HALLMARK LAUNCHES NEW WESTERN SERIES -- ‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’

‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’ - a film review

More than any other networks in recent years, The Hallmark Channel and The Hallmark Movie Channel have demonstrated an unswerving commitment to the Western genre.  Their recent SHADOW ON THE MESA won the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and just a week ago GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS and HANNAH’S LAW were screened by invitation at the Almeria Western Film Festival in Spain.

And just when you thought, with the end of the third season of HELL ON WHEELS, that you’d have nothing new and Western to see on the small screen, this Saturday night the Hallmark Channel is presenting the motion picture WHEN CALLS THE HEART, not just as a stand-alone film, but as a ‘back-door pilot’ to a weekly Western series which will premiere in January. 

HEART is tele-written and directed by Michael Landon Jr., and based on Janette Oke’s best-selling Canadian West book series.  Oke and Landon are new neither to Hallmark nor to each other.  This duo has previously produced some of Hallmark’s most popular romantic westerns:  LOVE COMES SOFTLY (’03), LOVE’S ENDURING PROMISE (’04), LOVE’S LONG JOURNEY (’05), LOVE’S ABIDING JOY (’06), LOVE’S UNFOLDING DREAM (’07), LOVE FINDS A HOME (’09), and LOVE TAKES WING (’09). 

Poppy Drayton as Elizabeth Thatcher

WHEN CALLS THE HEART stars lovely newcomer Poppy Drayton as Elizabeth Thatcher, daughter of a lavishly wealthy Canadian family.  At a time when monied young women were not expected to be educated or work, she’s studied to be a teacher, and is eager to find a position.  Her meeting with handsome young Superintendent Higgins goes awry when he does offer her a position – directly under him – if she wants a plum teaching assignment.   Appalled, she nonetheless doesn’t report the proposition to her father (to my regret – I think a good caning would have perked things up), and she’s disappointed but not entirely surprised when Higgins offers her an alternative teaching position in the distant frontier, at the picturesquely named town of Coal Valley. 

Elizabeth’s pretty little rat of a younger sister, Julie (Daisy Head), was patronizing at the very thought of her sister becoming a school marm, but the idea that Elizabeth could survive the experience in the rugged west is, to her, laughable.  She sets out to do everything she can to shake her sister’s fragile self-confidence, enlisting the aid of Edward Montclair (TEEN WOLF regular Daniel Sharman), a dilettante friend who has amazed the Thatchers by actually graduating from the Royal Mounted’s police academy.   

Maggie Grace as Aunt Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s resolve grows when she stumbles upon a diary kept by her namesake, her father’s sister Elizabeth (beautiful Maggie Grace), whom nobody talks about.  It seems that when the first Elizabeth was in her early twenties, she became a school marm on the frontier, and was rarely heard from again.  From here the two stories are told in parallel, the aunt’s adventures giving the niece some idea of what to expect – from testing by skeptical students, to wild animals, to tragedies, to handsome Mounties.  When Elizabeth sets out for the west by train, she is perturbed to find that her father has hired the young Mountie to see her safely to Coal Valley before reporting for duty.  It is then, in the last half hour, that the movie becomes less of a romance and more of a western, and soon Marm and Mountie are riding stagecoaches, facing outlaws, and having adventures, and for a romantic western image, the way they enter town cannot be beat.

And when she arrives at her assignment, Elizabeth meets her two bosses and allies, Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) and Frances Tunnecliffe (Jean Smart), who tell her exactly what challenges she will face – matters that Superintendent Higgins, unsurprisingly, failed to mention. 

the hold-up

The film is attractively shot, and early on, the mansion and restaurants suggest a Canadian DOWNTON ABBEY, and in fact, Poppy Drayton appears in the coming season of DOWNTON.  The costuming, while often striking, is confusing.  The dresses and jewelry are from the 1880s or earlier, yet a glimpse of an auto and the use of a flashlight sets the story in the 20^th century (and a brief close-up of paper-jacketed books on a shelf suggests the 1960s!). 

While always interesting, the story doesn't become involving until we start seeing the flashbacks of Aunt Elizabeth – her character and adventures are much more compelling, beautifully photographed, and with more consistent costuming and art direction setting the story in the late 1870s or early 1880s.  Aunt Elizabeth also has a more impressive Mountie than her niece, in the person of Stephen Amell, star of the CW’s ARROW. 

While it does take a long time to get Elizabeth out west, happily for western fans, when the series comes in January, Elizabeth will already be in Coal Valley.   And here’s some more positive news: while the movie was shot in Alberta, Canada, the series is being lensed in and around Telluride, Colorado, an event that Colorado Governor Hickenlooper and Hallmark President Bill Abbott jointly announced, noting that it’s the first TV series shot in the area since FATHER DOWLING MYSTERIES in 1991!   Considering how many U.S.-set westerns are shot in Canada, it’s nice to see some traffic flowing in the other direction.

Lori Loughlin, Jean Smart, Poppy Drayton

There will be some changes in going from movie to series, including that Elizabeth will now be played by ARMY WIVES regular Erin Krakow.  The male romantic lead will be Daniel Lissing of LAST RESORT.  And happily, Lori Laughlin will return in her role of Abigail Stanton.

WHEN CALLS THE HEART will premiere on The Hallmark Channel on Saturday, October 19^th, at 9 pm, East and West, preceded by five of Janette Oke’s LOVE COMES SOFTLY films.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Next week I’ll have a review of a delightful video, LOST & FOUND – AMERICAN TREASURES FROM THE NEW ZEALAND FILM ARCHIVE, and a look at highlights from the Almeria and Lone Pine Western Festivals.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright October 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

HALLMARK GREENLIGHTS ‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’ - A NEW WESTERN SERIES!

 

The Hallmark TV movie WHEN CALLS THE HEART is in post production, and will serve as an introduction to a series of ten one-hour episodes of the same title.  Based on the best-selling CANADIAN WEST book series by Janette Oke, the movie stars Maggie Grace, Jean Smart, Lori Laughlin, Poppy Drayton and Stephen Amell.  The cast for the TV-series has not yet been announced. 

 

 

Set in 1910, it’s the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a cultured teacher who, with misgivings, gives up her comfortable city life to become a teacher in a prairie town on the western frontier.  She’s determined to prove her independence to her doubting family, and her doubting self.  She’s helped in part by drawing inspiration from a late Aunt’s secret diary.  It seems the Aunt had a similar adventure, and similarly had a romance with a Royal Canadian Mountie. 

 

Author Janette Oke and the Hallmark Channel have had a long and successful partnership since 2003, when they first adapted her book LOVE COMES SOFTLY.  It’s led to a dozen titles from the series since then, most or all of them westerns, many with LOVE’S (ADJECTIVE) (NOUN) titles.  The WHEN CALLS THE HEART movie was written and directed by Michael Landon, Jr.      

 

MUSICAL CHAIRS CONTINUE ON ‘JANE GOT A GUN’

 

Natalie Portman in COLD MOUNTAIN

 

But the good news is, when the music stops, it looks like they’ve still got a cast, plus a director.  It had been announced recently that Michael Fassbinder, of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, JONAH HEX, and Magneto of the X-MEN movies, was exiting due to schedule conflicts with another X-MEN movie.  He had been replaced by Australian Joel Edgerton, who plays the Squadron Team Leader in ZERO DARK THIRTY, and will soon be seen as Tom Buchanan in THE GREAT GATSBY. Edgerton had initially been cast as the villain of the piece, but when Fassbinder left, Edgerton was switched to hero, and Jude Law came on board to play the villain.  But no one, least of all star and producer Natalie Portman, was prepared when they reached the set on Monday, March 18^th, for the commencement of principal photography, and learned that director Lynne Ramsay had quit.    

 

The project had begun with an original screenplay by first-timer Brian Duffield, and was a highly touted ‘Black List’ script. (Note: this ‘Black List’ has nothing to do with politics. It is a list of highly respected scripts that haven’t been sold. Stupid name, considering the ‘Black List’ connotation, isn’t it?)  The story concerns Portman’s character, who is married to the head of an outlaw band.  When he comes home, badly wounded, pursued by former underlings who want to finish him off, she turns for help to a former lover, (once Fassbinder, now Edgerton).  Lynne Ramsay, who has garnered great respect as the director of WE’VE GOT TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, had been actively involved with the project from day one, and her abrupt exit has left the town stunned.

 

Portman’s producing partner, Scott Steindorff of Scott Pictures, was livid, and told DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD: “I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast.  I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in, and a replacement is imminent.”

 

Next to leave, it was revealed Wednesday, is Jude Law, whose interest in the project was based on his wish to work with Lynne Ramsay.  Among those being considered to replace him, according to the Los Angeles Times, are Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, and Jake Gyllenhal.  Maguire starred in the rarely seen but excellent Ang Lee-directed western RIDE WITH THE DEVIL; Bridges has starred in a slew of westerns, most recently TRUE GRIT; Gyllenhal was nominated for an Oscar for Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (if you consider sheep-movies to be westerns), and also played Billy Crystal’s son in CITY SLICKERS. 

 

Now it’s been announced that WARRIOR director and co-writer Gavin O’Connor will be sitting in the canvas chair.  He directed Edgerton in WARRIOR, which garnered Nick Nolte a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.  He also directed TUMBLEWEEDS (1999), which earned a Best Actress nomination for Janet McTeer, and directed the hugely popular hockey film MIRACLE (2004).  With so much money and so many jobs on the line, this highly talented group should be able to pull it off. 

 

MIKE GAGLIO REPORTS FROM ‘QUICK DRAW’ SET

 

Mike Gaglio (left) in AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES

 

When I learned that the folks at Hulu, the downloading site, were making their own western series, I was excited.  They were shooting eight episodes over four weeks at the Paramount Ranch.  But all the people involved were a little…gun shy... when I contacted them.  They weren’t having any press on the set.  Then I learned they were casting dress extras, and I thought I might sneak on-board that way.  But it turned out to be a S.A.G. shoot, so I couldn’t get on that way either.

 

Then I learned that actor, musician and all-around good-guy Mike Gaglio had a part in the show.  Mike has more than forty film and TV credits, including AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, and I thought I might learn a little about it from him.   

 

“I was told I have a part in this movie.  I met up with some friends, and as soon as we got there, this guy goes, ‘So you’re our dead body extras, right?’  And half the cowboys are going, ‘Hell no, I’m not an extra; I’m an actor, and I was guaranteed lines in this movie.’  (Laughs)  They’re all pissed off.  And the kid who’s wrangling us goes, ‘We don’t have any use for that.  What we need is a bunch of dead bodies laying around, that the good guys have shot up.’  They put us across the stream from the big stars, the stream that runs right through Paramount Ranch.

 

“There’s six of us extras; he gave us each a number, and he said, ‘When I call out your number, you fall down dead.’  I was crouched down behind a tree.  They called out my number, I flipped over, dead.  And that was it.  And I laid there, and it rained on me for a little while, and I fell asleep for about an hour.  When I did wake up they had gone on to the dialog part.  But we still had to lie there.”

 

It turned out to be a comedy, and the actors were from Comedy Central.  “There was no script.  It’s all improv.  I was first told I had a week of work; but because I was killed off in the very first scene, they didn’t want me back.  Then I got a call that I had one more day on the show.  This time we were street people, just walking back and forth in front of the saloon.  They were really nice; they fed us extremely well. The costume lady was great.  She did some of the costuming for DEADWOOD.  The costumes were really ratty; they were rentals from Western Costume, but they looked very ‘DEADWOODY’.  A very accurate look to them.”   I guess I shouldn’t be too jealous about not getting to be a dress extra.       

That'll be it for this week's Round-up.  I apologize for the several changes of type in this posting -- the software is giving me a hard time for unknown reasons.  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright March 2013 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved