Continental Divide
When they met they heard bells. And that was just round one.
Country
Production
Budget
$0
Box office
$15 578 237
Director
Actors
John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield, Carlin Glynn, Tony Ganios, Val Avery, Liam Russell, Everett Smith, Bill Henderson, Bruce Jarchow
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Bob Larson, Bernie Brillstein, Steven Spielberg
Camera operator
Composer
Michael Small
Artist
Peter Jamison
Audition
Jo Doster, Michael Chinich
Editing
Dennis Virkler
Whole Team (19)
Whole Team (19)
Short description
A hard-nosed Chicago journalist has an unlikely love affair with an eagle researcher.
What's left behind the scenes
- John Belushi's character, Ernie Suchak, is partly based on the popular and now deceased Chicago journalist Mike Royko, whose articles on political corruption in the Windy City (Chicago), published in the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, and Chicago Tribune, were legendary.
- The headline of the column in the newspaper immediately following “Room Wanted. Quiet Tenant” is “Yablonowitz Finger Holds The Trigger.”
- The first film released by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. John Belushi and Steven Spielberg had previously worked together on the film “1941” (1979).
- The Amtrack train arrived in the town of Victor, Idaho, on a closed track where a scene was being filmed. This small town hadn't had a developed railway system for many years.
- The newspaper Ernie worked for was called the Chicago Sun-Times. This is a real American newspaper. One article in the newspaper was titled 'Ernie Suchak – one of the reasons for people's joy'.
- Actress Blair Brown was cast as Dr. Nell Porter due to her resemblance to a young Katharine Hepburn.
- The Colorado mountain cabin, built entirely for the film, was originally located at a higher altitude in the mountains. Production designer Peter Jameson, choosing the cabin's location with director Michael Apted, failed to account for the altitude. The thin air at that height became a major problem for both the actors and the crew, especially for John Belushi due to his weight. Medics constantly had to revive the star with oxygen. It was decided to lower the cabin by 300 meters. The entire house, as well as the surrounding bushes and trees, were moved to a new location. During this move, Belushi went on a diet, realizing that his weight was hindering him from playing his character at high altitudes. In scenes at the house, it's noticeable that he had indeed lost weight. After losing weight, Belushi began to position himself as a romantic lead and remained committed to his diet to lose even more. Filming in Colorado was canceled after an early snowfall, and not all scenes with the house in the mountains were shot. The crew moved to Chicago earlier than planned. Construction foreman Doug Vlaming and his team disassembled the house and loaded it onto trucks. They brought everything to Universal City studio and reassembled it on a huge wooden frame duplicating the Colorado mountain slope. Universal Studios staff recreated every tree, grass and dirt, bushes and cliff face from photographs. They also completely duplicated the interior of the house. At that moment, the unfinished mountain scenes were the first priority, as were scenes with the mountain lion. Filming at the studio turned out to be much easier than filming in the Colorado mountains. The painters' department occupied the space under the huge hill structure for their work. This place was nicknamed the pharmacy due to the widespread drug trade in the areas surrounding the studio. It also became a favorite hangout for Belushi during filming.
- Bill De Sinses (manager of the Universal Studios art department service) appointed Hugh Barden as art director to assist Peter Jameson. Hugh Barden was the art director on 'All Night Long' (1981), a job he had to resume and complete. Filming on that movie was interrupted by an actors' strike. Peter Jameson also worked on it.
- The film's title is a geographical term for a draining divide on a continent. It is a conventional topographic line that divides adjacent river basins. In the Colorado mountains, where this film takes place, the continental divide lies along high mountain ranges and peaks. And it is this specific divide that is known as the Continental Divide of the Americas.
- Some magazines described this film as "an old-fashioned comedy, something between 'Bringing Up Baby' (1938) and 'Woman of the Year' (1941)."
- This was the penultimate film starring John Belushi to be released, appearing in the same year as his final film, 'Neighbors' (1981). One line delivered by his character, Ernie, to Nell Porter proved to be a chilling prophecy: “You kiss me and look at me like I’m going to die.”
- This film was intended as a modern take on the old romantic comedies starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
- Nell is chopping wood when Ernie approaches. As they begin to talk, Nell stacks the wood in her left hand. In the next shot, filmed from a different angle, she has no wood in her hands and begins stacking it in her left hand again.
- As Suchak rushes out of the hotel to catch a taxi to Union Station, one can notice electrical cables running along the sidewalk.
- The first film released by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. John Belushi and Steven Spielberg had previously worked together on the film '1941' (1979).
- Actress Blair Brown was cast in the role of Dr. Nell Porter due to her resemblance to a young Katharine Hepburn.
- The Colorado mountain cabin, built entirely for the film, was originally placed at a higher altitude in the mountains. When choosing the location with director Michael Apted, production designer Peter Jamieson failed to account for the height of the site. The thin air at those altitudes became a major problem for both the actors and the crew, particularly for John Belushi due to his overweight condition. Medics had to constantly revive the star with oxygen. It was decided to move the cabin down by 300 meters. The entire house, as well as the surrounding bushes and trees, were relocated to a new site. During this move, Belushi went on a diet, realizing that his weight was hindering his ability to play the character high in the mountains. In the scenes at this house, it can be noticed that he indeed lost weight. After shedding the pounds, Belushi began to position himself as a romantic lead and stuck to his diet to lose even more. Filming in Colorado was canceled after an early snowfall, and not all the scenes with the mountain house were completed. The crew departed for Chicago earlier than planned. Construction foreman Doug Vlaming and his team dismantled the house and loaded it into trucks. They brought everything to Universal City Studios and reassembled it there on a massive wooden frame that replicated the Colorado mountain slope. Universal Studios employees restored every tree, blade of grass, patch of muddy earth, bush, and cliff based on photographs. The interior of the house was also fully replicated. At that time, finishing the mountain shoots was the top priority, including the scenes with the mountain lion. Filming at the studio proved to be far simpler than filming in the Colorado mountains. The painters' department occupied the space beneath the massive hill structure for their work. This spot was nicknamed 'the pharmacy' due to the prevalence of drug dealing in the areas surrounding the studio. It also became Belushi's favorite hangout during filming.
- Bill DeSense (manager of the Universal Studios art department service) appointed Hub Braden as art director to assist Peter Jamieson. Hub Braden had been the art director for the film 'Up All Night' (1981), a project he had to resume and bring to completion. Filming for that movie had been interrupted by an actors' strike. Peter Jamieson also worked on that film.
- Some magazines described the film as: 'An old-fashioned comedy, something between "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) and "The Woman of the Year" (1941).'
- The penultimate film of actor John Belushi, released in the same year as his final film 'Neighbors' (1981). One of the lines spoken by his character, Ernie, to Nell Porter, turned out to be a chilling prophecy: 'You're kissing me and looking at me like I'm going to die soon.'
- This film was conceived as a modern version of the old romantic comedies starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
- John Belushi jokingly referred to the Continental Divide as the intercontinental crack.
- Nell Porter's (Blair Brown) favorite eagle was named Bruno. According to the film's plot, there were about two thousand bald eagles remaining in the US. At the time of filming and upon its release, this bird species was endangered in the US, but its population has increased significantly since then.
- This film is dedicated to Andy Goodman.
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