Heartland (film)

{{Short description|1979 American film directed by Richard Pearce}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Heartland

| image = Heartland1979.jpg

| caption = DVD cover

| director = Richard Pearce

| producer = Beth Ferris
Michael Hausman

| writer = Beth Ferris
William Kittredge
Elinore Randall Stewart

| narrator =

| starring = Conchata Ferrell
Rip Torn
Lilia Skala
Barry Primus
Megan Folsom

| music = Charles Gross

| cinematography = Fred Murphy

| editing = Bill Yahraus

| studio = Filmhaus
The National Endowment for the Humanities
Wilderness Women

| distributor = Levitt-Pickman

| released = {{Film date|1979|09|22}}

| runtime = 96 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

|gross=$1.4 million{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/297/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=297}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada

| budget =

}}

Heartland is a 1979 American film, directed by Richard Pearce,[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/77598/heartland Turner Classic Movies] starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell.[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/heartland-1981 Heartland Movie Review & Film Summary (1981)-Roger Ebert.com] The film is a stark depiction of early homestead life in the American West. It is based on a memoir by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, titled Letters of a Woman Homesteader (1914).[https://www.willowandthatch.com/heartland-1979-edwardian-frontier-period-drama-review/ 5 Reasons to Watch the Movie Heartland·Willow and Thatch]

Plot

In 1910 Wyoming, Elinor, a widow, and her seven-year old daughter Jerrine travel by train to a remote Montana ranch where Elinor has a job working as a housekeeper for Clyde Stewart, a reserved Scottish rancher.[http://henstoothvideo.com/drama/ Hen's Tooth Video][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOVgsOXJg_I Heartland Trailer 1981-Video Detective on YouTube] The ranch is a lonely place and the only other woman nearby is an elderly German widow, Mrs. Landauer.

After seeing the beauty of the Montana countryside, Elinor becomes determined to file a claim; however, she can not afford to build a house on her new land. Clyde agrees to build her a house if she marries him.

The new family faces hardship during the winter when they run low on money and hay for the animals. Elinor becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy. However, he dies of a fever several weeks later. By the end of the winter, Clyde has lost half of his herd. Elinor refuses to give up and they decide to stay and rebuild the herd.

Production

Set in southwestern Wyoming, where Stewart homesteaded, the movie was filmed in central Montana.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mckinnonwyoming.com/woman_homesteader.htm|title = Woman Homesteader}}

The soundtrack features New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis playing the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9_YvjLgOGY What a Friend We Have in Jesus by George Lewis-Topic on YouTube]

Reception

In 1980, the film was featured as a "Buried Treasure" (a film that received little attention during its initial run)[http://edgecenterarts.blogspot.com/2017/01/heartland-is-january-film-classic-in.html Edge Center for the Arts: “Heartland” is the January Film Classic in Bigfork] by film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on an episode of the TV show, Sneak Previews, (the latter rated the film as one of the best films of 1981).{{Cite web|url=https://www.innermind.com/misc/s_e_top.htm#SE1981|title = Siskel and Ebert Top Ten Lists - Inner Mind}}

Cast

Rip Torn as Clyde Stewart
Conchata Ferrell as Elinore Randall Stewart
Barry Primus as Jack
Megan Folsom as Jerrine
Lilia Skala as Mrs. Landauer
Amy Wright as Clara Jane
Jerry Hardin as Cattlebuyer
Mary Boylan as Ma Gillis
Jeff Boschee as Land Office Agent #1
Robert Overholzer as Land Office Agent #2
Bob Sirucek as Dan Byrd
Marvin Berg as Justice of the Peace
Gary Voldseth as Cowboy
Mike Robertson as Cowboy
Doug Johnson as Cowboy

Awards

In 1980, the film shared the Golden Bear award for Best Film at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival,{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1980/03_preistr_ger_1980/03_Preistraeger_1980.html |title=Berlinale 1980: Prize Winners |access-date=2010-08-17 |work=berlinale.de}} and one year later on the Top Ten Films from National Board of Review alongside cinematic heavyweights like Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire and the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.