Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Nicholas Barton, Defiant Screen Entertainment.
Cast: Luke Arnold, C. Thomas Howell, Viva Bianca, M.C. Gainey, Quinn Lord.
A deadly gang of cattlemen from Texas, a widowed lawman making friends with a dying boy, the madam of a brothel in a small town which transforms into one of the bloodiest and violent places in America. The resulting shoot-out made Wild West history.
This is the backdrop for a true story when the sheriff Mike McCluskie (Arnold) slays a crooked colleague, a gang of angry cattlemen rises up to seek revenge.
When ‘the stranger’ (Howell) walks into Rosie’s (Bianca) brothel, the madam begins to share a gripping story with the aid of flashbacks, about the tragic events that took place in the troubled town of Hyde Park. The story centers around McCluskie, who stands his ground and fights against Hugh Anderson (Gainey), a wealthy cattle rancher who wants to take the land away from the local railroad workers.
Mike not only has to fight against Anderson and his personally deputised henchmen, but the corrupt politics in his town. He ends up deputising James Riley (Lord), a sickly homeless boy who becomes Mike’s quiet sharpshooting shadow. The two of them take on Anderson’s goons with a little help from Rosie – and this is where the legend of Hyde Park is born.
The small town transforms into one of the bloodiest and violent places in America. As Rosie concludes her story about McCluskie, and what he did for Hyde Park, ‘the stranger ‘reveals his identity linking him directly to the heroic sheriff.
Even though it’s not an expensive budget, this western features a good cast, an interesting story … and locations, costumes and sets that are realistic.
The character-driven drama displays how the sheriff’s toughness and compassion eventually stopped the menacing takeover planned by a callous rancher.
If you tell us the name of the town where the tragic events unfold, you could win one of three DVDs of Dead Man Standing. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 19 August 2019. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 20 August 2019.
