Wow! Such a good movie.

Please don't spend money on this.

i must have seen a different film!!

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

There are some reviews for the film on this board written some time ago that bemoan the poor rendition of the film along with some fuzzy sound quality. The version I caught on Turner Classics the other night seems to have rectified that problem. In fact, there's a two screen opening sequence that describes the Cine Color restoration project that transformed the picture closer to it's original quality. Even so, the color palette is heavy on the blues, greens and browns, which isn't so bad considering the filming location in Alberta, Canada, and the story's emphasis on building a railroad through the Canadian Northwest passage.In a lot of respects, the story line borrows an element from many B Westerns of the Thirties and Forties. Railroad surveyor Tom Andrews (Randolph Scott) maps out a path through rugged, mountainous terrain, but a villain opposed to the railroad incites a local Indian tribe to make trouble for the construction crew. Victor Jory puts on his outlaw clothes for this one, and attempts to maintain his trade advantage with the local fur trappers by opposing potential business interests from becoming established in the territory. I could never actually understand that argument, simply for the fact that more people arriving in an area would mean more business for everybody.Andrews pursues and is pursued by two women in the story, a mountain gal that simply adores him from the get-go (Nancy Olson), and the settlement doctor (Jane Wyatt) who helps save his life by offering a blood transfusion following an attempt on Andrews' life. That's another story altogether, in as much as Andrews survived a dynamite blast that took out a wagon he was standing right next to. The reason he wasn't killed - get this - is because he was standing too close to it!?!? Another character even mentions that if he was further off, he would certainly have gotten killed! How does that work? Well it does all work out alright for Andrews to foil the bad guys and get the rail track on the way to completion. Randolph Scott once again manages his customary frequent outfit changes, but this time without resorting to the traditional all black he's known for. As for how his romantic entanglement gets worked out, you'll have to catch the picture.The theme of this picture gets reworked in a 1952 movie also starring Randolph Scott titled "Carson City". In that one, Scott portrays an engineer ramrodding a railroad project between Virginia City and Carson City, Nevada. It too has opposing forces for the construction of a rail line, but only one gal for Scott's character to win by the end of the story, and in that one, he wasn't even trying.

Very disappointing to Canadians who know a little of their history, this 1940s-style western treats the building of the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway as if it had occurred in the U.S., with many mistakes noted elsewhere in this entry, and a heavy dose of the U.S. cultural imperialism so typical of 20th century Hollywood's treatments of other peoples' histories.The film makes no references to the important political issues and scandals in eastern Canada that surrounded and heavily influenced the building process, nor the important effects of the ever-present French- English-Indian cultural tensions.A passable B-grade western for an undiscriminating audience.

Generally, one has to read only "starring Randolph Scott" to know one is about to experience cinematic pleasure.This film is different -- only in that Scott's character, Tom Andrews, has a double romance and is tempted to give up his fists and guns.His first romance is with an intriguing character, a wild young woman who is so obviously smitten with Tom we are made happier by basking in her love.Watching Nancy Olson in that role, I marveled at the strength she gave the character, Cecille Gautier. She also gave dimension, and beauty, and made Cecille someone we had to support.As Tom gets involved with Dr. Edith Cabot, played by Jane Wyatt, who has probably never looked lovelier, we wonder which of the two women will lose.The romance, though, is a sub-plot, and the major plot is the battle to complete the railroad, a battle against the elements and seasons, and against topography -- that spectacular scenery that even today lures tourists by the millions -- and against humans, some of whom are nefarious, some of whom are merely trying to protect their traditional way of life.Besides the stars, cameo bits by such outstanding players as Earle Hodgins and Edmund Cobb and the incredibly prolific George Chandler (more than 400 roles!) make "Canadian Pacific" a great movie.John Hamilton, with more than 300 roles to his credit, was usually seen as a police officer or judge or, most famously, the irascible Perry White in the "Superman" TV series. Here he shows his actor's range playing a peace-seeking priest.The script, from a story by Jack DeWitt, and written by DeWitt and Kenneth Garnet, really fleshes out the characters, especially in the beginning with some charming dialog.The music, by Dimitri Tiomkin, is something different from him, especially at the beginning, but is, of course, great. It is, after all, by Tiomkin.The print I saw, recently televised by Turner Classic Movies, was not in great shape, and the sound had a wobble to it, but the movie was so good, the problems became very minor.

This Canadian western is filmed in Cinecolor, an early and not very effective attempt at colour.Randolph Scott is a surveyor for the railway and the locals attempt to stop the railway by stirring the Red Indians.Already with a fiancé, a keen and ripe local, Scott shacks up with a doctor working on the line. She gives him her blood after an incident, fortunately the same type as he lives rather than dying in screaming agony.But she's a dud, cos her fancy university learnin' has taught her to hate fightin' and shootin'.