O Pioneers! (film)

*O Pioneers!*
O Pioneers!
	VHS cover
Genre	Drama
Based on	O Pioneers!; by Willa Cather
Teleplay by	Robert W. Lenski
Directed by	Glenn Jordan
Starring	Jessica Lange; David Strathairn; Tom Aldredge;
Music by	Bruce Broughton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Craig Anderson
Producer	Glenn Jordan
Cinematography	Dick Bush
Editor	Scott Conrad
Running time	99 minutes
Production companies	Prairie Films; Craig Anderson Productions; Lorimar Television; Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions;
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	February 2, 1992

O Pioneers! is a 1992 American drama television film produced and directed by Glenn Jordan and written by Robert W. Lenski, based on the 1913 novel of the same title by Willa Cather. It originally aired as a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation on February 2, 1992 on CBS, and stars Jessica Lange. It was also the film debut for Anne Heche, who had a small supporting role in the film.

Plot summary

The film centers around a family of Swedish immigrants in Nebraska around the turn of the 20th century. The family's father dies and leaves the family farm to his daughter. She does her best to make the farm work when many others are giving up and leaving.^[1]
Marie Shabata (czech Šabata) is Emil’s childhood friend and the object of his love. She comes from a Bohemian family and is beautiful, She runs off and marries Frank Shabata when she’s just eighteen, but comes to believe that she was not the right person for Frank. She comes to return Emil’s love, and though she tries (and fails) to resist her feelings.

Cast

Jessica Lange as Alexandra Bergson
David Strathairn as Carl Linstrum
Tom Aldredge as Ivar
Reed Diamond as Emil
Josh Hamilton as Young Carl Linstrum
Heather Graham as Young Alexandra Bergson
Anne Heche as Marie

Filming locations

Much of the filming was done on location in and around Johnstown, in northern Nebraska. Many of the buildings used are still in use today and retain the board sidewalks seen in sections of the film.^[2] Additional scenes were filmed in Clarkson, Nebraska, in the northeast part of the state, at what was then the city's library, as well as a small farmhouse north of town.

Reception

It first aired on television on February 2, 1992, and was the second-most watched primetime show of the week.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and nominations

Awards

1992 Emmy Award - Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)
1993 Western Heritage Award - Television Feature Film

Nominations

1992 Emmy Award - Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special
1993 Golden Globe award - Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television (Jessica Lange).

References

^ O'Connor, John J. (31 January 1992) TV Weekend; Jessica Lange as Willa Cather Heroine, The New York Times
^ Johnstown, Nebraska Homepage Archived December 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

External links

O Pioneers! at IMDb
O Pioneers! at AllMovie

[oconnor-1] O'Connor, John J. (31 January 1992) TV Weekend; Jessica Lange as Willa Cather Heroine, The New York Times

[2] Johnstown, Nebraska Homepage Archived December 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[1]

[2]

v t e Willa Cather
Novels	Alexander's Bridge O Pioneers! The Song of the Lark My Ántonia One of Ours A Lost Lady The Professor's House My Mortal Enemy Death Comes for the Archbishop Shadows on the Rock Lucy Gayheart Sapphira and the Slave Girl Hard Punishments
Short stories	"Peter" "Lou, the Prophet" "The Elopement of Allen Poole" "A Tale of the White Pyramid" "A Son of the Celestial" "The Clemency of the Court" "The Fear That Walks by Noonday" "On the Divide" "A Night at Greenway Court" "Tommy, the Unsentimental" "The Princess Baladina – Her Adventure" "The Count of Crow's Nest" "The Burglar's Christmas" "The Strategy of the Were-Wolf Dog" "A Resurrection" "The Prodigies" "Nanette: An Aside" "The Way of the World" "The Westbound Train" "Eric Hermannson's Soul" "The Dance at Chevalier's" "The Sentimentality of William Tavener" "The Affair at Grover Station" "A Singer's Romance" "The Conversion of Sum Loo" "Jack-a-Boy" "El Dorado: A Kansas Recessional" "The Professor's Commencement" "The Treasure of Far Island" "A Death in the Desert" "A Wagner Matinee" "The Sculptor's Funeral" "Flavia and Her Artists" "The Garden Lodge" "The Marriage of Phaedra" "Paul's Case" "The Namesake" "The Profile" "The Willing Muse" "Eleanor's House" "On the Gulls' Road" "The Enchanted Bluff" "The Joy of Nelly Deane" "Behind the Singer Tower" "The Bohemian Girl" "Consequences" "The Bookkeeper's Wife" "The Diamond Mine" "A Gold Slipper" "Ardessa" "Scandal" "Her Boss" "Coming, Eden Bower!" "Uncle Valentine" "Double Birthday" "Neighbour Rosicky" "Two Friends" "The Old Beauty" "Before Breakfast" "The Best Years"
Short story collections	The Troll Garden Youth and the Bright Medusa Obscure Destinies The Old Beauty and Others Five Stories
Collection of poems	April Twilights
Collaborations	The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science
Adaptations	A Lost Lady (1934 film) O Pioneers! (1992 film) My Antonia (1995 film) The Song of the Lark (2001 film) O Pioneers! (2009 opera)
Related	Willa Cather Birthplace Willa Cather House Edith Lewis Willa Cather Foundation WILLA Literary Award