Grim Prairie Tales
Encyclopedia
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, directed and written by Wayne Coe, and starring James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
and Brad Dourif
Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude "Brad" Dourif is an American film and television actor who gained early fame for his portrayal of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and has since appeared in a number of memorable roles, including the voice of Chucky in the Child's Play franchise, Younger Brother in...
. It is an anthology film
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
of four western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
stories, told by two travellers around a prairie campfire. Morrison (Jones) is a grizzled bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
carrying a body, while Farley Deeds (Dourif) is a clerk on the way to a romantic reunion with his wife.
Synopsis
The first story, told by Morrison, is about an IndianNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribe's revenge against the man (played by Will Hare
Will Hare
Will Hare was an American actor who appeared on television and films, often playing old crusty figures and father/grandpa roles.Hare was born in Elkins, West Virginia, the son of Frances Laetitia and George Thomas Hare.-Career:He had appeared on stage, screen, and television since he was 17...
) who desecrates their burial ground
Burial Ground
Burial Ground is the ninth studio album by Swedish death metal band Grave, released in June 2010.-Track listing:# "Liberation" - 3:40# "Semblance In Black" - 7:50# "Dismembered Mind" - 6:10# "Ridden With Belief" - 7:57# "Conquerer" - 4:44...
. When that tale fails to impress Deeds, the second story, also by Morrison, tells about a man (played by Marc McClure
Marc McClure
Marc A. McClure is an American actor. McClure was born in San Mateo, California. He is not, despite a popular misconception, related to the late Doug McClure.-Superman film series:...
) who helps a seductive seemingly pregnant woman (played by Michelle Joyner) in trouble. Deeds then responds with the only non-supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
story of the three, about a homesteader family whose father (played by William Atherton
William Atherton
William Atherton , born William Atherton Knight II, is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Roby and Robert Atherton Knight...
) is forced to participate in a lynch mob. Finally, Morrison tells about a gunslinger
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
(played by Scott Paulin
Scott Paulin
Scott Paulin is an American actor and television director.-Career:His work includes appearances in well-known television series like House M.D., ER, Cold Case, 24 and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
) haunted by a man he kills.
The next morning, Deeds points out to Morrison that the body he's carrying doesn't match the description on the wanted poster; Morrison cuts the body loose and rides out.
Atherton appeared in the lead role in the 1978 NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television western miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Centennial
Centennial (miniseries)
Centennial is a 12-episode American television miniseriesthat aired on NBC from October 1978 to February 1979. It was based on the novel of the same name by James A. Michener. The miniseries was produced by John Wilder....
. Tom Simcox
Tom Simcox
Thomas William Simcox, known as Tom Simcox is a former actor who resides in the unincorporated community of Leona Valley west of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, California....
appeared in Grim Prairie Tales as the character Horn. In an acting career from 1962-1991, he appeared in eight Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
episodes and in other television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
.
External links
- "Grim Prairie Tales" New York Times review by Stephen Holden
- GrimPrairieTales.com serves as Wayne Coe's personal site