John Brown was a prominent leader in the American abolitionist movement in the decades preceding the Civil War. First reaching national prominence in the 1850s for his radical abolitionism and fighting in Bleeding Kansas, Brown was captured, tried, and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for a raid and incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry in 1859.
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He reprised his role as Lincoln on television and in How the West Was Won (1962). Among his other well-known roles were Dr. Gillespie in the NBC television series Dr. Kildare (1961–1966), John Brown in Santa Fe Trail (1940) and Seven Angry Men (1955), Abraham Farlan in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), and Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as The Searchers and King of Kings. On television, Hunter is known for his 1965 role as Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot episode of Star Trek.
Fourteen Hours is a 1951 American drama directed by Henry Hathaway, which tells the story of a New York City police officer trying to stop a despondent man from jumping to his death from the 15th floor of a hotel.
Debra Paget is an American retired actress and entertainer. She is perhaps best known for her performances in Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1956) and in Elvis Presley's film debut, Love Me Tender (1956), as well as for the risqué snake dance scene in The Indian Tomb (1959).
Jewel Franklin Guy, known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. During a career that spanned more than 60 years, he performed not only in feature films but also in scores of television series, as well as appearing on various country music programs and talk shows. Television audiences, however, perhaps most closely associate Best with his role as the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the action-comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard, which originally aired on CBS between 1979 and 1985. He reprised the role in 1997 and 2000 for the made-for-television movies The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! and The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood (2000).
Demetrius and the Gladiators is a 1954 American biblical drama film and a sequel to The Robe. The picture was made by 20th Century-Fox, directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was written by Philip Dunne based on characters created by Lloyd C. Douglas in The Robe.
Michael Wilson was an American screenwriter.
Virginia v. John Brown was a criminal trial held in Charles Town, Virginia, in October 1859. The abolitionist John Brown was quickly prosecuted for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and inciting a slave insurrection, all part of his raid on the United States federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was found guilty of all charges, sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on December 2. He was the first person executed for treason in the United States.
It was in many respects a most remarkable trial. Capital cases have been exceedingly few in the history of our country where trial and conviction have followed so quickly upon the commission of the offense. Within a fortnight from the time when Brown had struck what he believed to be a righteous blow against what he felt to be the greatest sin of the age he was a condemned felon, with only thirty days between his life and the hangman's noose.
The Last Hunt is a 1956 American Western film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, with Lloyd Nolan, Debra Paget and Russ Tamblyn. It was produced by Dore Schary at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was by Richard Brooks from the novel The Last Hunt, by Milton Lott. The music score was by Daniele Amfitheatrof and the cinematography by Russell Harlan.
Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 American Western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn as J. E. B. "Jeb" Stuart, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey as John Brown, Ronald Reagan as George Armstrong Custer and Alan Hale. Written by Robert Buckner, the film is critical of the abolitionist John Brown and his controversial campaign against slavery before the American Civil War. In a subplot, Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer—who are depicted as friends from the same West Point graduating class—compete for the hand of Kit Carson Holliday.
The Battle of Osawatomie was an armed engagement that occurred on August 30, 1856, when 250–400 pro-slavery Border ruffians, led by John W. Reid, attacked the town of Osawatomie, Kansas, which had been settled largely by anti-slavery Free-Staters. Reid was intent on destroying the Free-State settlement and then moving on to Topeka and Lawrence to do more of the same. Abolitionist John Brown first learned of the raiders when they shot his son Frederick. With just 40 or so men, Brown tried to defend the town against the pro-slavery partisans, but ultimately was forced to withdraw; five Free-Staters were killed in the battle, and the town of Osawatomie was subsequently looted and burned by Reid's men. The battle was one of a series of violent clashes between abolitionists and pro-slavery partisans in Kansas and Missouri during the Bleeding Kansas era.
Belles on Their Toes is a 1952 American family comedy film based on the autobiographical book Belles on Their Toes (1950) by siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film, which debuted in New York City on May 2, 1952, was directed by Henry Levin, and Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron wrote the screenplay. It is a sequel to the film Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), based on Gilbreth and Carey's eponymous 1948 book.
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16 to 18, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. It has been called the dress rehearsal for, or tragic prelude to, the American Civil War.
John Brown Jr. was the eldest son of the abolitionist John Brown. His mother was Brown's first wife, Dianthe Lusk Brown, who died when John Jr. was 11. He was born in Hudson, Ohio. In 1841 he tried teaching in a country school, but left it after one year, finding it frustrating and the children "snotty". In spring 1842 he enrolled at the Grand River Institute in Austinburg, Ohio. In July 1847 he married Wealthy Hotchkiss (1829–1911), who had also studied at the Grand River Institute. The couple settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, and had two children.
White Feather is a 1955 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Robert Wagner. The movie was filmed in Durango, Mexico. The story is based on fact; however, the particulars of the plot and the characters of the story are fictional.
The Dark Avenger is a 1955 British historical action adventure film in CinemaScope directed by Henry Levin. The screenplay was written by Daniel B. Ullman. The film stars Errol Flynn, Joanne Dru and Peter Finch. The music score is by Cedric Thorpe Davie. It is also known as The Warriors in the United States, and had a working title of The Black Prince in the United Kingdom.
John Henry Kagi, also spelled John Henri Kagi, was an American attorney, abolitionist, and second in command to John Brown in Brown's failed raid on Harper's Ferry. He bore the title of "Secretary of War" in Brown's "provisional government." At age 24, Kagi was killed during the raid. He had previously been active in fighting on the abolitionist side in 1856 in "Bleeding Kansas". He was an excellent debater and speaker.
Joel Fluellen was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films The Jackie Robinson Story, Perils of the Jungle, Duffy of San Quentin, Sitting Bull, Friendly Persuasion, Monster from Green Hell, The Decks Ran Red, Porgy and Bess, A Raisin in the Sun, He Rides Tall, Roustabout, The Chase, The Learning Tree, The Great White Hope, Skin Game, Thomasine & Bushrod, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Casey's Shadow and Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, among others.
