''Harry Tracy, Desperado'' is a 1982

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

starring Bruce Dern and

Helen Shaver Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours. Early life Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ont ...

. It was directed by William A. Graham, and filmed on-location in Historical

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. "My Love for You" was sung by

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

, who also appears as U.S. Marshal Nathan. The film was released on DVD under the title ''Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch'' in the United States.

Plot

By the end of the 19th century, Butch Cassidy,

the Sundance Kid Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (1867 – November 7, 1908), better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch in the American Old West. He likely met Butch Cassidy (real name Robert Leroy Parker) during a hunti ...

, John Wesley Hardin, and virtually all of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

's legendary outlaws are either dead or in jail pending execution-all of them, that is, except train robber and escape artist extraordinaire, Harry Tracy. As the last survivor of the

Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...

, Harry pulls off a series of profitable robberies before making his way west to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, in search of Catherine Tuttle, a judge's daughter with whom he is in love. Instead, Harry is betrayed, arrested, and imprisoned. Tracy escapes and becomes the target of the largest manhunt in the history of North America. He seeks out Catherine, who joins him in his flight, and their love deepens under the constant threat of capture. With hundreds of

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

s and national guardsmen on their heels, Tracy knows that he has only two options: surrender or die. When a posse traps Tracy in a barn, he kills himself rather than return to jail.

Production

The film was shot throughout

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The farm of Gordon Lightfoot's character was previously featured in the 1978 film '' Superman: The Movie''. The Portland street scenes including a period street-car were filmed in Victoria, B.C. where the pavement of a long block of Johnson Street was covered with dirt and rails were installed to replicate Portland of the era. Interior shots were done inside a local period house and horseback chase scenes were filmed along shoreline trails at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park. From 1946 to 1952, the old farm house and barn were owned by the Spiritual Community of Christ, a commune of former Sons of Freedom, and later bought by the Corry de Condelo family who rented it in 1980 for the movie.

Recognition

* 1983 ** Genie Award for Best Achievement in Film Editing - Ron Wisman - Nominated ** Genie Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound - Rod Haykin, David Appleby, Don White - Nominated ** Genie Award for Best Achievement in Sound Editing - Bruce Carwardine,

Brian French Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

, Glen Gauthier, Tim Roberts,

Brian Rosen Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

- Nominated **

Genie Award for Best Motion Picture The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Motion Picture to the best Canadian film of the year.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishin ...

- Ronald I. Cohen - Nominee **

Genie Award for Best Original Song The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Music: Original Song to the best original song in a Canadian motion picture. First presented at the 3rd Genie Awards in 1982, the award was presented ...

- Leslie Pouliot - Nominee ** Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor - Bruce Dern - Nominated ** Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay - David Lee Henry - Nominated

References

External links

1982 Movie - Filmed in the Quesnel Area
(114 min.) YouTube (Accessed: March 21, 2022) * *
Harry Tracy
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

1982 films English-language Canadian films 1980s English-language films 1982 Western (genre) films Canadian Western (genre) films Films set in the 1900s Films shot in British Columbia Films scored by Maribeth Solomon Films scored by Micky Erbe Films directed by William Graham (director) 1982 drama films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub

Plot

Production

Recognition

See also

References

External links