Northwest Outpost
Cast & Crew
Allan Dwan
Nelson Eddy
Ilona Massey
Joseph Schildkraut
Elsa Lanchester
Hugo Haas
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the 1830s, at their home at Fort Ross, a Russian colony near California's Russian River, Prince Nickolai Balinin and his wife, Princess Tanya, welcome Natalie Alanova, a young woman who has just arrived from Russia. Although Natalie claims to have come for her health, the princess suspects otherwise. That evening, Natalie and her maid Olga hear a gang of singing convicts and anxiously scan the group for Natalie's husband, Count Igor Savin, whom Natalie was forced to marry for political reasons. In the garden of his home, the prince tells Natalie that Jim Laurence, an ex-American army captain who now works for the prince, will need to validate her emigration papers, explaining that the fort will soon come under Laurence's command. When Laurence arrives, he examines Natalie's papers, but refuses to sign them when he realizes that the Russian signature has been forged. Later, the warden of the chain gang, Volkoff, whips a prisoner until Laurence confiscates the whip and throws it into the bushes. The whip startles Natalie's horse, which bolts, but Laurence rescues her. She then asks him why he has not turned her over to the authorities and explains that she had to forge the signature on her papers because of her father's political enemies. Several hours later, Natalie and Laurence see a convict ship arrive and Laurence asks if she knows Savin, who is on board, but she claims that she does not. Later an alarm is sounded and Laurence leaves to fight the Indians. Natalie goes to see Savin, who threatens to have Natalie's father killed by turning him in to the czar if she will not use her influence with Laurence to help him escape. As the Russians prepare for Easter celebrations, Lawrence returns, angry that Natalie has not yet returned home. Natalie sends Laurence a note asking him to meet her at the Easter feast, where he gives her the cross of St. George which the czar awarded him. She decides not to ask him for help and instead gives Savin all her jewels, including Savin's own cross of St. George, so that he can bribe Volkoff. Natalie tries to tell Laurence the truth about her relationship to Savin when word of his escape arrives, but before she can speak, Laurence and his men leave to search for Savin and Volkoff. As they escape, Volkoff shoots Laurence, who falls and hits his head on a rock and is knocked unconscious. Laurence's scout recovers the jewels and Laurence mistakes Savin's cross for his own. The next day, Laurence arranges for Natalie and Olga to leave on the next cargo ship bound for the Orient. When the two board, they discover Savin and Volkoff hiding out in their cabin, and when a Russian soldier sees Savin on board, he reports back to the prince. When the prince and princess arrive with Laurence, Savin pulls a gun, but Laurence kills Savin and Volkoff, and they all return to Fort Ross.
Director
Allan Dwan
Cast
Nelson Eddy
Ilona Massey
Joseph Schildkraut
Elsa Lanchester
Hugo Haas
Lenore Ulric
Peter Whitney
Tamara Shayne
Erno Verebes
George Sorel
Rick Vallin
The American G.i. Chorus
Countess Rosanska
Dina Smirnova
Antonina Barnett
Lola Detolly
Myra Sokolskaya
George Blagoi
Sam Savitsky
Igor Dolgoruki
Nestor Bristoff
Michael Visaroff
Muni Seroff
Max Willenz
Nicco Romoff
Henry Kulky
Nina Hansen
Eugene Sigaloff
Henry Brandon
Michael Mark
Dick Alexander
George Paris
Ray Teal
John Bleifer
Molio Sheron
Gene Gary
John Peters
Jay Silverheels
Constantine Romanoff
Peter Gurs
Marvin Press
Abe Dinovitch
Nicholas Kobliansky
Zoia Karabanova
Gregory Golubeff
Inna Gest
Peter Seal
Crew
Robert Armbruster
Hilyard Brown
Yakima Canutt
Earl Crain Sr.
Alexis Davidoff
Laird Doyle
Allan Dwan
Ned Freeman
Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml
Peggy Gray
Johnny Grubbs
Edward Heyman
Harry Keller
Reggie Lanning
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
John Mccarthy Jr.
Elizabeth Meehan
Adele Palmer
James Red
Fred Ritter
Richard Sale
Angela Stuart
Howard Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were End of the Rainbow and Will Tomorrow Ever Come. A written onscreen foreword to the film explains that the American G.I. Chorus "was organized by Major Herbert Wall and is composed entirely of Ex-G.I.s who served on every battlefield of the world during World War II. These men are the proud bearers of 152 decorations awarded by the various branches of the Armed Forces in which they served." Northwest Outpost, which was the last of three films in which Ilona Massey and Nelson Eddy co-starred, marked Eddy's last appearance in a feature film. This film May have marked the first time that actor Jay Silverheels, best known for portraying "Tonto" in The Lone Ranger television series in the 1950s, acted under that name. Previously he had been billed as Harry "Silverheels" Smith. motion picture debut in this film.
