Clint Eastwood, Carrie Snodgress, Michael Moriarty, Sydney Penny
Director:
Clint Eastwood
Awards:
Highest grossing western of the 1980s
Summary:
Based on the Biblical prediction of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Pale Rider represents Death. In this movie Death is personified as a mysterious stranger – The Preacher – who arrives in answer to a prayer to help protect a group of gold-mining families from the local bullies who are trying to run them off their claims.
Review:
I have always been a big Clint Eastwood fan and in my opinion, this is one of his best performances. Eastwood shines as the quintessential Western hero – strong, silent, loyal, and brave, but with a little edgy darkness surrounding him.
Have you seen this movie? Would it be YOUR top choice?
Adam Beach, August Schellenberg, Aidan Quinn, Anna Paquin, Eric Schweig
Director:
Yves Simoneau
Awards:
Primetime Emmy Award
Summary:
This is a thoughtful portrayal of the complex events leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. All sides of the conflict are explored in a sympathetic and realistic manner.
Review:
I like this movie because it maintains the dignity of the Native Americans, without being sentimental. The solid acting and well-written dialogue save the story from becoming a melodrama. Instead, the sad events of history unfold in multiple ways to explain the inevitable demise of the Great Sioux Nation.
Have you seen this movie? Would it be YOUR top choice?
Q: What is the difference between a wigwam and a tipi,tepee,or teepee?
A: A wigwam is a static, dome-shaped hut, covered in bark or animal skins stretched over a framework of poles. It was traditionally common in the Great Lakes region:
Wigwam
A tipi, however, was the portable cone-shaped tent used by the Sioux and other Plains Indians. It is also made from animal hide stretched over long poles, though it also has a smoke flap at the top:
She was first called Matoaka – later known as Amonute – nicknamed Pocahontas because it meant spoiled child – and took the name Rebecca after converting to Christianity.
This legendary character was the daughter of Chief Powhatan.
Of his 27 children, she was said to have been his favorite.
She often advised her father, and became a successful peacemaker between the Native Americans and the First Colonists.
In 1613 she as captured by the English and held for a ransom her father refused to pay.
She became the wife of a tobacco planter called John Rolfe.
They married in 1614.
In January 1615 they had a son named Thomas.
The following year the Rolfes travelled to London, presenting Pocahontas as a “civilized savage” to promote investment in the Jamestown settlement.
She died on the journey back to Virginia – still in her early 20s – possibly from smallpox, pneumonia, tuberculosis, or even poison.
Her body was taken from the ship and buried in Kent, England.
The Disney Myth
Pocahontas probably did not save John Smith’s life by throwing herself on his body to prevent his execution.
As she was only 10 years old when she met Smith, it is highly unlikely they had the type of romance depicted in the Disney movie.
People who knew Smith describe him as an abrasive, mercenary, ambitious, self-promoting soldier, who was not very pleasant.
Pocahontas always denied Smith’s version of events, refused to meet with him, and publically called him a liar.
Whatever the facts behind the Pocahontas myth, she was – and continues to be – a great ambassador for her people. The Disney movie might be forgiven for factual inaccuracies because their version of her story has helped promote tolerance and understanding between different American cultures!
An old cowboy went riding out, one dark and windy day,
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way,
When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw
A-plowing through the ragged sky and up the cloudy draw.
Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel,
Their horns were black and shiny, and their hot breath he could feel,
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
For he saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cry:
Yippie yi ooh! Yippie yi yay!
Ghost riders in the sky.
Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred, their shirts all soaked with sweat.
He’s riding hard to catch that herd, but he ain’t caught them yet,
Because they’ve got to ride forever on that range up in the sky,
On horses snorting fire,
As they ride on, hear their cry.
As the riders loped on by him he heard one call his name –
“If you want to save your soul from hell a-riding on our range,
Then cowboy, change your ways today, or with us you will ride
Trying to catch the devil’s herd, across these endless skies!”
Yippie yi ooh! Yippie yi yay!
Ghost riders in the sky.
Ghost riders in the sky.
Ghost Riders in the sky.
The Pinkerton Detective Agency was founded by a former police officer – Allan Pinkerton – in 1850.
Their first office was in Chicago.
During the Civil War the Pinkertons gained fame as the personal body-guards to the president-elect, Abraham Lincoln. They claimed to have foiled an early assassination plot against him.
At the height of its power the Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency was the largest private law-enforcement agency in the world.
They also acted as strike-breakers, sometimes hiring goon-squads to intimidate workers during labor disputes.
Kate Warne became the first female detective in 1856.
John Scobell was their first African-American Intelligence Agent during the Civil War.
Their Conduct Code included: 1. No bribes – 2. No compromising with criminals – 3. Support local law-enforcement – 4. Refuse divorce cases – 5. Avoid scandal cases – 6. Do not accept reward money – 7. Only raise client fees with prior notification – and 8. Give clients regular updates on progress.
The Pinkertons were hired to pursue the James-Younger Gang, the Dalton Gang, and Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch.
They were the first detectives to collect mug shots and develop a criminal database.
When Allan Pinkerton died in 1884 the business passed to his sons, Robert and William. Later it went to his grandson, Allan Pinkerton II (1907), and then to his great-grandson, Robert Pinkerton II (1930).
In 1906 there were 20 U.S. offices, and when the corporate office moved to New York in 1960 the agency began expanding internationally.
Today, it is the largest security services provider in the world and recently relocated to a new global headquarters in Michigan.
Their famous logo – “We Never Sleep” – triggered the nickname private eye for all future detectives.
