The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River and the Wyoming Range War, was a range conflict that took place in Johnson County, Wyoming from 1889 to 1893. The conflict began when cattle companies started ruthlessly persecuting alleged rustlers in the area, many of whom were settlers who competed with them for livestock, land and water rights. As violence swelled between the large established ranchers and the smaller settlers in the state, it culminated in the Powder River Country, when the ranchers hired gunmen, who invaded the county. The gunmen's initial incursion in the territory alerted the small farmers and ranchers, as well as the state lawmen, and they formed a posse of 200 men that led to a grueling standoff which ended when the United States Cavalry on the orders of President Benjamin Harrison relieved the two forces, although further fighting persisted.
Maverick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 57,887. Its county seat is Eagle Pass. The county was created in 1856 and organized in 1871. It is named for Samuel Maverick, cattleman and state legislator.
Maureen O'Hara was an Irish-born naturalized American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate but sensible heroines, often in Westerns and adventure films. She worked with director John Ford and long-time friend John Wayne on numerous projects.
Nathan D. Champion — known as Nate Champion — was a key figure in the Johnson County War of April 1892. Falsely accused by a wealthy Wyoming cattlemen's association of being a rustler, Champion was the first person targeted by a band of hit men hired by the wealthy cattle barons. In reality, Champion was simply a small rancher who stood up against the big cattlemen's practice of claiming all unbranded young cattle on the range. He is celebrated for his heroic stand in his besieged cabin and for a heartfelt letter written at the time describing the events.
Alexander Scourby was an American film, television, and voice actor and narrator known for his deep and resonant voice and Mid-Atlantic accent. He is best known for his film role as the ruthless mob boss Mike Lagana in Fritz Lang's The Big Heat (1953), and is also particularly well-remembered in the English-speaking world for his landmark recordings of the entire King James Version audio Bible, which have been released in numerous editions. He later recorded the entire Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Scourby was an accomplished narrator, including for 18 episodes of National Geographic Specials from 1966 to 1985. Scourby recorded 422 audiobooks for the blind, which he considered his most important work.
Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr. was an American actor and film director. Nicol appeared in many Westerns including The Man from Laramie (1955). He appeared in more than forty feature films as well as directing many television shows including The Wild Wild West (1967), Tarzan (1966), and Daniel Boone (1966). He also played many roles on Broadway.
A range war, also known as range conflict or cattle war, is a type of usually violent conflict, most commonly in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the American West. The subject of these conflicts was control of "open range", or range land freely used for cattle grazing, or as sheep pasture, which gave these conflicts its name. Typically they were disputes over water rights, grazing rights, or cattle ownership.
Ellen Liddy "Ella" Watson was a pioneer of Wyoming who became known as Cattle Kate, an outlaw of the Old West, although the characterization is a dubious one, as subsequent research has tended to see her as a much maligned victim of a self-styled land baron. Watson had acquired homestead rights on land with water resources vital to the wealthiest rancher in the county, Albert Bothwell, when she was accused by him of cattle rustling. She was abducted from her home and lynched along with her husband by Bothwell and some other ranchers he had incited against her. The bodies were left hanging for two days, and the reputation that attached to her until recently was quickly established by newspaper publicity. Accounts of Watson as a rustler are now regarded as highly biased. Her life has become an Old West legend and inspired a number of television and film accounts.
Against All Flags is a 1952 American pirate film directed by George Sherman, with uncredited assist from Douglas Sirk. It features Errol Flynn as Lt. Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens, and Anthony Quinn as Roc Brasiliano. The film is set in 1700, on the coast of Madagascar.
These Thousand Hills is a 1959 American Western film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Don Murray, Richard Egan, Lee Remick, Stuart Whitman and Patricia Owens. The screenplay was written by Alfred Hayes. It is based on the novel of the same name by A. B. Guthrie Jr. Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico.
Comanche Territory is a 1950 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Maureen O'Hara and Macdonald Carey. Jim Bowie is sent into Comanche country on a mission to allow the government to mine silver on the Indian's land.
War Arrow is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler and John McIntire. Filmed by Universal Pictures and based on the Seminole Scouts, the film was shot in Agoura, California.
At Sword's Point, also known as Sons of the Three Musketeers, is a 1952 American historical action adventure film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Cornel Wilde and Maureen O'Hara. It was shot in Technicolor by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was completed in 1949 but was not released until 1952.
Flame of Araby is a 1951 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Charles Lamont starring Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler. British film star Maxwell Reed made his American film debut in the picture. Locations were shot at three famous film locations: Vasquez Rocks, Bronson Canyon, and the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California.
The Big Land is a 1957 American Western film in Warnercolor directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo and Edmond O'Brien.
Back in the Saddle is a 1941 American Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Mary Lee. Written by Richard Murphy and Jesse Lasky Jr., the film is about a singing cowboy who attempts to bring peace between ranchers and the operator of a copper mine whose chemicals are poisoning the area's water supply. The film features several of Autry's hit songs, including "Back in the Saddle Again", "I'm An Old Cowhand", and "You Are My Sunshine".
The Veils of Bagdad is a 1953 American adventure film directed by George Sherman and starring Victor Mature and Mari Blanchard.
Loan Shark is a 1952 American crime film noir directed by Seymour Friedman and starring George Raft, Dorothy Hart and Paul Stewart.
Tripoli is a 1950 American adventure film directed by Will Price and written by Winston Miller. The film is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Derna at Derna, a coastal town in modern eastern Libya in April 1805 against Tripoli, one of the four Barbary states in North Africa and stars John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Howard Da Silva, Phillip Reed, Grant Withers, Lowell Gilmore and Connie Gilchrist. The film was released on November 9, 1950, by Paramount Pictures. The film was re-released by Citation Films Inc. and retitled The First Marines.
Land Beyond the Law is a 1937 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and written by Luci Ward and Joseph K. Watson. The film stars Dick Foran, Linda Perry, Wayne Morris, Harry Woods, Irene Franklin and Frank Orth. It was released by Warner Bros. on March 13, 1937.
