CAPSULE COMMENTS

June 7, 2007

Not Your Daddy’s Westerns

The following materials are available to Library patrons and may be checked out from the main library.

SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS

In this tale of penitence, forgiveness, and lessons learned too late and with too high a price a minister insists that his son abandon the two loves of his life – art and a backwoods woman. When his son disappears, the repentant minister retreats to the Ozarks where he assumes the "simple" life of a shepherd. He dispenses gentle wisdom born of his own grief and meets and befriends a young boy whose unwed, and now dead, mother was abandoned by her lover.

The boy turns out to be his grandson which is joy but more grief remains in store as he learns, at last, the fate of his son.

John Wayne stars in the 1941 film version in which he plays a young man who has sworn to kill the man who abandoned his mother.

Back in 1941 the New York Times panned the movie as manipulative and sentimental. Others praised its wisdom and morality.

The Library owns this title in book, audio and VHS formats.

MURPHY’S ROMANCEMURPHY’S ROMANCE, by Max Schott

Murphy Jones sell up and moves to Pearblossom, CA where he meets, and falls for, young Toni. Unfortunately for Murphy, Toni does not fall for him – a thing she makes clear as kindly as she’s able.

Murphy marries Toni’s Aunt Margaret instead but never quite ceases trying to gain Toni’s affections. Not charming.

The movie of the same title and loosely based on the book is another story – almost literally.

Here Emma (what, no Toni…no Margaret?) is the one who moves to Murphy’s (yes, there is a Murphy Jones in this movie) town where he befriends this single mother. Theirs is a comfortable, bantering friendship until Emma’s ex shows up and becomes increasingly troublesome trying to re-court Emma. Emma turns to her friend, Murphy for comfort and a measure of protection while their friendship grows slowly and sweetly into love of the best kind.

The Library owns this title in VHS format.

LOVE’S LONG JOURNEY

Westward Ho! with a Christian spin. Willie wants to be a rancher and so requires his True Love, Missy, who doesn’t want to ranch and doesn’t want to leave her family, to go along with him on the westward trail. They suffer the usual hardships on the trail and, when they finally get where they’re going, Missy finds herself living in near complete isolation for two years while raising a child in a dirt-floored house made of chunks of sod piled one on the other and heated with buffalo…er, droppings. All’s well that ends well though as Willie and Missy prevail through hard work and clean living.

The Library owns this title in print, including large print, audio, and DVD.