Main Cast: John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield, Carlin Glynn, Tony Ganios
Release Year: 1981
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Michael Apted directed and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay for this diverting romantic comedy -- a film that attempts to recapture the spirit of an old Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn vehicle. A very subdued John Belushi plays a star columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times named Ernie Souchak (but loosely based on columnist Mike Royko), who uses his column as a direct line to report on the dirty dealings at Chicago City Hall. When his political reports on a local corrupt alderman get too hot, Ernie is sent to the Rocky Mountains to do a fluff piece on reclusive ornithologist Nell Porter (Blair Brown). Ernie arrives at her mountain hideaway, but Nell is hostile and orders him to leave. Ernie informs her that his guide won't return for a few weeks and she reluctantly permits him to stay. The two first learn to put up with each other and then their aversion slowly turns into love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
With all the heavy hitters on hand for Continental Divide -- star John Belushi, director Michael Apted, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, producer Steven Spielberg -- you'd expect something more distinctive than lightly comic romantic fluff, whose primary theme is "opposites attract." This is not to say that Continental Divide fails at carrying out its slight intentions, just that viewers might be surprised by the low yields from that kind of collision of talent. Belushi fans will definitely want to see this film, as it was his penultimate theatrical release, and hinted at what he might have been capable of beyond pratfalls. It's never quite believable that Blair Brown's eccentric eagle tracker would fall for Belushi's chain-smoking columnist -- nor is she half as eccentric as such a mountain recluse would likely be. In this way and others, including Belushi trying to humorously fend off the attacks of several wild animals, Continental Divide slouches toward a sitcom middle ground. Apted is better off when he lets Belushi's abilities lend natural whimsy to everyday exchanges, rather than resorting to more high-concept set pieces that don't work, such as the pair's interactions with a former football great-turned-mountain man. Kasdan's script also gets a little soppy near the end with a protracted series of false goodbyes. In part because it was such a departure for Belushi, his core audience failed to drive Continental Divide to the box-office heights of Animal House and The Blues Brothers, leaving it as something of a flop. Over time, it has come to be thought of as a more fond and dignified way to remember Belushi than just as a bellowing buffoon. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Val Avery - Yablonowitz; Liam Russell - Deke; Everett Smith - Fiddle; Bill Henderson - Train Conductor; Dallas Alinder - Alderman; Mike Bacarella - Delaney; Ron Dean - Plesko; Zaid Farid - Mugger; Harold Holmes - Mr. Feeney; Bruce Jarchow - Hellinger; Tim Kazurinsky - Reporter; Yana Nirvana - Blonde; Eddie Schwartz - Jimmy; Norm Tobin - Layout Man; Joe Wright - Newsboy; John Larson - Henchman; Jack Decker - Police Thug; Frankie Hill - Agatha; Ben Rawnsley - Police Thug; Dave Adams - Alderman; Elizabeth Young - Mrs. Feeney
Credit
Zelda Barron - Associate Producer, Jack Rosenthal - Associate Producer, Michael Chinich - Casting, Moss Mabry - Costume Designer, Kim Kurumada - First Assistant Director, Michael Apted - Director, Dennis Virkler - Editor, Steven Spielberg - Executive Producer, Bernie Brillstein - Executive Producer, Michael Small - Composer (Music Score), Carole Bayer Sager - Songwriter, Michael Benson - Camera Operator, William Badalato - Production Designer, Peter Jamison - Production Designer, John Bailey - Cinematographer, Lawrence Kasdan - Producer, Bob Larson - Producer, Linda Spheeris - Set Designer, Bill Kaplan - Sound/Sound Designer, Lawrence Kasdan - Screenwriter, Jack Rosenthal - Screenwriter
Continental Divide is a 1981Americanromantic comedy. It was directed by Michael Apted from an original screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and produced by Steven Spielberg and stars John Belushi and Blair Brown. An attempt was made during the promotional phase of the film's release to sell Belushi and Brown as 'the new Hepburn and Tracy', calling to mind the gutsy creative chemistry and double-act performances of those yesteryear actors. Though this impression was not successfully carried off, Belushi's death less than six months after the film's release meant that the potential of he and Brown as a movie twosome was never explored.
Plot
A Chicago reporter, Ernie Souchak (Belushi), is investigating a corrupt city councilman. After doing an expose on some corrupt land dealings by the councilman, he is assaulted by two crooked police officers sent by the councilman, and ends up in the hospital. His editor decides to send him out of town for his own safety. Souchak reluctantly travels to the Rockies to interview Dr. Nell Porter (Brown), who has been conducting research on bald eagles for several years. The two are at odds at first. After finding out he is a reporter, she is reluctant to let him stay, but realizes he is not able to survive in the mountains without his guide, who is not scheduled to return for two weeks. He is skeptical about her work, but comes to like her for her strong character and dedication. She, in turn, grows to like him. Eventually, they fall in love. Souchak later returns to Chicago with her still very much on his mind. Souchak's mind continues to drift back to his time in the Rockies. However, when he finds out that one of his sources has been "accidentally" killed, he once again pursues the councilman until the day the councilman flees the country. The same day the councilman flees, Souchak finds out that Porter is coming to Chicago to do a presentation at a symposium. With some uncertainly, Souchak decides to attend the presentation. Meeting after she gives her presentation, they rekindle their relationship. Happy as they are together, they cannot reconcile the different paths each has taken in life, and so they reluctantly decide to part again. Souchak, seeing her off on the train, ends up traveling with her all the way back to Wyoming. After getting off at her stop, they decide that they cannot do without each other, and decide to marry. The movie ends with him catching the train back to Chicago, and the newlyweds promising to meet again very soon. Singer Helen Reddy performed the ending theme, "Never Say Goodbye". The Ernie Souchak character was loosely based on longtime Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko.
The final scenes of the movie were filmed in an old train station in Cedar Falls, Washington with an added Amtrak station sign (a movie prop) that read "Victor, WY".
