Christmas Mountain | |
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Directed by | Pierre de Moro Giafferi |
Written by | Mark Miller |
Produced by | Laurette de Moro Giafferi |
Starring | |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Christmas Mountain: The Story of a Cowboy Angel is a 1981 Western film about the true meaning of the Christmas spirit. Starring Mark Miller of Savannah Smiles and Slim Pickens in one of his final roles, the film was originally produced and released in 1981. The original 16MM master was then lost for 20 years. Jack Evans, a partner and financier of the original film, eventually regained possession of the master. It was digitally remastered by Victory Studios of Los Angeles in 2008, and is now available on DVD.
A review of the original release in The New York Times said, "This heartwarming Christmas tale contains a western twist as it tells the tale of a heavenly cowpoke who rides down to earth to ride herd on a few people in need of some miracles."
Parts of the film were shot in Utah County and Salt Lake City, Utah. [1]
Louis Burton Lindley Jr., better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. For much of his career, Pickens played mainly cowboy roles. He is perhaps best remembered today for his comic roles in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, 1941, and his villainous turn in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando.
Will Penny is a 1968 American Western film written and directed by Tom Gries and starring Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett and Donald Pleasence. The picture was based upon an episode of the 1960 Sam Peckinpah television series The Westerner starring Brian Keith called "Line Camp," also written and directed by Tom Gries. Heston mentioned that this was his favorite film in which he appeared. The supporting cast features Ben Johnson, Bruce Dern, and Slim Pickens.
Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins in 1959. He has recorded the hit singles "Wildfire", "Carolina in the Pines", "What's Forever For", "A Long Line of Love", "What She Wants", "Don't Count the Rainy Days", and "Maybe This Time". Murphey is also the author of New Mexico's state ballad, "The Land of Enchantment". Murphey has become a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy.
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Cowboy Jubilee is the second studio album by the Western band Riders in the Sky, released in 1981, featuring a title track originally written by Ken Carson of the Sons of the Pioneers. This album features the demanding art of yodeling in harmony; the Riders create arrangements worthy of their original inspirations, Sons of the Pioneers. Originally released on vinyl in 1981 and as a CD in 1990, this album includes their own originals that compare favorably with their versions of older Western classics.
Mark Miller was an American stage and television actor and writer who starred in over 30 plays and made more than forty appearances in television programs and films since 1953. He is best known for his roles as Bill Hooten in Guestward, Ho!, as Jim Nash in the Please Don't Eat the Daisies TV series and as Alvie in the movie he wrote and produced, Savannah Smiles.
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