Heartland is a 1979 American film, directed by Richard Pearce,[1] starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell.[2] The film is a stark depiction of early homestead life in the American West. It is based on a memoir by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, titled Letters of a Woman Homesteader (1914).[3]

Heartland
DVD cover
Directed by	Richard Pearce
Written by	Beth Ferris William Kittredge Elinore Randall Stewart
Produced by	Beth Ferris Michael Hausman
Starring	Conchata Ferrell Rip Torn Lilia Skala Barry Primus Megan Folsom
Cinematography	Fred Murphy
Edited by	Bill Yahraus
Music by	Charles Gross
Production companies	Filmhaus The National Endowment for the Humanities Wilderness Women
Distributed by	Levitt-Pickman
Release date	September 22, 1979 (1979-09-22)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

In 1910 Wyoming, a widow and her seven-year old daughter travel by train to two great unknowns-a strange land and life in a remote frontier with a man they never met.[4][5]

Production

Set in southwestern Wyoming, where Stewart homesteaded, the movie was filmed in central Montana.[6]

The soundtrack features New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis playing the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."[7]

Reception

In 1980, the film was featured as a "Buried Treasure" (a film that received little attention during its initial run) [8] by film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on an episode of the TV show, Sneak Previews, (the latter put the film as one of the best films of 1981).[9]

Cast

• Rip Torn as Clyde Stewart
• Conchata Ferrell as Elinore Randall Stewart
• Barry Primus as Jack
• Megan Folsom as Jerrine
• Lilia Skala as Mrs. Landauer
• Amy Wright as Clara Jane
• Jerry Hardin as Cattlebuyer
• Mary Boylan as Ma Gillis
• Jeff Boschee as Land Office Agent #1
• Robert Overholzer as Land Office Agent #2
• Bob Sirucek as Dan Byrd
• Marvin Berg as Justice of the Peace
• Gary Voldseth as Cowboy
• Mike Robertson as Cowboy
• Doug Johnson as Cowboy

Awards

In 1980, the film shared the Golden Bear award for Best Film at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival,[10] and one year later on the Top Ten Films from National Board of Review alongside cinematic heavyweights like Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire and the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

See also

• Elinore Pruitt Stewart Homestead, Wyoming, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
• American Midwest
• Days of Heaven, the 1978 Terrence Malick film similar in content

References

External links

• Heartland at IMDb
• Heartland at Rotten Tomatoes
• Heartland at AllMovie