DEAD MAN'S WALK {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
The first in this two-part Western miniseries, based on Larry McMurty's 1995 novel and serving as a prequel to the events of "Lonesome Dove," following a group of Texas Rangers as they embark upon the Texan Santa Fe Expedition in the 1840s. In this installment, Comanche warrior Buffalo Hump receives a warning from his grandmother to "beware the dark woman on a white mare." Elsewhere, Major Chevallie makes camp with his men, including junior rangers Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, who wonder anxiously about their next payday, wishing to spend their funds on some time with Matilda Jane, the resident prostitute. Scouts Bigfoot Wallace and Shadrach return to the group, reporting that a group of nearby Comaches have recently tortured a Mexican man to death, and the men engage in a grim conversation about the best ways to end one's life to evade a prolonged death while captured. They are soon joined by two scalphunters, Kirker and Glanton, and when the men realize that they have killed and scalped several Mexican peasants, including children, rather than the Comanches that they are legally permitted to kill, they demand to hang the outlaws, though Chevallie refuses. On a late-night watch, McCrae declares that they are hearing not coyotes but Comanches "talking in animal," and when he drunkenly wanders off to investigate, he is frightened to spot Buffalo Hump watching the camp from above.
The next day, the group is attacked by Buffalo Hump and the rest of his tribe, including expert marksman Kicking Wolf, killing the Major and injuring Johnny Carthage. When Zeke chases after his partner Josh, Buffalo Hump chases him down and scalps him without stopping, and only Matilda is willing to run out into the open to rescue him. Long Bill Coleman tends to Carthage's arrow wound, and though Matilda assures a traumatized Zeke that he will survive the scalping, he fatally shoots himself and is buried alongside Josh. Three months later, the survivors have taken up resident in Austin, and McCrae eagerly tells Call about the expedition to Santa Fe, led by infamous pirate Caleb Cobb. Despite Call's certainty that they will face another Alamo-like defeat, he agrees to sign up for the adventure, overseen by Cobb's officious Scottish Captain Billy Falconer. Bigfoot warns Cobb about Buffalo Hump, though he seems unfazed, and the Rangers inform Cobb that General Lloyd, who has also joined the party, is an unreliable drunk. Heading to the general store for supplies, McCrae is instantly smitten by the flirtatious Clara Forsythe and declares his intentions to marry her, while elsewhere Call visits his own "sweetheart," local prostitute Maggie, and bids her farewell. McCrae then injures himself on a nighttime stroll and Call visits the general store for some liniment, prompting a jealous McCrae to fear that his friend is sweet on his own gal.
McCrae stays behind as the expedition departs, and when they come to a stop by a river after sixty miles, they are again attacked by Comanches and Call kills one of them for the first time. McCrae visits Clara, who does not quite accept his proposal, though makes it clear that she will welcome him home gladly when he returns from Mexico. Cobb promotes Call to corporal when he learns of the kill, though Falconer is less than impressed, and McCrae arrives just in time to learn that his best pal now outranks him. Aware that they are still being followed by the Comanches, Cobb shocks the others by declaring that he intends to have a parlay with Buffalo Hump. Interpreter Bes Das tells Call and McCrae that Buffalo Hump considers them "his," as they have repeatedly "cheated his lance," revealing that the scout killed by Call was in fact Buffalo Hump's son. Kirker and Glanton catch up with the group and are again rejected for their savage behavior, and when Cobb and Buffalo Hump sit down for their conversation, Buffalo Hump demands ownership of Matilda and of Falconer's rifle. Cobb tactfully states that Matilda "belongs" to Shadrach but agrees to the second demand, and when Falconer refuses to give up his beloved weapon, Cobb shoots him dead and takes it.
Shadrach soon kills a buffalo that stampedes through the party's camp, and Matilda officially "retires" from her profession as she and Shadrach agree to commit to one another for real. The expedition suffers another setback when a wagon crashes as they approach the edge of a steep canyon, and Cobb soon learns that Bes Das has made off with twenty of their best horses. A brush fire, presumably set by the Comanches, forces the party to the edge of the canyon and, realizing that they must "jump or fry," the explorers climb down the steep rock face, with several men and horses falling to their deaths as Buffalo Hump looks on ruthlessly. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: May 12, 1996 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:30:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:43339
- GENRE: Drama, western
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western; Drama, historical; Literature - Adaptations; Native Americans; Texas; Indigenous Peoples Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Suzanne De Passe … Executive Producer
- Robert Halmi Jr. … Executive Producer
- Larry Levinson … Executive Producer
- Diana Ossana … Executive Producer, Writer
- Larry McMurtry … Executive Producer, Based on the novel by
- Frank Q. Dobbs … Co-Producer
- Joe Lunne … Associate Producer
- Yves Simoneau … Director
- David Bell … Music by
- F. Murray Abraham … Cast, Caleb Cobb
- Keith Carradine … Cast, Bigfoot Wallace
- Patricia Childress … Cast, Matilda Jane
- Brian Dennehy … Cast, Major Chevallie
- Edward James Olmos … Cast, Captain Salazar
- Eric Schweig … Cast, Buffalo Hump
- Harry Dean Stanton … Cast, Shadrach
- David Arquette … Cast, Augustus McCrae
- Jonny Lee Miller … Cast, Woodrow F. Call
- Ray McKinnon … Cast, Long Bill Coleman
- Jennifer Garner … Cast, Clara Forsythe
- Tim Blake Nelson … Cast, Johnny Carthage
- Alastair Duncan … Cast, Capt. Billy Falconer
- Brad Greenquist … Cast, Kirker
- Rodger Boyce … Cast, Clara's Father
- Kieran Mulroney … Cast, Jimmy Tweed
- Jared Rushton … Cast, Wesley Buttons
- Rodger Boyce … Cast, Clara's Father
- Ed Cantrell … Cast, Brognoli
- Rutherford Cravens … Cast, Elihu Carson
- Matt Davison … Cast, Jackie Buttons
- Eula Doonkeen … Cast, Buffalo Hump's Grandmother
- Grant James … Cast, Joe Nibbs
- Jonathon Joss … Cast, Kicking Wolf
- Steve Larson … Cast, Ezekiel Moody
- Molly McClure … Cast, Old Lady in Austin
- Toby Metcalf … Cast, Blackie Slidell
- Gretchen Mol … Cast, Maggie
- Robert Norseworthy … Cast, Dr. Norris
- Bert Roberts … Cast, General Lloyd
- Marvin 'Skeeter' Roubison … Cast, Josh Corn
- Jimmie Skaggs … Cast, Bes Das
- Boots Southerland … Cast, Glanton
- Julius Tennon … Cast, Black Sam
- Hugo Urrutia … Cast, San Saba Jefe
- Kerry Wallum … Cast, Turner
- Robert Whipple … Cast, Fast Boy