Chicago newspaper reporter Ernie Souchak is investigating a corrupt alderman. While doing an exposé on some shady land dealings, he is assaulted by two crooked police officers sent by the alderman and ends up in the hospital. Souchak's editor decides to send him out of town for his own safety. A city boy, Souchak reluctantly travels to the Rockies to interview the reclusive Dr. Nell Porter, who has been conducting research on the American 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 admire Porter for her strong character and dedication. Eventually, they fall in love. At first, she lets him stay as long as he doesn't write his story. As they learn to respect each other, she agrees to let him write about her. During his adventures, he sprains his back in an accident, is mauled by a mountain lion, and meets an All-American football player who has left civilization and become a mountain man. Souchak returns to Chicago with her very much on his mind. When he finds out that one of his sources has been "accidentally" killed, he once again doggedly pursues the investigation until the alderman is forced to flee the country. The same day, Souchak finds out that Porter is coming to Chicago to present a museum lecture on her work. With some uncertainty, he decides to attend, and they quickly 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 live without each other and decide to marry. Souchak catches the next train back to Chicago, but the newlyweds promise to meet again very soon.
Singer Helen Reddy performed the "Theme from Continental Divide ". The Ernie Souchak character was loosely based on longtime Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko.
Reception
As of February 2019, Continental Divide holds a rating of 70% at the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews.
Filming locations
Many of the scenes were filmed around Chicago:
Belushi's character works for the Chicago Sun-Times with many scenes filmed in and around the now demolished Sun-Times building on the Chicago River.
Many of the mountain scenes were filmed in Colorado in Custer County. Other scenes were filmed at:
Railroad station in Chicago was not Union Station, but the old Chicago & Northwestern Terminal made up to look like an Amtrak station. Amtrak does not operate out of this terminal.
All tent scenes were filmed in the Cascades at Crystal Mountain, with Mt. Rainier nearby. It was at in elevation and the snow was real, but behind the cameras was the Summit House restaurant at the top of the chairlift.
The final scene of the film takes place in "Victor, Wyoming" but is actually the old Cedar Falls train depot on Rattlesnake Lake near North Bend, WA. The station building is now gone and the railroad line is now the John Wayne Pioneer Trail/Snoqualmie Valley Trail, a popular biking route.
