Fictional Characters #3 - Best of the West

As I’ve written in previous posts my earliest love of history came from stories of the American West, and as you can tell from the last entry in this category, “western” characters continue to be some of my favorites.

Laura Ingalls (played by Melissa Gilbert on Little House on the Prairie, and from the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder) 

Ok, so this is a “fictionalized” character.  There really was a Laura Ingalls Wilder, and she did an incredible job of turning the story of her life into a series of books that one little girl from Idaho adored.  I also remember being so sad when the Little House series ended my Dad had to console me with the fact that it would always be on in reruns. 

Jimmy Hickok (played by Josh Brolin in The Young Riders)

Yes, again there was a real James Butler Hickok, but I think it’s safe to call this depiction a fictional character.  In re-watching the series as a happily married grown woman, I was still impressed with how strong and interesting Hickok is as a character.  One episode, “The Peacemakers”, is carried almost entirely by the character of Hickok and is so compelling I felt like I was watching a classic western movie, instead of an episode of a sometimes cheesy 90’s western. 

Kicking Bird (played by Graham Greene in Dances With Wolves)

Being a Native American historian, I’ve had to live with so much academic analysis of Dances With Wolves that it’s almost impossible for me to see it as just a movie anymore.  However, the highlight of this movie, in my opinion, is Graham Greene’s portrayal as Kicking Bird.  He’s determined, smart and funny, and creates one of the least stereotypical and most enjoyable Indian characters on film.  Greene’s also behind another of my favorite Indian characters, Joseph from Maverick. 

Gus McCrae (played by Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove)

In my opinion, in all the best and worst ways Lonesome Dove is the epitome of the “western”.   And while Tommy Lee Jones’s Woodrow F. Call is the epitome of the western hero, I think it’s the character of Gus that gives this story its heart.  

Annabelle Bransford (played by Jodie Foster in Maverick)

Do not ask me why I love this character so much.  I can’t even explain it myself.  She’s dishonest, manipulative, and gambles for a living.   Yet, when I saw this movie I thought, “If I could have been a movie actress, just once, that’s probably the part I’d want to play.”     

Mattie Ross (played by Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit)

Forget Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin (which is saying a lot, considering my above comments). The thing that makes this movie amazing is the character of Mattie Ross.   With the possible exception of Whale Rider, I don’t think I’ve seen another film whose portrayal of a teenage girl was so compelling.  She’s the true “western” women in a pint sized package.