Last Stand at Saber River (1997)

After the Civil War, a returning Confederate veteran must reclaim his Arizona land and homestead from the Yankee carpetbaggers who illegally occupy it.

Director:

Dick Lowry

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (novel), Ronald M. Cohen (teleplay)

Stars:

Tom Selleck, Suzy Amis, Rachel Duncan

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Selleck	...	Paul Cable
Suzy Amis	...	Martha Cable
Rachel Duncan	...	Clare Cable
Haley Joel Osment	...	Davis Cable
Keith Carradine	...	Vern Kidston
David Carradine	...	Duane Kidston
Tracey Needham	...	Lorraine Kidston
Chris Stacy	...	Chris
Harry Carey Jr.	...	James Sanford
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Austin Dodd
Eugene Osment	...	Wynn Dodd (as Michael Osment)
Denis Forest	...	Cornet
David Dukes	...	Edward Janroe
Lumi Cavazos	...	Luz
Raymond Cruz	...	Manuel

Storyline

As America recovers from the Civil War, one man tries to put the pieces of his life back together but finds himself fighting a new battle on the frontier. Cable is an embittered Confederate soldier who returns from the war to reclaim his Arizona homestead from rebel pioneers who sympathize with the Union war effort. Desperate to rebuild the life he once knew, Cable ultimately joins forces with Vern Kidston, his Union adversary to make a last stand for the one thing worth fighting for -- his family.

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Plot Keywords:

river | fort lowell arizona | rifle | one armed gunfighter | husband thought dead reappears | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Harry Carey Jr.'s final acting role before his death on December 27, 2012 at the age of 91.

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Goofs

During the runaway wagon scene, the girl's position as she prepares to jump changes back and forth, from perched on the edge of the wagon with one leg outside (in long shots) to being completely inside the wagon in close shots).

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Quotes

Edward Janroe: You know, the Dodd brothers will never forget you killed Joe Bob?
Paul Cable: There's only one Dodd left.

User Reviews

Good Cast, Good Western

Tom Selleck made a couple of made-for-cable TV westerns that were very good, and this is one of them. The always-reliable Selleck is convincig in the lead role and Suzy Amis is fun to watch to in the corresponding female lead. It's also kind of neat to see a very young Haley Joel Osment two years before he became famous in "The Sixth Sense."

Once again, as these westerns tend to be, the viewer is treated to some beautiful scenery and in addition, a good story of a man taking taking family back home to Arizona - not the north or south - after the Civil War and not finding a nice welcome from the home folks.

In this film, we also get two Carradines: David and Keith, villains but not as despicable as many are shown in other westerns. The Carradine family has produced some really fine actors over the years.

It's just another one of these solid, relatively-unknown westerns that I am glad to discover. I'm sorry to see only three other reviews of this as of my writing. Apparently there are many others out there who have yet to discover this gem.

Details

Official Sites:

TNT

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last Stand at Saber River

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

TNT, TWS Productions II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Todd-AO)

Color:

Color (Eastman Kodak) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1