Elaborate Outdoor Set Burned In Use

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 44, 15 November 1940, Page 10

Elaborate Outdoor Set Burned In Use

r JpilE most elaborate outdoor set ever built for a motion picture will never be pointed out as au interesting landmark because it was built to be burned to the ground and completely destroyed. Tt is the Indian village of St. Francis, erected for use in "Northwest Passage," the techuicolour adventure picture starring Spencer Tracy, with Hebert Young and Walter Brennan. Comprising 125 buildings, complete inside and out without a false wall anywhere, it covered 10 acres cut out of virgin forest. In completeness and size, it exceeded even 'lite sets built for •’lntolerance” and “Ben-Hur.” The centre of rite village was occupied by a stockaded log fortress. Log cabins, tepees, hogans, birchbark huts, granaries, and huts of brush, wattle mud and stone comprised the remainder of the buildings. The felled timber was used to build the fort and log cabins and every detail was accurate to the smallest peg. Because the charred interiors of every building had to be visible after Rogers’ Bangers'had set tire to them, it was necessary that every wall be finished from ground to roof. Forty thousand feet of copper tubing was laid underground and petrol driven through it by two compressors. Thus every unit was certain of igniting From a 70ft. tower built like an oil rig behind tile village. Held telephones instructed mon in dugouts below what sections to fire and what to control. Tito scene shows the Rangers, tossing flaming torches onto the roofs and against the walls. But the petrol was necessary to insure a rapid conflagration. Tlte tiring of the petrol was done electrically from a keyboard on the tower.

The day before the scene was shot in which Major Robert. Rogers and his band of 200 Rangers wipe out the Abenaki warriors who have been raiding tile New England villages. 2302 Indians had arrived. Il was particularly impressed upon them that the scone could probably he shot only once due to the burning of the set, that, everything therefore had to be exactly right rhe first time, that they must not laugh no mater how much fun ft seemed to lie running around in warpaint and with tomahawks and rifles.

The Hangers, led by Spencer Tracy as Major Kogers, with Robert Young, Walter Brennan. Donald Mcßride and Addison Richards in the van. swooped down at dawn upon tlte sleeping village. Ton-lies Ho"' and roofs blazed. Indians stumbled bewildered out of their doors, ran back to get their guns and possessions. The war drum s hoar began. A Hash and a roar from Hie i-iladel showed that its brass cannon had been swivelled around and turned upon its sleeping inmates. Tomahawks met tomahawks and bayonets in hand-to-hand encounter. Rilles crackled as tlie blaze from tile village grew higher. Now, witlt every Indian fighting and the huts emptied, gasoline was pouring through the brass pipes and root's and walls were collapsing witli a vicious rort r.

What had been tile most elaborate sei ever built was now a charred ruin. Not an Indian or Ranger had bungled his part. Better still, except for bruises, scratches and superficial cuts, not an actor was hurt, thanks to the perfect. control of the tire.