Purgatory (TV 1999)

An outlaw band rides into a town that is actually Purgatory, between Heaven and Hell.

Director:

Uli Edel

Writer:

Gordon T. Dawson

Stars:

Sam Shepard, Eric Roberts, Randy Quaid

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Shepard	...	Sheriff Forrest / Wild Bill Hickock
Eric Roberts	...	Blackjack Britton
Randy Quaid	...	Doc Woods / Doc Holliday
Peter Stormare	...	Cavin Guthrie
Brad Rowe	...	Leo 'Sonny' Dillard
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Deputy Glen / Billy The Kid
JD Souther	...	Brooks / Jesse James (as John David Souther)
Amelia Heinle	...	Rose / Betty McCullough
Shannon Kenny	...	Dolly Sloan / Ivy
John Dennis Johnston	...	Lamb / 'Lefty' Slade
Saginaw Grant	...	Gatekeeper
Richard Edson	...	Euripides
Gregory Scott Cummins	...	Knox
John Diehl	...	Badger
R.G. Armstrong	...	Coachman

Storyline

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven...or screw up and go to Hell. The residents must either defend themselves against the outlaws and risk eternal damnation... or die a second time.

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Plot Keywords:

outlaw | hell | bank robbery | small town | heaven | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Western

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

TNT [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Purgatory West of the Pecos

Filming Locations:

Barstow, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rosemont Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of R.G. Armstrong.

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Goofs

In the final gunfight scenes, Rose is wearing a plastic hair clip. Plastic wasn't invented until 1907, more than 20 years after James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickock was killed.

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Quotes

Blackjack: Sheriff, your mother's a whore!
Forest: I have no mother.

User Reviews

A fun mix of Western-style action and religious parable

The idea of making the religious realm of Purgatory into an old Western town sounds fairly bizarre, but it makes for a very fun and entertaining movie. The plot mainly involves a gang of outlaws led by Blackjack (Eric Roberts) on the run who end up in a town that is none other than the realm of judgment itself. The town is populuated by the worst outlaws of the old west (Billy the Kid, Jesse James, etc.) who have been given a second chance at salvation- if they can survive an indeterminate period of time without giving in to temptations to sin, they will be saved. When the outlaws decide to pillage the town, it's occupants are faced with a crisis of conscience. There's a lot to enjoy about this movie: Sam Shepard and Randy Quaid fun to watch as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, and Eric Roberts, overacting as always, actually makes for a very convincing outlaw. And the climactic gunfight is a simply spectacular piece of action filmmaking. If you missed this when it appeared on TV, I would suggest renting it when it comes out on video- I doubt you'll be disappointed.