Montana Sky (2007)

The wealthy stock dealer bequeaths his Montana farm to the three daughters provided they would live there together at least for a year.

Director:

Mike Robe

Writers:

April Smith (teleplay), Nora Roberts (novel)

Stars:

Ashley Williams, Charlotte Ross, Diane Ladd

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ashley Williams	...	Willa Mercy
Charlotte Ross	...	Tess Mercy
Diane Ladd	...	Bess
Laura Mennell	...	Lily Mercy
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Adam Wolfchild
Aaron Pearl	...	Nate
Tom Carey	...	Jim
John Corbett	...	Ben McKintock
Scott Heindl	...	Jesse Carne
James Baker	...	Ham
Donovan Workun	...	Pickles
Stephen Hair	...	Ken Campbell
James D. Hopkin	...	Preacher
Heather Lea MacCallum	...	Coroner
James Dugan	...	Vet

Storyline

Cancer-deceased stock trader Jack Mercy's funeral is where his three daughters Willa, who lived on his Montana cattle ranch, shy Lily and Hollywoodian Tess, from different mothers, meet. The notary and neighbor Ben McKintock, who fancies Willa, are to supervise the surprising last will: the girls only inherit 1/3 each of the $24,000,000 estate after cohabiting there for a year. Tess and Munroe County's gentleman sheriff Nate Torrence, a hunky vet, fall in love. So do Lily and Adam Wolfchild, a half-blood ranch-hand, but her abusive husband, ex-con Jesse Carne, stops at nothing to get her back. But is he the one who viciously kills ranch animals and ranch-hand Pickles?

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | funeral | abusive ex husband | sibling relationship | inheritance | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Lifetime TV

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nora Roberts' Montana Sky

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lifetime Television,Mandalay Entertainment,Stephanie Germain Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nora Roberts: One of the couples dancing in the wedding scene.

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Goofs

As Lily and Jesse are about to step into the river, Jesse's blue jeans are noticeably already wet up to just above the ankles - exactly the height the river is when they finally step into it.

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Quotes

Tess: Jack teach you all this stuff?
Willa: Ya between his benders... be glad you're the one that got away.
Tess: Ya well, you're the one he kept.

User Reviews

Lord have Mercy

Montana Sky opens with the death of the family patriarch, a man named Mercy who like Ben Cartwright fathered three children legitimately, except in his case it was daughters instead of sons. But a role model like Lorne Greene this guy wasn't. One daughter Ashley Williams stayed home and learned the ranch business. The other two were from trophy wives, Charlotte Ross and Laura Mennell. Ross is a screenwriter and Mennell is hoping to escape from a batterer whom she married.

For the zillionth time an eccentric will is the thing the plot turns on. The estate after a couple of cash bequests is worth 24 million dollars and the half sisters who don't know each other have to live and work the ranch for a year for any of them to inherit any of it. Eight million dollars is a mighty powerful argument to induce the sisters especially Ross to stay and make a go of it. Poor Mennell just wants to find refuge.

There's also someone slaughtering animals in a particularly sadistic way on the place. It could be Mennell's ex-husband Scott Heindl or maybe someone else also has a grudge.

I have to say that the three women had some nice chemistry between them or otherwise Montana Sky would not have worked. The vast western vistas are really something, better than the mostly studio based photography on Bonanza. Ross especially impressed me as she essayed a character who saw some considerable growth in character over the course of the story.

That's worth seeing Montana Sky in and of itself.