Non-Canadian Canadian Movies (page 2)
 
 


I - Z  (A - H)
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I Confess (USA)

(1952) .....Alfred Hitchcock-directed thriller about a priest who hears a confession to a murder in Quebec City. The Canadian movie, "Le Confessional", made allusions to this film. Thanks to an e-mailer for this one...and merci to another e-mailer who corrected my mistake when I said it was set in Montreal (as opposed to Quebec City).

I Walked with a Zombie (USA)

(1943) Frances Dee.....Surprisingly well-regarded low-budget chiller about a Canadian nurse who comes to a Caribbean island and becomes caught up in voodoo mysticism. Supposedly loosely inspired by Jane Eyre. Thanks to someone who signed my Guestbook for this one.

Indian Summer (USA)

(1996) Alan Arkin, Matt Craven, Christine Lahti, Kevin Pollock.....Comedy-drama about a group of adults who reunite years later at the summer camp in Canada that they all attended as kids. Written and directed by Mike Binder (later of "The Mind of the Married Man" fame) and apparently based on his experiences attending a Canadian camp as a kid. Matt Craven is Canadian.

Intersection (USA)

(1994) Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovich.....Romantic triangle melodrama set in Vancouver, Canada. Davidovich is Canadian. Thanks to an e-mailer for pointing out this one.

Iron Curtain (USA)

(1948) Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney.....Drama based on the infamous defection of Soviet embassy worker Igor Gouzenko (played by Andrews) to Canada, whose revelations of KGB spying efforts helped ignite the Cold War. Years later, I believe CBC TV did a TV movie based on the same incident. Thanks to an e-mailer for pointing out this one.

Jalna (USA)

(1937).....Mazo de la Roche's epic, multi-novel saga of the Whiteoak family got an early film treatment in this Holywood movie.

James Bond

Cinema's most enduring franchise (based on the series of novels, of course) has had only a very few, and very minor, Canadian references over the years. In GoldenEye the bad guys kill a Canadian general so they can steal his place at a NATO meeting, and there are a couple of brief Canadian references in From Russia With Love and Thunderball. I'm including these just because I wanted to include a James Bond movie. Although, maybe this actually undermines the point of this page (which is to show that Canadian characters and locations are used by non-Canadian filmmakers) since these are the only time a James Bond movie has had any sort of Canadian content. 19 movies of globe hopping, international intrigue, and Bond's never been to Canada, never teamed up with Canadian agents or bedded nubile Canadian damsels...this despite the fact that in the original stories by Ian Fleming, he did at least once stop over in Canada (in the story "For Your Eyes Only"). Behind the scenes, the story's a bit different: Lois Maxwell, the original Moneypenny, is Canadian, and the early Bond movies were co-produced by a Canadian (which makes the on-screen Canadian snub more telling). Other Canadian actors who've appeared in Bond movies include Joseph Wiseman as the very first cinematic Bond villain, "Dr. No", and Cec Linder played C.I.A. agent Felix Leighter in "Goldfinger". As well, some reports claim that Fleming had some connection to Camp X, the somewhat legendary real life World War II spy school set up in Canada (thanks to an e-mailer for reminding me about that little bit of trivia).

Johnny Belinda (USA)

(1948) Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres.....Well-regarded drama about a deaf-mute girl and the doctor who helps her. According to a fellow who signed my Guestbook it was set in maritime Canada. It was based on a play and also remade years later as a TV movie with Richard Thomas -- either of those still set in Canada, or just the 1948 version? Dunno.

Kandahar (Iran)

(2001).....Inspired by a true story, this is about a modernized, Afghan-Canadian woman who travels covertly back to oppressive, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to try and bring her sister out. A movie that became particularly relevant in wake of the conflicts in Afghanistan and the rest of the world's sudden interest in conditions in that country.

Karla (USA)

(2006) Laura Prepon, Patrick Bauchau.....Movie about the real life Canadian convicted serial killer couple, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, focusing, as the title implies, on her (played by Prepon). Very controversial in Canada (it was slatted to play at a film festival, then dropped due to complaints). The filmmaker justified his movie on artistic grounds, poo-pooing detractors...but one might wonder, if he felt that way, why he didn't just do it about some American serial killer (I think they've got a few of those down there)? Or did he think it might be in questionable taste to do it about an American crime?

The Key to Rebecca (USA)

(1985) Cliff Robertson, David Soul.....Made for TV mini-series about World War II espionage set in North Africa and based on the Ken Follett novel. According to a guy who signed the Guestbook, star Robertson plays a Canadian (he also played a Canadian in The Devil's Brigade -- see above). I saw it years ago, but I don't remember too much about it, except that some scenes seemed surprisingly racy for a network television production.

A League of Their Own (USA)

(1992) Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks.....Hit comedy-drama about the World War II era professional women's baseball league. One of the team is identified as being from Saskatchewan. Thanks to an e-mailer for suggesting this one.

The List of Adrian Messenger (USA)

(1963) George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis....Light-hearted murder mystery (set in the U.K.) with someone going around killing people on the eponymous list. An embracing attitude toward the notorious English fox hunt has probably dated it somewhat. One of the central characters is supposed to be Canadian (thanks to an e-mailer for reminding me about this one). Directed by John Huston.

The Mosquito Squadron (UK)

(1969) David McCallum, Suzanne Neve, David Buck....War yarn with McCallum as a Canadian-born British pilot on a mission behind enemy lines. Thanks to Will Thomas for suggesting this one.


Mulholland Drive (USA)

(2001) Naomi Watts.....Surrealistic mystery-thriller from David Lynch set in and around Hollywood. It got rave reviews and is more emotionally effective than many of his films, but not for all tastes with a twist that can be as annoying as it is interesting. The heroine is a small town Canadian girl looking for stardom in Hollywood, but becomes embroiled in an amnesiac woman's search for her identity. Supposedly the reason for the heroine's nationality was simply that Lynch was looking through an atlas for the name of a small town to use and was struck by the name Deep River, Ontario (apparently he had used that name for an institution in his TV series "Twin Peaks", unaware there was such a place, and the coincidence was too much to ignore).

My Side of the Mountain (USA)

(1972) .....Based on a popular young person's novel about a boy who (inspired by Thoreau!) runs away from home to live off the land in the wilderness. The movie is set in Quebec, though I'm not sure if the American source novel was.

Never Cry Wolf (USA)

(1983) Charles Martin Smith.....Movie version of author Farley Mowat's (semi-)personal account of his time studying wolves in the Arctic. Trivia note: American actor Smith may have moved to Canada -- most of the thing's he's been associated with in recent years, as an actor, as well as a director and producer, have either been Canadian, or filmed in Canada.

Niagara (USA)

(1953) Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotton.....Crime melodrama about a wife plotting to murder her husband while vacationing in Niagara Falls. Thanks to someone who signed the Guestbook for reminding me about this one.

Niagara, Niagara (USA)

(1998) Rachel Tunney, Henry Thomas.....Story of a loner and a girl with Tourette's Syndrome who take a road trip/minor crime spree through Canada.

Nightbreed (USA/British)

(1990) Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid.....Horror film (though it's more fantasy than straight horror -- just very gory, if you understand the difference). I'll admit, it's been sufficiently long since I saw it that I'm a bit vague on the details. It concerns a subterranean society of demons and/or mutants living in rural Alberta. Haid plays a redneck Mountie, Canadian Cronenberg is a psychiatrist/serial killer, the demons (mutants?) aren't all bad, and these various threads come together. More ambitious than good. It was made by Clive Barker (from his story, the Cabal) and, though set in Canada (supposedly because he was travelling through Alberta once and thought the landscape eerie) I think it was filmed in England.

No Highway (British)
a.k.a. No Highway in the Sky

(1951) James Stewart, Glynis Johns, Marlene Dietrich.....Stewart (in an atypical performance) plays an eccentric engineer in England, convinced a new aircraft isn't safe...and is sent to Newfoundland to check out an earlier crash. While on route, he discovers the plane he's on is the very kind he's investigating. Off-beat, oddly structured (that synopsis doesn't quite summarize it) but interesting little suspense-drama. The characters don't spend much time in Canada, but it's referred to a lot.

Northern Pursuit (USA)

(1943) Errol Flynn.....World War II adventure with Flynn as a mountie pursuing a Nazi through Canada. Thanks to a Guestbook signer for suggesting this one.

The One That Got Away (British)

(1957) Hardy Kruger.....True story of a World War II German P.O.W. who kept escaping from Allied prisons. According to an e-mailer, at one point in the story he's been relocated to a Canadian P.O.W. camp and escapes across the border into the then-neutral U.S.

Orca (USA)

(1977) Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling.....This "Jaws"-style flick with environmental pretensions was set in maritime Canada. Harris plays a whaling captain who engenders the wrath of a Killer Whale (Orca) after killing its mate. Generally hated by critics, I'm not sure that this was such a bad little flick. Harris is a fine actor, and the movie turns the "Jaws" formula on its head by actually having us be more sympathetic to the beastie. The movie's kind of memorable, and a scene where Harris asks a priest if it's possible to sin against an animal shows a movie going for more than just cheap thrills. Still, it's been a while... The movie's British-born director, Michael Anderson, subsequently moved to Canada and became a citizen.

Pandemonium (USA)

(1982) Tommy Smothers, Carol Kane.....Spoof of horror-slasher flicks which, though set in the U.S., has comedian Smothers playing a Canadian Mountie investigating. One source suggested that was as a joke on the fact that so many slasher flicks were Canadian. What? You mean the Americans knew that? So why were all those Canadian filmmakers bothering to stick all those U.S. flags in their films if they weren't foolin' anyone?!? There have been funnier slasher spoofs (and I don't mean "Scary Movie").

The Pony Soldier (USA)

(1952) Tyrone Powers.....Powers plays a Mountie trying to avert an Indian war in a movie that sounds as though it may've been inspired, a little by the same historical events that fuelled The Canadians (see that entry on the previous page). Thanks to an e-mailer for mentioning this one.

The President's Analyst (USA)

(1967) James Coburn.....Odd ball, at times deliciously clever (at other times, just bizarre) counter culture satire has Coburn as the U.S. President's analyst who quits his job...and finds his former government employers are trying to kill him because he knows too much. Definitely a product of its time, and worth a look. The Canadian element in the story is minor, but a hoot. Thanks to someone who signed the Guestbook for reminding me about this one.

Red Coat (Italian)

(1974)....Spaghetti Western in which the hero is a Canadian Mountie -- thanks to the diligent Will Thomas, who signed my Guestbook, for suggesting this one.

Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (USA)

(1937, 1938) ....A couple of movies about an intrepid Mountie. These were actually barely an hour in length (I believe) and were basically what were known as B-movies -- nowadays that's a term used to refer to quality (or lack thereof) but in the old days, B-movies were simply the lesser (shorter) feature on a double bill.

Rose Marie (USA)

(1928)
(1936) Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy
(1954) Ann Blyth, Howard Keel

Various versions of a comic operetta about a singing Mountie. The 1936 version is, apparently, the least faithful to the source material...but arguably the most famous. Presumably where the whole cliche of the "singing Mountie" comes from.

Russian Roulette (USA)

(1975) George Segal, Denholm Elliott.....Segal plays a Canadian Mountie trying to prevent the assassination of the Soviet Premier during a visit to Vancouver. Thanks to a person who signed the Guestbook for mentioning this one.

Saskatchewan (USA)

(1954) Alan Ladd, Shelley Winters.....Hollywoodized version of one of the Riel Rebellions -- presumably minus any real examination of the issues or the political ambiguities in favour of a "rampaging Indians" story.

The Scarlet Claw (USA)

(1944) Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce.....One of a series of successful Sherlock Holmes movies Rathbone and Bruce did (updated to then modern times). This one goes the Hound of the Baskervilles route with Holmes and Watson investigating grisly murders in rural Quebec (seeming more like rural England) that may be the result of a monster. There were a series of Canadian made Holmes movies, plus, check out my entry on the Hound of the Baskervilles (on previous page)

The Score (USA)

(2001) Robert DeNiro, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett.....A crime thriller about hoods who try to pull off a robbery in Montreal. Canadian Paul Soles has a significant supporting part as an elderly janitor.

Seabiscuit (USA)

(2003) Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper.....Critically and commercially popular drama about a real life Depression era American race horse, and those connected with it, including its real life Canadian jockey (Maguire).

The Sentinel (USA)

(2006) Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria.....Thriller in which Douglas plays a U.S. Secret Service man wrongly implicated in an assassination plot. The climax takes place at a global summit in Toronto. Trivia note: Sutherland, and director (and actor) Clark Johnson, are both Canadian.

The Shipping News (USA)

(2001) Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore.....High profile film version of American novelist E. Annie Proulx's critically acclaimed novel about a widower who moves his family back to his Newfoundland home town to re-discover himself. An all-star cast and filmed in Newfoundland, with a few Canadian actors in the cast, including Gordon Pinsent.

Slap Shot (USA)

(1977) Paul Newman.....Coarse and violent comedy (apparently) about a bush league American hockey team that starts winning after it decides to start playing dirty. Some of the team members are French-Canadian, played by Quebecois actors. Merci to an e-mailer for this one.

Some Girls (USA)

(1988) Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Connelly.....Comedy about an American guy coming to spend the holidays with his girlfriend's family in Quebec.

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (USA)

(1999) The scatalogical, adult-aimed animated comedy movie (based on the cult hit TV series) about a bunch of little kids in Colorado. The premise of this feature film is that the kids sneek in to see an R-rated Canadian comedy, which causes such a scandal that it leads the United States and Canada to the brink of war. Very funny (as long as you're not easily shocked), particularly because the humour has a point, and it boasts some of the catchiest songs of any modern musical (though some can't be sung in public)

Speed (USA)

(1994) Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper.....Hit action movie about a runaway bus rigged to explode and the cop on board trying to stop it. According to an e-mailer, one of the passengers on the bus is identified as Canadian. The movie was written by Canadian Graham Yost and star Keanu Reeves is, at least partly, Canadian. Another passenger was played by Canadian actress Natsuko Ohama.

Submarine X-1 (UK)

(1968) James Cann, Rupert Davies.....WW II flick with Cann as a Canadian put in charge of a British mini-sub fleet. Thanks to Will Thomas for this one.

Summer of '45
see TV section

Superman II

(1981) Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp.....The second Superman movie (and the 2nd best) has a sequence where Superman and Lois go off to do a news story at Niagara Falls -- the Canadian side! It's not a big part of the movie, but it is pivotal -- I've actually been to some of the places they were (O.K., so I'm thrilled by small things). Superman also goes off to his Fortress of Solitude which, though never explicitly stated, is presumably located in the Canadian Arctic. Trivia note: Superman, the comic book character, was co-created by a Canadian (Joe Shuster, cousin of comedian Frank Shuster) and Kidder is a Canadian.

Taking Lives (USA)

(2004) Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland.....Story of a maverick American criminal profiler (Jolie) who is summoned to Montreal to investigate a serial killer who actually adopts the identities of his victims. Not bad, not great film doesn't makes as much use of its interesting core premise (adopting the victim's identities) as it could, though it does have a surprisingly steamy sex scene thrown in. Most of the Quebecois characters are played by European actors, and the accents aren't quite right. Canadian Sutherland is in the cast in a small but key part and, as a trivia note, I think Jolie's mother is Canadian. Canadians in bit parts include Marie-Josee Croze as the coroner, and Marcel Jennin as the guy on the train.

The 39 Steps (British)

(1935) Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll.....A classic example of the romantic-comedy-thriller, with Donat as a Canadian on the run in England, mistakenly accused of murder and espionage. He ends up handcuffed to Carroll, forcing her to run with him. Funny, exciting, and clever, it holds up surprisingly well all these years later. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based (loosely) on the novel by British-born Canadian John Buchan (the one-time Governor General of Canada and founder of the Canadian arts awards, The Governor General Awards). Ironically, in Buchan's novel the hero wasn't Canadian.

Thunderball
see James Bond

Tobruk (USA)

(1967) Rock Hudson, George Peppard.....World War II actioner about an Allied commando unit fighting Nazis in North Africa. According to a guy who signed the Guestbook (see main page) Hudson plays a Canadian.

Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (USA)

(1954) Kirk Douglas, James Mason.....Jules Verne's Victorian science fiction novel had been filmed before and after, but arguably never as well as in this Disney-produced version with Mason playing the definitive version of the enigmatic Captain Nemo. Like in the novel, Douglas' character, Ned Land, is Canadian (though in the novel he was French-Canadian), but what's more interesting is that in the novel, he was a supporting character, while in this movie he has been elevated to being a lead part. Insight into the psyche of Canadian filmmakers time: in this Hollywood movie, the character is identified as Canadian, but in the 1990s, a TV movie was made that appears to be partly Canadian...and in it, the Canadian origins of the Land character are not mentioned!

The Untouchables (USA)

(1987) Kevin Costner, Sean Connery.....Remake of the 1960s TV series, or loosely inspired by fact drama (take your pick) about G-Man Elliott Ness' battle with mobster Al Capone in the 1930s. In one scene Ness and his boys attempt to stage a raid at the Canadian border that the Canadian Mounties botch...while riding horseback, yet -- no, it doesn't seem to be a joke. I guess the filmmakers didn't realize that the "Mounties" also drive cars and wear plain clothes, sometimes. A hugely successful movie, but I'll admit, I just found it broad and corny. Still, it's interesting as one of the few unflattering portraits of Canadians on this page.

Vertical Limit (USA)

(2000) Chris O'Donnell, Scott Glenn.....Action movie about trying to rescue a mountain climbing expedition. Izabella Scorupco plays a Canadian. Thanks to an e-mailer for pointing out this one.

Vixen (USA)

(1968).....Russ Meyer sexploitation set in Canada. Thanks to a Guestbook signer for suggesting this one.

Von Richthofen and Brown (USA)

(1971) John Phillip Law.....War movie has Law as the infamous W.W. I German air ace, The Red Baron, and Don Stroud playing the man credited with finally shooting him down...Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown.

Wait Until Dark (USA)

(1967) Audrey Hepburn, Richard Crenna, Alan Arkin, Jack Weston, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.....One of the all-time classic thrillers, with Hepburn a blind woman caught up in a con being perpetrated by some shadey types. The story revolves around the fact that she has something her husband (Zimbalist Jr.) unwittingly brought back from his trip to Canada. Sure no one in the movie is supposed to Canadian, and other than the opening scene, nothing takes place in Canada...but the movie makes more references to Canada than many Canadian movies! Besides, it's just a really good film -- see it!

Walk the Line (USA)

(2005) Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick.....Successful, crirically acclaimed bio-pic about troubled country singer Johnny Cash and his relationship with fellow singer June Carter. Brief -- but historically significant,  fact based -- scene towards the end where Cash proposes to Carter in the middle of a concert in Ontario.

A Whale for the Killing (USA)

(1981) Peter Strauss.....Made-for-TV drama about a beached whale in Newfoundland and an environmentalist's efforts to save it from fishermen, based on Farley Mowat's book.

White Fang (Italian)

(1973) Franco Nero.....Italian version of the Jack London novel set in the Yukon. I guess you could call it a Spaghetti Northern. Thanks to a Guestbook signer for this.

The Whole Nine Yards (USA)

(2000) Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, Rosanna Arquette.....Comedy stars Perry as an American living in Montreal who discovers his neighbour is an infamous American hitman (Willis) in hiding. This was a commercially successful movie, though even American critics felt there was a certain lack of veracity to Arquette's French-Canadian accent (she plays Perry's scheming wife). Canadian Natasha Henstridge also co-stars. Followed by a sequel (though I'm not sure if any of it was set in Canada)

X-Men (USA)

(2000) Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry.....This is the long-time coming adaptation of the hit comic book series about a group of mutant superheroes. Longtime comic readers know that one of the most popular X-Men, Wolverine, is a Canadian. In the movie, Wolverine (Jackman) is used as the kind of focal/lead character in this ostensibly ensemble cast and there are a few scenes set in Canada. Trivia note: the movie was filmed in Canada and Canadian-born New Zealand actress Anna Paquin appears as Rogue. Ironically, when the thematically similar Canadian TV series, Mutant X, came out a year later, none of the characters in that were Canadian.

X2: X-Men United (USA)

(2003) see above -- still Wolverine, still with some scenes set in Canada (although not identified as such -- you'd have to have seen the first movie). Actually, a much better film than the first...although it proably helps to have seen the first in order to know what's going on! The benefit to Canadians from US productions being filmed in Canada is that little, inconsequential parts are sometimes cast from the local, Canadian, talent pool...and then these parts can actually blossom into something more (like happened with some roles in TV's The X-Files). In the first X-Men, Canadian Shawn Ashmore appeared in a bit part as Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman...but in this sequel, the Iceman character was featured significantly, and Ashmore was still playing him. Sidebar: although the story has undergone significant changes, the core idea is lifted from the critically regarded graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills. FYI.

Youngblood (USA)

(1986) Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze.....Lowe plays an (American?) hockey player who joins a Canadian hockey team.

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