Breakheart Pass is an American
1975The year 1975 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January 28 - George Lucas creates the second draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
westernThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
adventureAn adventure is an activity that comprises risky, dangerous or uncertain experiences. The term is more popularly used in reference to physical activities that have some potential for danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing, and extreme sports...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
that stars
Charles BronsonCharles Bronson was an American actor best known for his "tough guy" image, who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Evil That Men Do and the popular Death Wish series...
,
Ben JohnsonBen "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
,
Richard CrennaRichard Donald Crenna was an American film, television and radio actor. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, Rambo , Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
, and
Jill IrelandJill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress, best known for her many films with second husband Charles Bronson.-Life and career:Born in London, England, Ireland was the daughter of a wine importer...
. The movie was based on the novel by
Alistair MacLeanAlistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote successful thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, both having been made into successful films...
of the same title, and was filmed in
north central IdahoNorth Central Idaho is an area which spans the central part of the state of Idaho and borders Oregon, Montana, and Washington. It is the southern half of the Idaho Panhandle region and is rich in agriculture and natural resources. Lewis and Clark travelled throughout this area on their journey to...
.
In the 1870s, the garrison at the Fort Humboldt Army outpost are supposedly suffering from a
diphtheriaDiphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity. A milder form of diphtheria can be restricted to the skin...
epidemic. A train is heading towards the fort filled with reinforcements and medical supplies. There are also civilian passengers on the train --
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
governor Fairchild and his mistress Marica (
Jill IrelandJill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress, best known for her many films with second husband Charles Bronson.-Life and career:Born in London, England, Ireland was the daughter of a wine importer...
), among others.
The train stops briefly in a town, where it takes on board a local lawman and his prisoner, John Deakin (
Charles BronsonCharles Bronson was an American actor best known for his "tough guy" image, who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Evil That Men Do and the popular Death Wish series...
), a notorious outlaw who was identified via a picture in a newspaper article.
Breakheart Pass is an American
1975The year 1975 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January 28 - George Lucas creates the second draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
westernThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
adventureAn adventure is an activity that comprises risky, dangerous or uncertain experiences. The term is more popularly used in reference to physical activities that have some potential for danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing, and extreme sports...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
that stars
Charles BronsonCharles Bronson was an American actor best known for his "tough guy" image, who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Evil That Men Do and the popular Death Wish series...
,
Ben JohnsonBen "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
,
Richard CrennaRichard Donald Crenna was an American film, television and radio actor. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, Rambo , Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
, and
Jill IrelandJill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress, best known for her many films with second husband Charles Bronson.-Life and career:Born in London, England, Ireland was the daughter of a wine importer...
. The movie was based on the novel by
Alistair MacLeanAlistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote successful thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, both having been made into successful films...
of the same title, and was filmed in
north central IdahoNorth Central Idaho is an area which spans the central part of the state of Idaho and borders Oregon, Montana, and Washington. It is the southern half of the Idaho Panhandle region and is rich in agriculture and natural resources. Lewis and Clark travelled throughout this area on their journey to...
.
Plot
In the 1870s, the garrison at the Fort Humboldt Army outpost are supposedly suffering from a
diphtheriaDiphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity. A milder form of diphtheria can be restricted to the skin...
epidemic. A train is heading towards the fort filled with reinforcements and medical supplies. There are also civilian passengers on the train --
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
governor Fairchild and his mistress Marica (
Jill IrelandJill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress, best known for her many films with second husband Charles Bronson.-Life and career:Born in London, England, Ireland was the daughter of a wine importer...
), among others.
The train stops briefly in a town, where it takes on board a local lawman and his prisoner, John Deakin (
Charles BronsonCharles Bronson was an American actor best known for his "tough guy" image, who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Evil That Men Do and the popular Death Wish series...
), a notorious outlaw who was identified via a picture in a newspaper article. However, Deakin is actually an undercover federal agent, and he discovers en route that there is no epidemic at the outpost and the "epidemic" is actually a conspiracy between a group of killers and a tribe of
IndiansNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
.
Production
Portions of the movie were filmed in
PiercePierce is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho, United States. Elias D. Pierce and Wilbur F. Bassett made the first discovery of gold in Idaho, on Orofino Creek in 1860, just one-mile north of the town that is now Pierce...
and
ReubensReubens is a city in Lewis County, Idaho, United States, on the camas prairie. The population was 72 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Reubens is located at ....
in
northern IdahoNorth Central Idaho is an area which spans the central part of the state of Idaho and borders Oregon, Montana, and Washington. It is the southern half of the Idaho Panhandle region and is rich in agriculture and natural resources. Lewis and Clark travelled throughout this area on their journey to...
. Railroad scenes were filmed on the
Camas Prairie RailroadCamas Prairie Railroad Company was a short line railroad in northern Idaho jointly owned and operated by Northern Pacific Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. The Camas Prairie Railroad was known as the "railroad on stilts" due to the many wooden trestles. In one five mile stretch, there were...
(based in
LewistonLewiston is the county seat of and largest city in Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States. It is the second largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Nez...
), using Great Western Railway
steam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a locomotive powered by steam. The term usually refers to its use on railways, but can also refer to a "road locomotive" such as a traction engine or steamroller....
#75.
Alternating shots of clear and overcast skies are present in the final climactic scenes.
Main cast
- Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson was an American actor best known for his "tough guy" image, who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Evil That Men Do and the popular Death Wish series...
... Deakin
- Ben Johnson
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
... Pearce
- Jill Ireland
Jill Dorothy Ireland was an English actress, best known for her many films with second husband Charles Bronson.-Life and career:Born in London, England, Ireland was the daughter of a wine importer...
... Marica
- Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna was an American film, television and radio actor. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, Rambo , Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
... Governor Fairchild
- Charles Durning
Charles Durning is an American actor of stage and screen.-Early life:Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York and was the second youngest of five children, James G. , Clifford John , Frances and Gerald J. Durning . His mother, Louise M...
... O'Brien
- David Huddleston
David William Huddleston is an American actor, best known for his roles in Santa Claus: The Movie and The Big Lebowski.-Early life:...
... Dr. Molyneux
- Ed Lauter
Edward Lauter is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous movies and was a stand up comic before getting into acting.Lauter was born in Long Beach, Long Island, New York...
... Major Claremont
- Bill McKinney
Bill McKinney is an American character actor whose most famous role was the sadistic mountain man who abused and then sodomized Bobby Trippe in the movie Deliverance.-Early life:...
... Reverend Peabody
- Joe Kapp
Joseph Robert Kapp is a former professional American and Canadian football quarterback. He is also a former college football head coach of the University of California, and a former general manager of the CFL's BC Lions. Kapp played primarily with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and the CFL's BC...
... Henry
- Archie Moore
Archie Moore, born Archibald Wright , was light heavyweight world boxing champion between 1952 and 1959 and had one of the longest professional careers in the history of his sport. A native of Benoit, Mississippi, raised in St...
... Carlos
- Scott Newman ... Rafferty
- Sally Kirkland
Sally Kirkland is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Kirkland was born in New York City and was the goddaughter of Shelley Winters. She was named after her mother, fashion editor Sally Kirkland, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and LIFE magazines. Her father, Frederic McMichael...
... Jane-Marie
DVD details
- Release date: December 19, 2000
- Full Screen & Widescreen Anamorphic
- Region: 1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 & 16:9
- Audio tracks: English, French
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Running time: 95 minutes
Soundtrack
A limited edition (3,000 run) CD soundtrack of
Breakheart Pass, highlighting the original music of
Jerry GoldsmithJerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith was an American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. Goldsmith was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards , and also won four Emmy Awards...
, was released by
La-La Land RecordsLa-La Land Records is an American record company based in Burbank, California . La-La Land Records is an American record company based in Burbank, California ....
. It is out of print.
See also
- List of American films of 1975
- Alistair MacLean
Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote successful thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, both having been made into successful films...
- Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith was an American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. Goldsmith was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards , and also won four Emmy Awards...
- Breakheart Pass (novel)
Breakheart Pass is a novel by Alistair MacLean, first published in 1974. It was a departure for MacLean in that, despite the thriller novel plot, the setting is essentially that of a western novel, set in America in the 19th century. Fans of Maclean will recognize the usual plots twists,...