''The Sacketts'' is a 1979 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

Western miniseries directed by

Robert Totten Robert Charles Totten (February 5, 1937 – January 27, 1995) was an American television director, writer, and actor, best known for directing many ''Gunsmoke'' episodes between 1966 and 1971. Career In addition to directing, Totten also co ...

and starring

Sam Elliott Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades of film and television, he is recognized for his deep sonorous voice. Elliott has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors ...

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations fo ...

Jeff Osterhage Jeffrey Osterhage (born March 12, 1953) is an American film and television actor from Columbus, Indiana. He graduated from North Farmington High School, Farmington Hills, Michigan, and Western Michigan University with a BBA Degree (1976). Oster ...

, and

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

. Based on the novels ''The Daybreakers'' (1960) and ''Sackett'' (1961) by

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known West ...

, the film recounts the story of the Sackett brothers in 1869 who leave their Tennessee home and start a new life together in Santa Fe.

Plot

Three brothers from Tennessee, the sons of Welsh immigrants, named Tell Sackett, Orrin Sackett, and Tyrel Sackett, respectively, are brought together by the tragic events that occur at Orrin's wedding. Tell (

) is a mountain man who hasn't seen his family in almost ten years, Orrin (

) is a former lawman now looking to settle down with his family, and Tyrel (

) is the youngest brother who is very good with a revolver. At the wedding, Long Higgins (James O'Connell), the brother of a man Orrin had previously killed, arrives in the middle of the ceremony and holds Orrin at gunpoint. Long pulls the trigger, but Orrin's fiancée gets in the way and is shot and killed. Tyrel arrives and shoots Long dead. Having killed a man, Tyrel clears out of Tennessee and heads west. Following the funeral of Orrin's fiancée, his mother tells him to join Tyrel and find Tell, and to go start a life in the west. Meanwhile, Tell has found work in a mining camp in

Uvalde, Texas Uvalde ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census, down from 15,751 in 2010. It is the principal city in the Uvalde, Texas Micropolitan Statistical Area. Uvalde is ...

. During a card game, Tell accuses one of the men, Wes Bigelow, of cheating and shoots him dead. The leader of the mining camp suggests that Tell should leave before the victim's brothers arrive to seek revenge, and Tell heads out alone into the wilderness. On his way west, Tyrel meets with a cattle drive and signs on as a cowhand. He immediately becomes friends with aging cowhand Cap Rountree ( Ben Johnson), and former gunfighter Tom Sunday (

), who becomes a mentor to Tyrel. Orrin catches up with the group and joins them. As they finish the drive in

Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libra ...

, Cap, Tom, Orrin, and Tyrel make plans to collect wild cattle near the

Purgatoire River The Purgatoire River (), also known as the Purgatory and Picketwire River, is in southeastern Colorado, United States. The river originates in the high mountains of the Culebra Range. Several tributaries merge near Weston in Las Animas County ...

. While in the town, Orrin becomes attracted to the daughter of wealthy man Jonathan Pritts (

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

), while Tyrel becomes attracted to Dona Drusilla ( Ana Alicia), the granddaughter of wealthy Mexican Don Luis (

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

). Don Luis and Pritts are arguing with each other over Luis' land in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

. Orrin and Tyrel eventually meet up with Tell in a small town in Colorado called Purgatorie. Cap and Tell decide to go searching for gold up in the mountains, while Orrin, Tyrel, and Sunday continue with their plan to collect wild cattle on the way to Santa Fe. Soon after they leave, Ira Bigelow (

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

) arrives in town and declares that he is tracking Tell Sackett with the aim of killing him. In Elizabethtown, New Mexico, Tell and Cap are confronted by a young gunfighter named Kid Newton. Tell avoids a gunbattle with Newton by talking him down and ordering him to leave. When Ira Bigelow's search for Tell brings him to Elizabethtown, Newton offers to be his guide. Just before reaching Santa Fe, Sunday, Orrin, and Tyrel come across the corpses of a family killed by Indians. Upon finding a safe-box containing $1,000, Orrin and Sunday disagree over what to do with the money, with Sunday wanting to split the money among the three of them and Orrin wanting to send the money to a relative of those killed, mentioned in a letter found near one of the bodies. Tyrell backs Orrin, which does not sit well with Sunday. Upon reaching Santa Fe, when Sunday finds out that Orrin and Tyrell returned the money, the relationship between Orrin and him slowly disintegrates, with Tyrel caught in the middle, though he generally sides with his brother. Meanwhile, while searching for gold in the mountains, Cap and Tell find a lost woman, Ange Kerry (Wendy Rastatter). Ira Bigelow, his brother Jack (

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens took up acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV sho ...

) and their hired men soon arrive and eventually assault Tell's camp, wounding Cap in the leg and trapping the three of them in the caves, where they hide out. Both Orrin and Sunday run in the election for town

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

. Pritts, knowing that if Sunday wins he will side with Don Luis and the Mexicans and expecting that he can control Orrin (since Orrin is interested in his daughter) helps Orrin win the election by disclosing that Sunday is a disbarred lawyer and ex-convict from Louisiana. Humiliated, Sunday starts drinking heavily and becomes increasingly hostile towards Orrin. Sunday accuses Orrin of being bought by Pritts and slaps Orrin when Orrin calls him a liar. Later, Orrin sends Tyrell to ask Sunday to be his deputy, but Sunday blames Orrin for ruining his dream of a fresh start in Santa Fe and angrily refuses the offer. Don Luis dies shortly afterward. Orrin and Tyrel, now appointed as deputy sheriff, prove that Pritts ordered a Mexican killed, and then ordered another of his men to kill him after he is caught. Pritts is taken away by the territorial marshall. Orrin decides to run for mayor if Tyrel stays as sheriff. As Orrin is announcing his intention to the townspeople in the plaza, Sunday arrives seeking a final confrontation with Orrin. Tyrel sees him first and stands in his way. When Tyrel refuses to move, Sunday draws his gun. Tyrel draws and shoots Sunday first. Tyrel weeps as Sunday dies in his arms. Still trapped in the caves and with Cap unable to go far due to his wounded leg, Ange escapes on a stolen horse and wires a message for help to Orrin, while Tell and Cap (when his leg is strong enough) escape back to Purgatorie on foot. The Bigelows and their men catch up to them in town and challenge Tell to a gunfight the next day at daybreak. Orrin and Tyrel receive Ange's telegram and rush to join Tell at Purgatorie. The following day Tell strides out onto the street alone to face the Bigelow gang, now including the last Bigelow brother, Benson (Gene Evans). Unbeknownst to Tell, Cap grabs a shotgun and hobbles after him. Tell finds Orrin and Tyrel waiting for him in the street. As the Bigelows and their men start to emerge from the

livery stable A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on wor ...

, the Sacketts open fire and the gun battle begins. With the help of Cap, the Sacketts kill all seven of the Bigelow gang. Cap joins the reunited Sackett brothers as they walk away down the street.

Cast

as Tell Sackett *

as Orrin Sackett *

as Tyrel Sackett *

as Tom Sunday * Ben Johnson as Cap Rountree *

as Don Luis *

as Jonathan Pritts *

Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the East Coast, Roman moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeared in ...

as Rosie *

as Ira Bigelow *

Gene Evans Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989. Early life Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...

as Benson Bigelow * L.Q. Jones as Belden *

Paul Koslo Paul Koslo (born Manfred Koslowski; June 27, 1944 – January 9, 2019) was a German-born Canadian actor. Career Koslo started his career in such 1970s films as '' Nam's Angels'' a.k.a. ''The Losers'', ''Vanishing Point'' and '' The Stone Ki ...

as Kid Newton (henchman for the Bigelows) *

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress". She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

as Ma Sackett *

as Jack Bigelow * Ana Alicia as Drusilla * Wendy Rastatter as Ange Kerry *

as Himself *

Buck Taylor Buck Taylor (born Walter Clarence Taylor III,Yoggy, Gary A. (1995). Riding the Video Range: The Rise and Fall of the Western on Television'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 123. . May 13, 1938) is an American actor and artist, best k ...

as Reed Carney *

Pat Buttram Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American character actor. Buttram was known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series ''Green Acres''. He had ...

as Tuthill the Banker *

Shug Fisher Shug Fisher (born George Clinton Fisher Jr.; September 26, 1907 – March 16, 1984) was an American character actor, singer, musician, and comedian. During his 50-year entertainment career, he performed in many Western films, often as a mem ...

as Purgatorie Barkeep * Lee de Broux as Simpson (henchman for the Bigelows) *

James Gammon James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager of fictionalized versions of the Cleve ...

as Wes Bigelow * Marcy Hanson as Laura Pritts * Frank Ramírez as Juan Torres * Henry Capps as Boyd (henchman for the Bigelows) * Ramon Chavez as Pete Romero * Don Collier as L.P. Seeker * Pam Earnhardt as Mary * Bruce M. Fischer as Trapper * Richard Jamison as Miner #1 * Pat Mahoney as Purgatorie Customer * James O'Connell as Long Higgins * Ken Plonkey as Miner #2 * Mark Wallace as Teller * Malcolm Watt as Preacher * Mai Gray as The Harlot * Bill Hart as Rodale * Brian Libby as Durango * Kimo Owens as Fetterson * Monique St. Pierre as Delilah * Tom Waters as Hobes (henchman for the Bigelows)

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sacketts, The 1979 Western (genre) films 1979 television films 1979 films Films based on American novels NBC original films Films directed by Robert Totten Films based on works by Louis L'Amour Films set in the American frontier 1970s English-language films English-language Western (genre) films