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The Jack Bull
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Wikipedia article
'The Jack Bull' is a 1999 American Western television film directed by John Badham and written by Dick Cusack. It is loosely based on Heinrich von Kleist's novel, 'Michael Kohlhaas'. Much of the movie was filmed at the CL Ranch and the Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary, Alberta.
Plot
Myrl Redding (John Cusack) is a horse trader living with his son Cage (Drake Bell), wife Cora (Miranda Otto) and some ranch hands. When Redding attempts to take his horses to a horse market in Casper he discovers local wealthy landowner, Henry Ballard, has erected a tollbooth on the road to Casper, which goes through Ballards property. Ballard, who disagrees with Redding regarding making Wyoming a state (which will restrict Ballards commercial opportunities), charges Redding ten dollars to pass through his land. Unable to pay, Redding leaves two horses as collateral for payment along with a Native American ranch hand, Crow, to ensure the horses are not mistreated.
After selling the horses at Casper, Redding returns to Ballards ranch to discover that the horses are malnourished and beaten, with Crow nowhere in sight. Redding vows that Ballard will pay to restore the horses health, while Ballard refuses to pay anything. Redding approaches a local lawyer seeking to sue Ballard, however the lawyer is doubtful the local judge, Judge Wilkins, who is friends with Ballard, will do anything.
Redding soon learns that the Judge Wilkins has indeed thrown out the lawsuit, prompting his wife to attempt to meet the Attorney General, whose wife she is friends with, escorted by ranch hand Woody. During her visit, some of Ballards men attack Woody and throw him in front of a horse carriage, which swerves to avoid him and ends up hitting and killing Cora. Redding, furious at the laws failure to do anything about the death of his wife and the loss of his horses, rallies a local militia of ranch owners and farmers and attacks Ballards home, sending him fleeing.
Ballard manages to plead his case to the Governor of Wyoming, who dispatches a sheriff to arrest Redding. Redding manages to ambush the Sheriffs men and in the confusion one of Ballards men is killed. Seeking to ease the escalating violence, the Governor of Wyoming offers Redding amnesty if he surrenders. Redding accepts but later sends a letter promising to support Crows tribe against the United States, jeopardizing his amnesty agreement. He is subsequently charged and convicted of murder. Ballard, meanwhile, is brought to Court and ordered to restore the horses health by a sympathetic judge, Judge Tolliver, who also orders Ballard imprisoned for two years. Nonetheless, Judge Tolliver is forced to sentence Redding to be executed following his conviction.
After saying goodbye to his son, Redding is hung and executed. Wyoming becomes a state, and Reddings son Cage and Woody take the two healthy horses back to the Reddings ranch.
Cast
* John Cusack Myrl Redding
* John Goodman Judge Joe B. Tolliver
* L.Q. Jones Henry Ballard
* Miranda Otto Cora Redding
* John C. McGinley Woody
* Rodney A. Grant Billy
* Kurt Fuller Conrad
* Rex Linn Shelby Dykes
* Drake Bell Cage Redding
* Ken Pogue - Judge Wilkins
* Scott Wilson Governor
* Dick Cusack Jury Foreman
Soundtrack
* Music by Lennie Niehaus
* "Ring Them Bells" Bob Dylan
References
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