Several characters seen or mentioned in ‘There Will Be Blood’ seem to have been based on real life historical figures. Though his name is never spoken during the film, Plainview's business partner and H. W.'s biological father, H. B. Ailman, shares the name of a real life prospector and oilman who was active during the turn of the century and associates with oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny, of whom Daniel Plainview seems to have been partly based. The two Standard Oil representatives "H. M. Tilford" and "J. J. Carter" who meet with Plainview are based on real-life oilmen: Henry Morgan Tilford was once vice-president of the Standard Oil Company during the turn of the century, while John Joyce Carter's Carter Oil Company was incorporated and subsidized by Standard Oil (New Jersey) in the 1890s. At one point in the film, the name "A. C. Maude" is stated as a property holder in Little Boston; the real life A. C. Maude was a prominent community member of Bakersfield, California during the late 1800s; Bakersfield is located in Kern County, where over 80% of California's oil wells are found. The name "Redlick" is also stated as a nearby Little Boston property holder; Joseph Redlick was also a prominent community member of Bakersfield during the early 1900s.
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