Across the Wide Missouri (film)
Encyclopedia
Across the Wide Missouri is a 1951 American film based on historian Bernard DeVoto
's book, Across the Wide Missouri
. The film dramatizes an account of several fur traders and their interaction with the Native Americans
.
The film was directed by William A. Wellman
and starred Clark Gable
as cunning trapper Flint Mitchell, Ricardo Montalbán
as Blackfoot
Iron Shirt, John Hodiak
as Brecan, María Elena Marqués
as Kamiah, a Blackfoot chief's daughter Mitchell marries and later falls in love with, J. Carrol Naish
as Nez Perce Looking Glass, and Adolphe Menjou
as Pierre. Howard Keel
, as Mitchell's son, "Chip Mitchell" narrates.
, fur trapper Flint Mitchell (Clark Gable
) meets at the summer "Rendezvous" with other mountain men, cashing in his furs, drinking, and enjoying contests among his friends. He organizes a hunting "brigade" into the beaver
-rich Blackfoot
territory, buying horses and recruiting trappers, despite protests from his Scottish
friend and former trading partner, Brecan (John Hodiak
), who lives among the Blackfoot and warns him that the land belongs to them. Flint outbids Brecan for Kamiah (María Elena Marqués
), the granddaughter of Blackfoot medicine man
Bear Ghost and adopted daughter of a Nez Perce
chief, Looking Glass (J. Carrol Naish
). Brecan wants to return her to the Blackfoot, to promote peace between the tribes, while Flint wants to marry Kamiah and ensure the brigade's safety.
Pierre (Adolphe Menjou
), a French Canadian
trapper, and Captain Humberstone Lyon (Alan Napier
), another Scotsman, who fought in the Battle of Waterloo
, join Flint on the dangerous expedition. Kamiah successfully guides Flint and his men on their trek through the high passes filled with crippling snow drifts and delivers them to the Blackfoot territory, where they build a stockade. Flint narrowly escapes capture and death by Ironshirt (Ricardo Montalban
), a young Blackfoot prince and war chief, who kills Baptiste DuNord, one of Flint's best trappers. Ironshirt steals the brigade's horses, but Flint impresses Bear Ghost (Jack Holt
), who orders them returned.
Though he marries Kamiah for reasons other than love, and cannot speak her language, Flint falls in love with her. As Flint and Kamiah grow closer, Flint and Bear Ghost become good friends. Bear Ghost prevents Ironshirt from harming Flint and his men, but catastrophe strikes when Roy DuNord, another of Flint's men, kills Bear Ghost to avenge his brother's death. Although Brecan kills Roy, and Flint sinks into a grieving depression over the death of Bear Ghost, Ironshirt succeeds Bear Ghost as chief and resumes his campaign to drive the white trappers out of his country.
In the spring, Kamiah gives birth to a boy, Chip. On the way to Rendezvous, the brigade is attacked by a large war party under Ironshirt and Kamiah is killed. With Chip strapped to its back, Kamiah's horse bolts during the attack and is chased by Ironshirt, intent on killing the boy. Flint manages to kill Ironshirt, however, and rescue his son. As the years pass, Flint takes Chip to live in the Blackfoot camp, where, Flint believes, Kamiah would have wanted him. Although Flint intends to have the boy formally educated in the East, Chip persuades him year after year to postpone his schooling, learning the ways of the mountains from his father.
The film was shot entirely on location in the Rocky Mountains
, mostly at altitudes between 9,000 and 14,000 feet, and Durango, Colorado
, was the main location site.
and incorporated the song "Oh Shenandoah
" in its main title and end title. Additional music was composed and/or adapted (from Raksin's material) by Al Sendrey, and conducted by Johnny Green
.
The complete score was issued on cd in 2009, on Film Score Monthly
records.
Bernard DeVoto
Bernard Augustine DeVoto was an American historian and author who specialized in the history of the American West.- Life and work :He was born in Ogden, Utah...
's book, Across the Wide Missouri
Across the Wide Missouri
Across the Wide Missouri is a 1947 historical work by Bernard DeVoto. It is the second volume of a trilogy that includes The Year of Decision and The Course of Empire ....
. The film dramatizes an account of several fur traders and their interaction with the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.
The film was directed by William A. Wellman
William A. Wellman
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
and starred Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as cunning trapper Flint Mitchell, Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
as Blackfoot
Blackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
Iron Shirt, John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
as Brecan, María Elena Marqués
María Elena Marqués
María Elena Marqués was a Mexican actress who was a star of Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s.In her best-known role, Marqués starred in the 1947 film La perla ; she played the wife of a fisherman who finds the ill-fated pearl. The film was based on John Steinbeck's book The Pearl...
as Kamiah, a Blackfoot chief's daughter Mitchell marries and later falls in love with, J. Carrol Naish
J. Carrol Naish
Joseph 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 Nez Perce Looking Glass, and Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
as Pierre. Howard Keel
Howard Keel
Harold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
, as Mitchell's son, "Chip Mitchell" narrates.
Plot
In the 1830s in the Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, fur trapper Flint Mitchell (Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
) meets at the summer "Rendezvous" with other mountain men, cashing in his furs, drinking, and enjoying contests among his friends. He organizes a hunting "brigade" into the beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
-rich Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
territory, buying horses and recruiting trappers, despite protests from his Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
friend and former trading partner, Brecan (John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
), who lives among the Blackfoot and warns him that the land belongs to them. Flint outbids Brecan for Kamiah (María Elena Marqués
María Elena Marqués
María Elena Marqués was a Mexican actress who was a star of Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s.In her best-known role, Marqués starred in the 1947 film La perla ; she played the wife of a fisherman who finds the ill-fated pearl. The film was based on John Steinbeck's book The Pearl...
), the granddaughter of Blackfoot medicine man
Medicine man
"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...
Bear Ghost and adopted daughter of a Nez Perce
Nez Perce
The Nez Perce are Native American people who live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. An anthropological theory says they descended from the Old Cordilleran Culture, which moved south from the Rocky Mountains and west in Nez Perce lands. The Nez Perce nation currently governs...
chief, Looking Glass (J. Carrol Naish
J. Carrol Naish
Joseph 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...
). Brecan wants to return her to the Blackfoot, to promote peace between the tribes, while Flint wants to marry Kamiah and ensure the brigade's safety.
Pierre (Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
), a French Canadian
French Canada
French Canada, also known as "Lower Canada", is a term to distinguish the French Canadian population of Canada from English Canada.-Definition:...
trapper, and Captain Humberstone Lyon (Alan Napier
Alan Napier
Alan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
), another Scotsman, who fought in the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, join Flint on the dangerous expedition. Kamiah successfully guides Flint and his men on their trek through the high passes filled with crippling snow drifts and delivers them to the Blackfoot territory, where they build a stockade. Flint narrowly escapes capture and death by Ironshirt (Ricardo Montalban
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
), a young Blackfoot prince and war chief, who kills Baptiste DuNord, one of Flint's best trappers. Ironshirt steals the brigade's horses, but Flint impresses Bear Ghost (Jack Holt
Jack Holt
Jack Holt may refer to:*Jack Holt *Jack Holt *Jack Holt , Australian horse racing trainer*Jack Holt, character in Outcasts...
), who orders them returned.
Though he marries Kamiah for reasons other than love, and cannot speak her language, Flint falls in love with her. As Flint and Kamiah grow closer, Flint and Bear Ghost become good friends. Bear Ghost prevents Ironshirt from harming Flint and his men, but catastrophe strikes when Roy DuNord, another of Flint's men, kills Bear Ghost to avenge his brother's death. Although Brecan kills Roy, and Flint sinks into a grieving depression over the death of Bear Ghost, Ironshirt succeeds Bear Ghost as chief and resumes his campaign to drive the white trappers out of his country.
In the spring, Kamiah gives birth to a boy, Chip. On the way to Rendezvous, the brigade is attacked by a large war party under Ironshirt and Kamiah is killed. With Chip strapped to its back, Kamiah's horse bolts during the attack and is chased by Ironshirt, intent on killing the boy. Flint manages to kill Ironshirt, however, and rescue his son. As the years pass, Flint takes Chip to live in the Blackfoot camp, where, Flint believes, Kamiah would have wanted him. Although Flint intends to have the boy formally educated in the East, Chip persuades him year after year to postpone his schooling, learning the ways of the mountains from his father.
Cast
- Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as Flint Mitchell - Ricardo MontalbánRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
as Ironshirt (Blackfoot war chief) - John HodiakJohn HodiakJohn Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
as Brecan - Adolphe MenjouAdolphe MenjouAdolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
as Pierre (French trapper) - 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 Looking Glass (Nez Perce chief) - Jack HoltJack Holt (actor)Jack Holt was an American motion picture actor. He was a leading man of silent and sound films, and was known for his many roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
as Bear Ghost (Blackfoot medicine man) - Alan NapierAlan NapierAlan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
as Capt. Humberstone Lyon - George ChandlerGeorge ChandlerGeorge Chandler was an American actor best known for playing the character of "Uncle Petrie" on the television series Lassie...
as Gowie (Capt. Lyon's assistant) - Richard AndersonRichard AndersonRichard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
as Dick - María Elena MarquésMaría Elena MarquésMaría Elena Marqués was a Mexican actress who was a star of Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s.In her best-known role, Marqués starred in the 1947 film La perla ; she played the wife of a fisherman who finds the ill-fated pearl. The film was based on John Steinbeck's book The Pearl...
as Kamiah (Blackfoot princess) - Howard KeelHoward KeelHarold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
as Narrator - James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
as Old Bill - Chief Tahachee as Indian
- Nipo T. StrongheartNipo T. StrongheartChief Nipo T. Strongheart was a Yakima Nation Native American film actor and technical advisor to Hollywood films about Native Americans...
as Indian Chief - Evelyn FinleyEvelyn FinleyEvelyn Finley was an American B-movie actress and stuntwoman of the 1940s through the 1980s, mostly in western films...
as Squaw - Bobby BarberBobby BarberBobby Barber was a prolific American character bit player who appeared in over 100 films. Barber is notable for his work as a foil for Abbott and Costello on and off screen.-External links:...
as Gardipe - Timothy CareyTimothy CareyTimothy Agoglia Carey was an American film and television actor....
as Baptiste DuNord
Production
During filming, Ricardo Montalbán was reportedly thrown off a horse, knocked out, and walked on by another horse, leaving him with a spinal injury. This injury recurred in 1993, which forced him into a wheelchair.The film was shot entirely on location in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, mostly at altitudes between 9,000 and 14,000 feet, and Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
, was the main location site.
Music
The score for the film was composed and conducted by David RaksinDavid Raksin
David Raksin was an American composer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With over 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music." One of his earliest film assignments was as assistant to Charlie Chaplin in the composition of the score...
and incorporated the song "Oh Shenandoah
Oh Shenandoah
"Oh Shenandoah" is a traditional American folk song of uncertain origin, dating at least to the early 19th century...
" in its main title and end title. Additional music was composed and/or adapted (from Raksin's material) by Al Sendrey, and conducted by Johnny Green
Johnny Green
Johnny Green was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul"...
.
- Across The Wide Missouri
- Words & Music by Ervin DrakeErvin DrakeErvin Drake, born Ervin Maurice Druckman is an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "It Was a Very Good Year". He has written in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians from all over the world in a multitude of styles...
and Jimmy Shirl
- Words & Music by Ervin Drake
- Skip to My LouSkip to My Lou"Skip to My Lou" is a popular children's song.Skip to My Lou was a popular partner-stealing dance from America's frontier period.According to :...
- Alouette, Pretty AlouetteAlouette (song)"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian children's song originating in France about plucking the feathers from a lark. Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques"...
traditionals - Indian Lullaby
- Words & Music by Alberto ColomboAlberto ColomboAlberto Colombo is a former racing driver from Italy. He unsuccessfully entered 3 Formula One Grands Prix in 1978 with ATS and Merzario...
, Indian lyrics by Nipo T. StrongheartNipo T. StrongheartChief Nipo T. Strongheart was a Yakima Nation Native American film actor and technical advisor to Hollywood films about Native Americans...
.
- Words & Music by Alberto Colombo
The complete score was issued on cd in 2009, on Film Score Monthly
Film Score Monthly
Film Score Monthly is an online magazine founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 as The Soundtrack Correspondence List...
records.