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		The Plainsman
The Plainsman The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links Compositions: Films Previous: Penelope Next: A Guide for the Married Man Chronological filmography Alphabetical filmography Television films Miscellanea		The Film Release date: September 9, 1966 Studio: Universal Pictures Running time: 96 minutes Director: David Lowell Rich Cast: Don Murray, Guy Stockwell, Abby Dalton, Bradford Dillman, Henry Silva, Simon Oakland, Leslie Nielsen, Edward Binns, Percy Rodriguez, Terry Wilson, Walter Burke, Emily Banks Technical information: mono, color This remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1936 Western of the same name was originally filmed as a two-hour TV movie (simultaneously serving as a pilot for a proposed CBS television series). It was scheduled to air on February 10, 1966, but according to wire service reports, it "turned out to be so good that...Universal-MCA asked permission...to show it first in theaters." The Plainsman was  released theatrically in September of that year on the bottom half of a double bill with William Castle's Let's Kill Uncle.  It finally aired on television on March 10, 1969, on NBC's Monday Night at the Movies.
		As the story begins, Wild Bill Hickok (Murray, who occasionally seems to be impersonating Clint Eastwood) is returning to Hays City, Kansas, having just been released from the Union Army following the Civil War. Along his way, he is attacked by a group of Cheyenne Indians led by Crazy Knife (Silva), who steals Hickok's horse and is on the verge of killing him when Black Kettle (Oakland) intercedes. Hickok learns that the Cheyenne have acquired repeating rifles from an unknown supplier and that Black Kettle wants to keep the peace, while Crazy Knife is bent on war. Heading into town on foot, Wild Bill meets up with a stagecoach driven by Calamity Jane (Dalton, whose performance is way over the top), his off and on romantic interest. In town, Bill meets up with a London Times reporter who wants to interview him, a sheriff who wants to deputize him, a businessman (Binns) who wants to cheat him at cards, and Buffalo Bill Cody (Stockwell); Cody has also just returned from the war and has recently married. Before long, Hickok and Cody are drafted into assisting the cavalry in learning who is supplying the Cheyenne with weapons and averting an Indian war. Jane is kidnapped, and eventually rescued by Wild Bill; Hickok then comes to the rescue of Cody and the cavalry, who are boxed in by Crazy Knife's followers. A war is averted and Hickok rides back to town to confront the gun runner, whose identity is now known. After the requisite shootout, Hickok and Cody must face charges of insubordination and are defended by a certain Colonel George A. Custer (Nielsen). In spite of incorporating virtually every Western cliché, the film generates little excitement. (Writing in The New York Times, Howard Thompson quipped: "It's a toss-up as to who looks more bored, the Indians or the horses.")
The Plainsman The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		The Music Music Score: Johnny Williams Music Supervision: Stanley Wilson Composed around the time of his somewhat more ambitious score to The Rare Breed, Williams' score for The Plainsman doesn't offer the melodic variety of of his previous Western effort, but does provide further evidence that by this point in his career the composer was quite skilled at his craft. The score's principal theme is more or less associated with Wild Bill Hickock, the film's main protagonist. The tune is modal (Mixolydian — G major with a flattened seventh), harmonized with major chords. It is answered by a related "B" theme in G major. During a very brief prologue of a Civil War battle, bugle calls are woven into the score. A solo trumpet then hints at the main theme, which is presented in full as the credits roll. Unfortunately, Williams chose to add a contemporary spin by including a pop-vocal chorus in the accompaniment; this dates the main title rather badly. After a brief respite, where the score makes way for a bell-like tune from Hickock's musical pocket watch, percussion heralds the danger of an Indian attack. An exciting 6/8 scherzo based on the main theme then accompanies a chase sequence; this is the finest scoring in the film. Much of the remainder of the score is comprised of rather standard humorous (for the scenes in Hays City) and suspenseful cues. A few of these incorporate the main theme. Two sequences which stand out are the brass chorales of "Abe's Death" and a five minute cue accompanying Hickock's torture and interrogation at the hands of Crazy Knife. During the first attack at "Snowden's Canyon", Williams' music provides most of the excitement: an accelerating tempo creates the impression of increased speed when the images themselves are rather static. Given the limited ambitions of the film (and, presumably, the limitations of the scoring budget since this was intended as a TV movie) Williams does a decent job of helping the story to move along as briskly as possible. Since the characterizations are cartoonish, there is no need for the music to delve into the psychology of the protagonists.
The Plainsman The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		Audio No recording of any of Williams' music from The Plainsman has ever been released.
		Video The film is not available on video and is rarely shown on television.
The Plainsman The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		References "Review: The Plainsman," Howard Thompson New York Times, Nov 19 1966, 26:1
The Plainsman The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		Links Internet Movie Database entry for The Plainsman Cinebooks Database entry for The Plainsman All Movie Guide entry for The Plainsman
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