Despite its deeply etched rank in the annals of Americana, the tale of the notorious Donner Party usually includes just one element: if asked to draw a picture of the Donner Party’s woes, most folks would simply sketch stick figures sitting by Donner Lake chewing on each other. Details undoubtedly have been lost on recent generations, including many newcomers to the Tahoe-Truckee region.
One key reason this history has been lost from the lore that young Americans recognize is the lack of visual media about the story. The only movie that has ever been released about the events that transpired that fateful winter of 1846-47 was a 1992 PBS TV special that recreated the events using still pictures, narration and landscape footage. Though accurate and acclaimed by academics, it’s needless to say that this documentary hasn’t hit the Redbox yet. If you are familiar with the specifics of the Donner Party and the dense web of fact and fiction known of their survival story, it’s hard to imagine why a film has never been made about their tragic proceedings. Wouldn’t the desperate interaction of people on the brink of starvation make for choice drama acting?
Hollywood’s Anacapa Entertainment sure thought so. Last April the production house self-financed the filming of ‘The Forlorn,’ the first ever live-acted feature film based on Donner Party events.
The Forlorn focuses on the trials and tribulations of the ‘Snowshoe Party’ – the 15 men and women who were the first and only settlers to attempt to seek help. Having been trapped for six weeks, the group left the frozen shores of Donner Lake mid-December and attempted to cross the Sierra by foot. Carrying only six days of starvation rations, the hunger-ravaged group took 33 days to find their way to help in the foothills. Their gruesome fate inspired later historians to dub them, ‘The Forlorn Hope.’
The Forlorn was filmed exclusively on Donner Summit under the creative direction of scriptwriter and director TJ Martin and producer John Moore. Though the film is a fictionalized interpretation, it is supposed to be a relatively realistic portrayal of the lost settlers’ deranged and tragic escapades as they staggered over the Sierra. ‘Realistic’ is a fairly gray term in this case however, as the only truly hard facts known about the journey are that half the party died along the way and that every survivor admitted to cannibalism.
While the film shoot was under the radar last April, the mid-budget production brought a cast and crew of significant talent to the snowbound forests of Donner Summit. Starring actors in the film include Crispin Glover of ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Charlie’s Angels’ fame, Clayne Crawford from ‘A Love Song For Bobby Long,’ and Christian Kane, a current star of the TV show ‘Leverage.’
In total, a cast of 13 and a crew of over 30 worked on the production based at the Cal Lodge, a facility adjacent to the Sierra Club’s Clair Tappaan Lodge on Hwy 40. Owned by the Associated Students of UC Berkeley, the Cal Lodge is managed by Truckee local Dan Borge.
‘Another independent film maker referred Moore and Martin to me,’ said Borge about how Hollywood found him on Donner Summit. ‘We negotiated for several months but once they came up to visit it was clear that they would have everything they needed to be successful.’
The Cal Lodge is traditionally a hostel and weekend rental for student retreats or educational programs, but for the film shoot the 50-person capacity lodge was transformed into a logistical command center. The great room fireplace served as the helm of the production, while the crew set up makeup and costume quarters upstairs. Posted call sheets ended up by the communal kitchen from which everyone walked out a door onto a movie set that couldn’t have been more authentic.
With the approval of the Sierra Club board of directors, 99 percent of the film was shot just behind the Cal Lodge on Sierra Club property. The crew snowmobiled equipment and cast straight to the set from the Cal Lodge every morning except two. For the last two days of the production they filmed the movie’s opening montage, a bear- hunting scene shot in the infamous Disney cave at Sugar Bowl.
Producer Moore was thrilled with the cooperation and hospitality he found filming on Donner Summit.
‘We wanted to shoot the film where it actually happened and everyone in the area was really supportive of us,’ Moore said. ‘The Sierra Club, the Cal Lodge, Sugar Bowl…locals really made things happen for us.’
Local people weren’t the only thing that worked in the group’s favor. Old Man Winter graced them with stellar weather during the production.
‘They really lucked out,’ said Borge about last April’s weather. ‘It snowed a little bit off and on, just enough to get some snow on the actors shoulders. If we had gotten a true Donner Party storm they would have had serious problems. There was a ton of gear to move. They broke a few snowmobiles as it was.’
Producer Moore agreed they were fortunate.
‘The weather was extremely cooperative,’ said Moore. ‘Whenever a scene called for snow it snowed…but never too much.’
Borge also noted the beach-based crew’s gusto for working in the winter.
‘They all seemed to adapt to the cold pretty quickly,’ said Borge. ‘They went through a lot of foot warmer packets, but it had to be grueling hanging out all day not really moving much. I think only one crew member reported any signs of hypothermia.’
Despite the frozen fingers of a camera operator, the uneventful weather was kind to the technical camera equipment and the costumes.
The crew used cameras that are some of the best digital cameras on the market – the RED ONE 4K. The RED ONE model was relatively new at the time and its performance had not been thoroughly tested in high-elevation cold. The camera performed remarkably well according to Moore however, and the small size of the RED ONE rigs allowed them to be dragged to and fro over snowy hill and dale.
‘Filming in the snow is difficult as it is,’ Moore said. ‘The reflection of the snow affects the color balance and the logistics of moving around are slow. Had it dumped it would have been ugly.’
Forlorn costume designer Alysia Raycraft had her work cut out for her even in mild conditions as she produced 90 percent of the costumes.
Basing her designs on period pictures of settlers and gold rush pioneers, Raycraft created costumes that accurately depicted the garb of the day while holding true to the plot of the story. The characters left camp with only one set of clothes so as the story progressed Raycraft distressed the costumes to show wear. The tricky part was making rapidly deteriorating wool, leather and cotton garments that were warm enough to sit around in the snow all day.
‘Designing the costumes was very MacGyver,’ said Raycraft while tending her sewing machine at the Cal Lodge last April. ‘We are using whatever we can to create the look while maintaining the warmth.’
Wearing modern thermal layers under the costumes was one solution Raycraft employed, but footwear was problematic.
‘We started off using actual period boots for close up shots but that didn’t work out, ‘ Raycraft said. ‘They were just too cold for sitting around in wet. When we did use the replica boots we had to duct tape hand warmer packets to the actors’ toes.’
After the crew switched to newer, more insulated boots Raycraft disguised the out-of-context footwear by lengthening the hem of most costume pants.
In addition to the custom costumes, some of the props employed in the filming were equally unique. One item in particular was the edible material used in the campfire cannibalism scenes – vegetarian seitan, a gummy ‘wheat meat’ made of wheat gluten. Strictly vegan actor Crispin Glover demanded the friendly and fleshy stand-in.
With only 15 members of the snowshoe party there wasn’t much need for extras but both Cal Lodge manager Borge and his brother Steve got to appear in small roles.
The Borge brothers played the part of haggard survivors in the final scene when rescuers summoned by the snowshoe party finally arrive at Donner Lake. They had no speaking lines, but they did get to face the reality of a two-hour session in the make-up room.
‘They coached us on what to do but it was pretty simple,’ said Dan Borge. ‘Getting dressed was pretty intense though. It made me want to have a permanent make-up and costume room for parties.’
Wrapping up the shoot after two weeks in the snow, actor Crawford was jazzed on the intensity of the Donner experience and the hospitality of the community.
‘It has been one of the toughest film shoots I have been on,’ said Crawford when he jumped inside the Cal Lodge to warm up during his final day on set. ‘Very ambitious project, but it’s been a blast.’
‘I come from a small town so I love Truckee,’ he added. ‘Everyone we’ve met has been warm, welcoming, and excited about the production.’
Looking forward to the eventual public release of the film, Crawford also commented that he hoped the lasting image of his role and that of the film would be one of ‘strength and strong will.’
‘It’s important not to forget the reality of the situation,’ Crawford said. ‘So much attention is paid to the cannibalism that it’s easy to lose focus on the triumph and the tragedy. These are people that were truly tested, making decisions that were not easy. This is a story of hope not gore.’
In recent conversations with Anacapa’s Moore he had no details to share about the film’s forthcoming release nor comments about what the movie’s impact was shaping up to be. He stated only that the picture was edited, the soundtrack was in the works and the plan is to debut the film in the festival circuit this fall.
But regardless of how much flesh-eating drama gets sensationalized on the silver screen, Cal Lodge’s Borge felt ‘The Forlorn’ is sure to impress.
‘The cast and crew were some of the most hardworking and creative people I have ever worked with,’ Borge said. ‘I don’t see how the movie could be anything but excellent.’
~ Discuss this story with the author. Email sethlightcap@moonshineink.com. For future updates on ‘The Forlorn’ check out forlornmovie.com. For further info on the Cal Lodge call 530-426-9900 or visit callodge.org.
