Summaries

A widow with a young daughter travels to a ranch in Wyoming to manage the household of a rancher. After a while the man and woman develop a relationship that leads to a marriage. But life in the harsh place takes its toll.

Widowed Elinor Randall and her young daughter Jerrine arrive in a barren stretch of Wyoming in 1910 after Elinor's application for work as a housekeeper is accepted by Clyde Stewart, a rancher. The work is back-breaking and the isolation is brutal, particularly as winter arrives. Elinor begins to think about homesteading her own property near Stewart's ranch, but Stewart tries to dissuade her with explanations about the killing conditions and poor rewards, especially for a woman with no man to help her ranch. Although their temperaments are different and little affection exists, Elinor and Stewart agree to marry and combine homesteads. What lies ahead is the severest test of all.—Jim Beaver <[email protected]>

Details

Keywords
  • wyoming
  • rural setting
  • 1910s
  • cattle
  • homestead
Genres
  • Drama
  • Western
Release date Sep 21, 1979
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) PG
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations Wheatland County, Montana, USA
Production companies Filmhaus The National Endowment for the Humanities Wilderness Women

Box office

Budget $600000

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 36m
Color Color
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

A recent widow (Ferrell) and her daughter travel to Wyoming in 1910, to work as housekeeper for a stern rancher (Torn). Once there she decides to try and homestead a piece of land of her own, but the year that follows is full of harsh weather and isolation. A moving drama about life on the frontier based on the real-life frontier diaries of Elinore Randall Stewart.

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