Saskatchewan (film)
Encyclopedia
Saskatchewan is a 1954 fictional American
Northern
/ western
Technicolor
film directed by Raoul Walsh
and starring Alan Ladd
and Shelley Winters
. The film was shot in Banff National Park
, Alberta
, Canada
, not far from the headwaters of the Saskatchewan River
. The film was titled O'Rourke of the Canadian Mounted in the UK.
O'Rourke and his Cree
half brother Cajou are returning from a trapping trip in northern Canada when they encounter a burned wagon train and sole survivor Grace. Despite the advice of the Metis
scout Batouche the naive new Mountie commander Inspector
Benton (recently arrived from England) believes it to be a Cree attack, however the Sioux
from across the border are trying to force the Cree into being allies in their struggle with the U.S. 7th Cavalry .
O'Rourke goes against his commanding officer who have offended the Cree by disarming them; O'Rourke losing his friendship with Cajou when he personally has to take his rifle away. He later mutinies
to save the Mounties who have to leave their Fort Saskatchewan for a rendezvous with a larger command at Fort Walsh
. He must also aid Grace (with whom he falls in love), but she is not as helpless as she first seems as an American lawman (Hugh O'Brian
) has papers for her extradition
for murder.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
Northern
Northern (genre)
The Northern or Northwestern is an American and Canadian genre in literature and film made popular by the writings of Rex Beach and Zane Grey. It is similar to the Western genre but the action occurs in the Canadian North and typically features Mounties instead of, for example, cowboys or sheriffs...
/ western
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...
Technicolor
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...
film directed by Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
and starring Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
. The film was shot in Banff National Park
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110–180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, not far from the headwaters of the Saskatchewan River
Saskatchewan River
The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg...
. The film was titled O'Rourke of the Canadian Mounted in the UK.
Plot
North-West Mounted Police Sub-InspectorSub-inspector
Sub-inspector is a rank used extensively in the Indian Police, Pakistani Police and Sri Lankan Police, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British colonial police forces and in certain British police forces as well...
O'Rourke and his Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
half brother Cajou are returning from a trapping trip in northern Canada when they encounter a burned wagon train and sole survivor Grace. Despite the advice of the Metis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
scout Batouche the naive new Mountie commander Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
Benton (recently arrived from England) believes it to be a Cree attack, however the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
from across the border are trying to force the Cree into being allies in their struggle with the U.S. 7th Cavalry .
O'Rourke goes against his commanding officer who have offended the Cree by disarming them; O'Rourke losing his friendship with Cajou when he personally has to take his rifle away. He later mutinies
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
to save the Mounties who have to leave their Fort Saskatchewan for a rendezvous with a larger command at Fort Walsh
Fort Walsh
Fort Walsh is a National Historic Site of Canada that was a North-West Mounted Police fort and the site of the Cypress Hills Massacre. Administered by Parks Canada, it forms a constituent part of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park....
. He must also aid Grace (with whom he falls in love), but she is not as helpless as she first seems as an American lawman (Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
) has papers for her extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
for murder.
Cast
- Alan LaddAlan Ladd-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
as Thomas O'Rourke - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
as Grace Markey - 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 Batouche - Hugh O'BrianHugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
as Carl Smith - Robert DouglasRobert Douglas (actor)Robert Douglas was born as Robert Douglas Finlayson in Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire. He was a successful stage and film actor, a television director and producer....
as Benton - George J. LewisGeorge J. LewisGeorge J. Lewis was a Mexican-born actor who appeared in many films and eventually TV series from the 1920s through the 1960s, usually specializing in westerns...
as Lawson - Richard LongRichard Long (actor)Richard Long was an American actor better known for his leading roles in several ABC television series, including The Big Valley, Nanny and the Professor and Bourbon Street Beat.-Early life:...
as Patrick J. Scanlon - Jay SilverheelsJay SilverheelsJay Silverheels was a Canadian Mohawk First Nations actor. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful American Indian companion of the Lone Ranger in a long-running American television series. -Early life:...
as Cajou - Anton Moreno as Chief Dark Cloud
- Frank Chase as Keller
- Lowell Gilmore as Banks
- Anthony CarusoAnthony Caruso (actor)Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in over 100 American films, usually playing villains, including the First Season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Don Juan Ortega...
as Spotted Eagle - Henry Wills as Merrill
- Bob HerronBob HerronBob Herron is a Democratic member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 38th District since 2008. Before the beginning of the 26th Legislature in January 2008 Representative Herron, along with Democrats Rep. Reggie Joule and Rep. Bryce Edgmon, began caucusing with the Republicans...
as Brill