WHY ISN'T THIS A FILM - The Execution of Anne Greene

Looking at the world of fiction and popular culture... and real things that should be films.

Anne Greene was a scullery maid at the house of Sir Thomas Reade, sometime Sheriff of Oxfordshire, when she became an unmarried mother...

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WHY ISN'T THIS A FILM? - Tesla

Real Life can be much more interesting than fiction.  Some real life people and events should be films, like... Nikola Tesla.

Nikola Tesla is the new god of geekdom... as such, where is his film?

WHY ISN'T THIS A FILM - Bass Reeves

Deputy US Marshal Bass Reeves 

Bass Reeves being mentioned on Justified.

Bass was born in Paris, Texas, in 1838, the son of slaves.  Eventually Bass became his owner George Reeves' personal companion and body servant, and accompanied him when he joined up for the Civil War.  Bass left George, possibly after a fight over a card game, and fled to Indian Territory when he learnt to fire a pistol and rifle with both hands.  Although he claimed to be "only fair" with the rifle, he was regularly banned from competitive Turkey shoots for being too good.  After the Emancipation Proclamation he returned from Indian Territory and became a landowner in Arkansas, married and raised five girl and five boys.

In 1875, Judge Isaac C Parker appointed James F Fagan as US Marshal and told to hire around 200 Deputies to clear up the lawless Indian Territory.  Fagan heard of Reeves' familiarity with the territory and the languages and recruit Bass as a US Deputy Marshal based at Fort Smith (the court covering the largest area in the country) making him the first black man commissioned as a law man west of the Mississippi.

Reeves would leave with a number of warrants, and although Reeves could neither read nor write, he got people to read the Warrants to him and memorised them, allowing him to always produce the correct one when asked.  He was known to return herding a number of outlaws back to Fort Smith, making a handsome reward from fees and rewards.

• Suspecting two outlaws were hiding at their mothers, he disguised himself as a tramp with three bullet holes in his hat, and visited her saying he'd been chased by a posse who'd shot at him, hitting his hat.  The mother suggested that he join forces with her sons who returned as the sun was setting.  The three discussed their crimes and planned to head off the next morning.  While the two outlaws slept, Bass produced his hidden handcuffs, cuffed them while they slept and then led them the 28 miles back to his camp, being cursed by the mother the first three miles but making $5,000 in reward money for the pair.
• He arrested six outlaws by dressing as a farmer and pretending that his cart was caught on a stump outside thier house, drawing on them when they came out to help him.
• Bob Dozier was an outlaw wanted for a range of crimes. Unpredictable and hard to track no lawman came close to capture him.  He even eluded Reeves for several years until, finally, Reeves tracked him down.  Dozier refused to surrender and was shot and killed in a gunfight with Reeves.
• He arrested horse thief Belle Star in 1882.  Some say she surrendered when she heard that the legendary Bass Reeves was after her.
• He was arrested in 1887 for the murder of his posse's cook, William Leach, but was acquitted after testifying that he shot him accidentally while cleaning his gun.  It is suggested that the trial may have been politically motivated and bankrupted him.  The 49 year old returned to his job as a Deputy US Marshal.
• In 1889, he waited along the route that the Tom Story Gang's long-term horse rustling operation used, surprising Story with a warrant.  Story drew on Reeves, but Reeves was quicker.  The gang disbanded and were never heard from again.
• Greenleaf a Seminole outlaw who'd killed seven people and been on the run for nineteen years was captured by Reeves in 1890.
• The murderous Brunt brothers (known for killing officers of the law) laughed at him when they read the warrant he gave them.  But he used their inattention to draw on them, killing two and disarming and arresting the third.
• In 1892, Reeves returned with a pair of prisoners to be told that his daughter in-law had been murdered and his own son, Benny/Bennie, was wanted for the crime.  The warrant had been on US Marshall Leo Bennett's desk for two days - none of the other Deputy Marshals wanted to take it.  A shaken Reeves demanded that it be given to him.  Two weeks later he returned with his own son as a prisoner.  Benny served 20 years.
• After a running gun battle with Reeves in 1895, dying horse thief Jim Webb acknowledge Reeves as the better man, giving him his gun and scabbard.
• In 1902, Reeves and another Marshal arrested 25 men (black and white) who participated in a "race riot" in Paris, Texas.
• Reeves said that the most outlaws he captured at one time was a group of nineteen horse thieves he captured near Fort Still.
• One of Reeves last cases was arresting Reverend William Hobson for illegally selling liquor to pay off the church debt.  Only three years early Reeves had been baptised by the same Reverend.

Reeves brought in 3,000 outlaws in his 32 years as a Marshal, the only one on record to have served from the Parker's court until Oklahoma statehood.  In that time he also shot fourteen men as, but said that he never did so unless to save his own life.  He himself was never shot.  When Oklahoma achieve statehood in 1907, law enforcement came under state control and aged 68, Reeves joined the Muskogee Oklahoma Police Department, but no crimes were reported on his beat for the two years we walked it.  He was diagnosed with Brights disease in 1909 and died in 1910.

Why it should be filmed:

• Solid action story.
• Historical significance.
• To start to redress the white-washing of the American West.
• Morgan Freeman wants to play him.
• Cool facial hair.

Previous films of this story:

• Bass Reeves (2010) - A very low budget, hard to find film.
• Some claim inspiration for The Lone Ranger and Django Unchained due to superficial similarities.

Should be in the Style of:

• True Grit (2010).
• Unforgiven (1992).

~ DUG.

Other Film Blogs.

WHY ISN'T THIS A FILM - Introduction

There are true stories out there and some of those are better than the films we see.  These posts are some of the real stories that I think would make great films but have never appeared properly on the big screen.

Some of these stories have been low budget films. telemovies or straight to video.  Some have been in-name-only versions or reproductions of "the legend" but not the facts.

~ DUG.

WHY ISN'T THIS A FILM - Alexander & Draga.

The Life and Romance of King Alexander I of Sebia and Queen Draga:

A Love Story.

Royal Pageantry - Politics - Forbidden Love - Love over country - Betrayal - Conspiracy - Murder

Why isn't this a film?

In 1889, when Aleksandar Obrenović was 13 his father King Milan I of Serbia unexpectedly abdicated the throne and retired to Paris.  Milan left his ex-wife, Natalija as regent until Aleksandar at 18.

At the age of 16, Aleksandar declared him an adult and took control of the country a move that had popular support.  He brought his father back to lead the army.

Despite his father trying to arrange a marriage for Aleksandar with a German princess, in the summer of 1900 Aleksandar announced his engagement Draga Mašin, a former lady-in-waiting to his mother and a widow 12 years his senior.  Public opinion was against it. His father and the Prime Minister immediately resigned.  His mother objected to the union and was banished from the country.  Tsar Nicholas II of Russia sent his congratulations and accepted a request to act as principal witness, which lead to more acceptance of the marriage, but Aleksandar's Kingship was weakened in the eyes of the republic and the army.  Rumours abound that Draga was manipulating the young king and one of her two unpopular brothers would be named his successor.

This eventually led (at the age 26) to his and his Queen's murder at the hands of a military conspiracy (which later became The Black Hand organisation that caused WWI).

Previous Films of this story:

• Maria Draga (1932) aka A Woman Commands [US]
• Königin Draga (1920) [Germany]

Should be in the style of:

• Queen Elisabeth (1998)
• Marie Annoinette (2006)

~ DUG.

Valentine's Day 2014

Other Film Posts.