasonJames GleasonJames Austin Gleason was an American actor born in New York City. He was also a playwright and screenwriter.-Career:...
- Pop Mathews - Anthony QuinnAnthony QuinnAntonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
- Ricky Vegas - Grant WithersGrant WithersGrant Withers was an American film actor. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into talkies establishing himself with a list of headlined features as a young and handsome male lead...
- Fog Harris - Paul FixPaul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
- Joe - Fernando Alvarado - Chico
- Harry WoodsHarry Woods (actor)Harry Woods was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 250 films between 1923 and 1958.He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and died in Los Angeles, California from uremia.-Selected filmography:* Tycoon...
- Holden - Michael Harvey - Curly Messenger
- Charles TrowbridgeCharles TrowbridgeCharles Trowbridge was an American film actor. He appeared in 233 films between 1915 and 1958.He was born in Veracruz, Mexico and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:*Tycoon...
- Señor Tobar - Martin GarralagaMartin GarralagaMartin Garralaga was a Spanish-born film and television actor who portrayed more than 200 roles in film and television....
- Chávez
Production
Maureen O'HaraMaureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
was originally cast as Wayne's leading lady, but RKO put her in Sinbad the Sailor instead. Set in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, the film was originally intended to be filmed at RKO's Estudios Churubusco
Estudios Churubusco
Estudios Churubusco is one of the oldest and largest movie studios in Latin America located in the Churubusco neighborhood of Mexico City.It was inaugurated in 1945 after a 1943 agreement between RKO and Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta...
in Mexico but at the last minute production was shifted to Lone Pine, California
Lone Pine, California
Lone Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Lone Pine is located south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of 3727 feet . The population was 2,035 at the 2010 census, up from 1,655 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the Owens Valley, near the...
. Though successful, the film did not earn back its huge production costs of RKO's most expensive production up to that time.