Just before Christmas a blizzard drives everyone from their homes to the safety of Boonesborough. Tempers are as short as food when an Indian couple, about to have a baby at any time, show u... Read allJust before Christmas a blizzard drives everyone from their homes to the safety of Boonesborough. Tempers are as short as food when an Indian couple, about to have a baby at any time, show up seeking shelter.Just before Christmas a blizzard drives everyone from their homes to the safety of Boonesborough. Tempers are as short as food when an Indian couple, about to have a baby at any time, show up seeking shelter.
Photos
- Cincinnatus
- (as Dallas McKennon)
- Settler
- (uncredited)
- Settler
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Daniel Boone: We'll get enough to eat if we have to hunt and fish and dig for twenty-four hours a day.
Elisha Tully: Well, we got three fishes now. If we can get three loaves, why, you can bless 'em and we'll all eat.
Daniel Boone: All we've got left is hope and prayer! And I won't stand still for blasphemy! Now, it took all of us to build what we've got here, and it's going to take all of us to keep it. When we came here this was a savage land, and we tamed it wth our bare hands. We can't fight among ourselves. We can't let this land turn us into savages!
- SoundtracksDaniel Boone
by Lionel Newman and Vera Matson
In that "inn" at Boonesborough are the locals, frustrated by the blizzard and the scarcity of food. Daniel, presaging Marx, says the food everyone brought will be collected and doled out according to need. That only fuels the frustration, given voice by settler Elisha Tully, who challenges Boone at every turn and even incites the settlers to leave Boonesborough and head south. Tully is played by the ubiquitous Morgan Woodward, whose imposing face and commanding voice make him a formidable opponent to the Big Man.
It was Tully who rudely rebuffed the Indian couple's request for a ride in his wagon earlier in the story, and he's the leading voice in opposition to the Indians being given shelter in the fort, an objection seconded by settler Jeremy Cain, who was a victim of the squaw's father's raids a couple years earlier. But when the settlement is named after you, you get the final word, and Boone offers the young couple shelter. Mingo adds that this couple is the equivalent of royalty, but nobody but Boone appears impressed.
The story of Oneha and Tawna, one a Creek and the other a Tuscarora, has brought an end to the bloodshed between the two warring tribes. If Tawna gives birth to a son, says Oneha, "it will unite our two tribes by blood and lasting peace." There's a parallel here to what the birth of God's son Jesus did between the warring "tribes" of Jew and Gentile. A nice touch.
But just as today, there are those who don't want peace between warring tribes, races, or religions, and the fly in this story's ointment is Shashona, who strives to spark an Indian attack with the "fake news" that the white man is holding Tawna hostage. Fortunately, a fleet-footed squaw-spy slips into the fort and warns Tawna of Shashona's evil intentions.
This being a Christmas story, a number of holiday trappings are trotted out, including little Israel's mangy Christmas tree that makes Charlie Brown's look Rockefeller Center-ready by comparison. Nary a song is sung, which is too bad because Ed "Mingo" Ames is an outstanding singer, but such would not have fit the period or the mood. There is another welcome biblical touch with the clouds clearing to reveal an especially bright star shining overhead. And the conclusion that star illuminates is a bright one.
The Boone family and Mingo play smaller roles this time around, giving the stage to the guest cast. Morgan Woodward really shines as Elisha Tully, followed close by John Crawford, who played settler Jeremy Cain. Crawford is perhaps best known for playing Sheriff Ep Bridges on THE WALTONS, and both Woodward and Crawford have STAR TREK creds. Aliza Gur played Tawna with a bearing befitting a chief's daughter, but as evidence of her range, earlier this same month of December 1965 she appeared on Burl Ives's short-lived sitcom O.K. CRACKERBY as a spoiled brat Italian starlet given to histrionics and hysteria. And a few years earlier she was half of the famous catfight in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. She's very good here as Tawna, and so is her husband Valentin de Vargas, who went on to be a busy character actor. Ralph Moody shows up briefly to play the aged sage, channeling Psalm 23 in his prophetic pronouncement. But perhaps the most welcome guest star was Jay "Tonto" Silverheels, playing against type as the bad guy and doing a fine job, though somewhere Clayton Moore was wincing.
A great episode of a great series, one that celebrates the season in a thoughtful and meaningful manner that underscores what Christmas is all about.
- GaryPeterson67
- Dec 24, 2017
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1