The Plainsman (1936)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Courtney Ryley Cooper (story)
Frank J. Wilstach (story)

Release Date:

16 November 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | History | Romance | War | Western

Tagline:

Cecile B. DeMille brings you Gary and Jean in their grandest picture...the story of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, the hardest boiled pair of lovers who ever rode the plains...a glorious romance set against the whole flaming pageant of the Old West...

Plot:

Wild Bill Hickok attempts to stop an Indian uprising that was started by white gun-runners.

Plot Keywords:

Rifle | Wild Bill Hickok | Buffalo | Repeating Rifle | Calamity Jane

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Wild Bill Hickok
Jean Arthur	...	Calamity Jane
James Ellison	...	William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Charles Bickford	...	John Lattimer
Helen Burgess	...	Louisa Cody
Porter Hall	...	Jack McCall
Paul Harvey	...	Yellow Hand
Victor Varconi	...	Painted Horse
John Miljan	...	Gen. George A. Custer
Frank McGlynn Sr.	...	Abraham Lincoln
Granville Bates	...	Van Ellyn
Frank Albertson	...	Young trooper
Purnell Pratt	...	Capt. Wood
Fred Kohler	...	Jake (teamster) (as Fred Kohler Sr.)
Pat Moriarity	...	Sgt. McGinnis (as Pat Moriarty)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Norway:16 | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2597)

Filming Locations:

Birney, Montana, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Factual errors: According to the film, Custer's Last Stand and the establishment of the boom town of Deadwood occur shortly after the end of the Civil War in 1865. In actuality they happened 11 years later in 1876.

Quotes:

Calamity Jane: Maybe you're just bein' nice to me because you think you won't ever see me again.
Wild Bill Hickok: Sure, sure I'll see you again. This is a big country and trails cross sometimes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

Pass This One Up

I really wanted to like this western, being a fan of the genre and a fan of "Buffalo Bill," "Wild Bill Hickok," and "Calamity Jane," all of whom are in this story! Add to the mix Gary Cooper as the lead actor, and it sounded great.

The trouble was.....it wasn't. I found myself looking at my watch just 40 minutes into this, being bored to death. Jean Arthur's character was somewhat annoying and James Ellison just did not look like nor act like "Buffalo Bill." Cooper wasn't at his best, either, sounding too wooden. This was several years before he hit his prime as an actor.

In a nutshell, his western shot blanks. Head up the pass and watch another oater because most of 'em were far better than this one.