The Avenging Angel

For other uses, see Avenging Angel (disambiguation).

The Avenging Angel
Genre	Western
Based on	Avenging Angel by Gary Stewart
Written by	Dennis Nemec [1]
Directed by	Craig R. Baxley [1]
Starring	Tom Berenger James Coburn Fay Masterson Kevin Tighe Jeffrey Jones
Music by	Gary Chang
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Moctesuma Esparza Robert Katz [1]
Producers	Jay Benson Tom Berenger [1]
Cinematography	Mark Irwin [1]
Editor	Mark Helfrich [1]
Running time	91 minutes
Production company	Esparza / Katz Productions [1]
Original release
Network	TNT
Release	January 22, 1995 (1995-01-22)

The Avenging Angel is a 1995 American Western television film directed by Craig R. Baxley and coproduced by and starring Tom Berenger, ^[2] as well as James Coburn. The film premiered on TNT on January 22, 1995. The movie is based on a book of the same name by Gary Stewart, ^[1] and features real life characters Brigham Young, Porter Rockwell, and Wild Bill Hickman. The fictional main character Miles Utley is an orphan raised to be a Danite (also known as an "avenging angel") bodyguard tasked with protecting the interests of top leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the newly colonized Utah Territory in the mid-late 1800s. ^{[1] [2]}

Cast

• Tom Berenger – Miles Utley (main character)
• Charlton Heston – Brigham Young (LDS Church prophet and territory governor)
• James Coburn – Porter Rockwell
• Tom Bower – Wild Bill Hickman
• Fay Masterson – Miranda Young (Brigham Young's daughter)
• Daniel Quinn – Alpheus Young (Brigham Young's son)
• Kevin Tighe – Benjamin Rigby (fictional top leader in the LDS Church)
• Leslie Hope – Liza Rigby (one of Benjamin's polygamous wives)
• Jeffrey Jones – Milton Long (Brigham Young's head of security)
• Andrew Prine – Andrew Pike
• Lisa Banes - Rebecca Heaton - (sister of main character)
• Drew Snyder - Will Heaton - (brother-in-law of main character)
• Patrick Gorman – Jonathan Parker (first victim)
• Tracey Ellis - Hannah Parker (widow of Jonathan Parker) ^[1]

Production

Co-producer and main actor Berenger said the religious aspect of the story "is what I thought made it different than other Westerns. Otherwise, it would just be a Western. God knows, we have seen enough of those. I was kind of intrigued. And then Dennis Nemec did the script. It is a killer script—real economical and real right. He cut out a lot of the fat." ^[3]

See also

• Mormonism and violence
• Nauvoo Legion
• Blood atonement
• American Primeval

References

1. Scott, Tony (January 20, 1995). "The Avenging Angel". Variety .
2. Brennan, Patricia (January 22, 1995). "Beringer Produces, Stars in TNT's Mormon Saga". The Washington Post . Washington D.C. – via News & Record.
3. King, Susan (January 22, 1995). "The Berenger Trail: Actor Picks a Movie By Its Story, Not the Director". Los Angeles Times .

External links

• The Avenging Angel at IMDb