The Jack Bull (1999)

After being wrongfully denied justice, a horse trader seeks his own justice on a treacherous rancher.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Heinrich von Kleist (book), Dick Cusack

Stars:

John Cusack, John Goodman, L.Q. Jones

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Myrl Redding
John Goodman	...	Judge Tolliver
L.Q. Jones	...	Henry Ballard
Miranda Otto	...	Cora Redding
John C. McGinley	...	Woody
John Savage	...	Slater
Rodney A. Grant	...	Billy
Kurt Fuller	...	Conrad
Rex Linn	...	Shelby Dykes
Jay O. Sanders	...	Atty. Gen. Metcalfe
Drake Bell	...	Cage Redding
Nick Gillie	...	Ollie (as Nicholas E. Gillie)
Duncan Fraser	...	Edsel Fraser
Ken Pogue	...	Judge Wilkins
Glenn Morshower	...	Col. Jeffries (as Glen Morshower)

Storyline

The Jack Bull tells the story of Myrl Redding, a Wyoming horse trader who clashes with Henry Ballard, a fellow rancher, after Ballard abuses two of Myrl's horses and their Crow Indian caretaker, Billy. When Judge Wilkins throws out Myrl's complaint, the war he wages to force Ballard to nurse the emaciated animals back to health escalates into a vigilante manhunt, murder and the possible defeat of Wyoming's bid for statehood.

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Plot Keywords:

horse trader | justice | wyoming | death of wife | frontier justice | 

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Taglines:

All men want justice. Few are willing to pay the price.

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some Western violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jack Bull

Filming Locations:

Heritage Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), New Crime Productions, River One Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Wyoming state flag depicts a bison bull; The word "jack" is an archaic term for a flag; An early version of this flag appears in the film.

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Goofs

At the pivotal moment of the hanging, the safety rig is clearly seen behind the noose, holding up Myrl's suit jacket at the collar.

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Quotes

Myrl Redding: [to his son] Now listen to me... Somebody steps on your rights, go after him. Never give up... never.
[pause]
Myrl Redding: Just be smarter than I was.

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Connections

Version of Michael Kohlhaas - Der Rebell (1969)

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Soundtracks

Ring them Bells
Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by Bob Dylan
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

What message?

This film does a decent job of creating the feel of the late 1800s in the Wyoming territory and there are some decent performances. Having said that, I have to disagree with the posts that suggest this had some sort of redeeming message. What was it? The "bad guys" won-Cusack's character managed to get his wife killed (very predictable but the whole scenario was not even close to being consistent with the "Old West", or with Cusack's character up to that point) and to get himself hung for a crime he didn't commit, making his young son an orphan. The villain in the movie gets off with only two years in prison. How is that a good message? There were other problems as well. Cusack has a Crow Indian working for him, (eating at the same table with the family in one scene) and is not ostracized by the other people in town. Highly unlikely, given the treatment of Indians by white settlers everywhere (but very PC). There is a black man who is treated as an equal by a powerful rancher and a judge, even more unlikely in 19th century America. All in all, a film to miss.