Stephen Bly's Western Movie Take: Part 1

Stephen Bly (1944-2011)


by Stephen Bly 

 December 12, 2008










Janet went to the big city of Spokane for a few days to
Christmas shop, so I caught up on watching western movies. I pulled out Last
Stand at Saber River, a movie I watched once when it came out in 1997 on
Turner Cable Television. Turner and AMC have kept the classic western genre
alive over the years.

 



Last Stand at Saber River

Last Stand at Saber River is based on an Elmore
Leonard story. Lots of writers I know like to read Elmore Leonard novels. He
can spin a good story, although his vocabulary is not always the same as mine.




Paul Cable (Tom Selleck) is a disillusioned confederate
soldier who returns home just weeks before the end of the Civil War. With his
strong-willed pioneer wife and two children, he returns to his Arizona home to
resume a quiet life. Instead, he finds Union sympathizers have taken possession
of the ranch. He and his wife fight for the ranch ... and, at times, with each
other. Even when news that the war is over reaches him, he faces one more tough
battle.




Suzy Amis


Last Stand is a good western. They got most (but not
all) of the details right. That always pleases me. Selleck is best if he plays
roles like Tom Magnum or Matthew Quigley (Quigley Down Under). And this
is a Quigley type part. 

Suzy Amis is excellent as his strong-willed wife. She
wears the correct dress for the era, has no makeup or jewelry. She'll do to
ride the river with.

 


Haley Joel Osment

And for you film buffs, there's a very young
(9-yrs-old) Haley Joel Osment as Selleck's son. Haley Joel splashed onto our
screens with his terrific performance in The Sixth Sense. But we first
met him when he played Tom Hanks' son, Little Forrest, in Forrest Gump. His
list of movie credits is impressive and will one day, no doubt, win an Academy
Award.









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What's the last old western you saw? What did you like or dislike about it?