Iron Will is a 1994 family adventure film directed by Charles Haid. The film stars Mackenzie Astin, Kevin Spacey, David Ogden Stiers, George Gerdes, Brian Cox, Penelope Windust, and August Schellenberg.
Plot
In 1917, Will Stoneman's (Mackenzie Astin) father is killed in a mushing accident falling into a frozen river, leaving Will to care for his family. Needing money for college and to save the family farm in South Dakota, Will decides to travel to Winnipeg, Canada. Here he will take part in the dog-sled race that his father would have entered to save the farm. Although his mother initially objects, she eventually relents. The race is from Winnipeg to Saint Paul, Minnesota. With the aid of Ned Dodd (August Schellenberg), the young man prepares both physically and mentally for the harsh weather and terrain throughout the race.
During the race, Will becomes popular with the newspaper media as reporter Harry Kingsley (Kevin Spacey) who also helped pay for Will to enter the race. The reporter tells about Will's strong courage in what he must do. As Will races for long hours for many days, he endures brutal cold, steep mountains, treacherous river passages and various other obstacles, and grows increasingly tired and sick. There are even attempts by some of the other competitors to sabotage his efforts and even hurt his lead dog, Gus. Will becomes hostile towards his competitors for their sabotage and also towards Kingsley for using him for publicity. However, when one competitor tries to bribe Will to drop out of the race, Kingsley defends Will's honor and the two make amends.
However, on the last day of the race, Kingsley becomes genuinely concerned when he sees how bad Will's condition is, as he can barely move, and advises him to drop out of the race and see a doctor, but Will insists on finishing the race to the end. Will finds himself following his arch enemy (Borg Guillarson) on a dangerous shortcut to the finish line, as it runs near a turbulent river. Will had been taking great lengths all through the race to dodge water obstacles because of what happened to his father, but he finds the courage to face this one, as Bogg's dogs turn against him for using a whip. Exhausted from lack of sleep, Will collapses near the finish line, until Ned Dodd awakens the spirit of his father's dog Gus, with a familiar whistle. The crowd joins in and the finish of this race is one of the greatest scenes in dog sledding.
Cast
- Mackenzie Astin as Will Stoneman
- Kevin Spacey as Harry Kingsley
- David Ogden Stiers as J.W. Harper
- August Schellenberg as Ned Dodd
- Brian Cox as Angus McTeague
- George Gerdes as Borg Guillarson
- John Terry as Jack Stoneman
- Penelope Windust as Maggie Stoneman
- Beau as Gus
- Jeffrey Alan Chandler as DeFontaine
- Michael Laskin as Simon Lambert
- James Cada as Peter Swenson
- Rex Linn as Joe McPherson
- Allan R.J. Joseph as Albert Carey
- Alvin William 'Dutch' Lunak as Gabriel Carey
- Tony Griffin as Mike Riley
- Jeff Hochendoner as Groven
- Rusty Hendrickson as Devereaux
- Richard Riehle as Burton
- Paige Litfin as Becky
- Marcus Klemp as Ward
- Richard Hughes as Conductor Brawley
- Danny Chambers as Cameraman / Reporter 1
- Wayne A. Evenson as Potter
- Stan Garner as Brakeman
- Ed Dallas Gunnar as Tveit
- Jerry Alan as Remy
- Karl Randa as Thordur Thorenson
- Jim Olsen as Mayor of Winnipeg
- Davis Nason as Spirit Guide 1
- Ron Winters as Spirit Guide 2
- Gerald DePerry as Spirit Guide 3
- Aaron Houseman as Guard
- Henry Novotny as Kaiser Bill
- Karen Clift as Soprano Singer
- Benjamin Salisbury as Scout 1
- Brian Grussing as Scout 2
- Don Maloney as Sergeant
- William John Murphy as Reporter 2
- Davio Dakotablu as Waiter
- Brittany Haid as Young Woman
- Elisabeth Harmon-Haid as Blacksmith's Wife
- McKegney Barr as Pretty Woman
- Marvin DeFoe Jr. as Native American At Train Depot
- Sheldon Aubut as Man
- Kevin Deon as Town Drunk (uncredited)
- Chuck Frederick as Race Official (uncredited)
- Cheryl Hawker as Klondike Singer (uncredited)
- Amy Hoff as Villager (uncredited)
- André Sogliuzzo as Young Man On Wagon (uncredited)
- Joel Thingvall as Guy In Bar (uncredited)
- Booker James Winter as BG High Society (uncredited)
Production
Much of the film was shot on location in Minnesota, mostly along the Lake Superior shoreline as well as Iron Range cities such as Floodwood. Although the race takes place between Winnipeg and Saint Paul, neither city actually appears in the film. The Winnipeg starting point for the race was filmed in Duluth, Minnesota near the old Central High School. The Lake Superior Railroad Museum, located in Two Harbors, Minnesota, portrayed the St. Paul train station's finish line. Due to the general lack of mountains in Minnesota (excepting the Sawtooth Mountains), scenes in which Will goes through mountainous terrain were filmed in Montana. Additional footage was shot in Superior, Wisconsin as well as Brookston, Minnesota.
Historical accuracy
Although the story of Will Stoneman is fictional, the character was loosely based on the exploits of Albert Campbell, who won the 1917 race from Winnipeg to Saint Paul, and Fred Hartman, the American hope in the race. According to Campbell, he won the race to fulfill his father’s dying wish made just two weeks before the race.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Iron Will. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |