Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today's film is 1994's "Squanto: A Warrior's Tale", in which we explore the story of how the first Thanksgiving in America came to be.
The film's cast includes Adam Beach, Michael Gambon, Mandy Patinkin, Eric Schweig, Donal Donnelly, Stuart Pankin, and Irene Bedard.
Squanto is a young American Indian man just starting out in life. He was foretold by his father that his eyes would see far beyond the shores of their land.
Things are looking up for Squanto. He's just gotten married to a lovely young woman named Nakooma.
The day after their wedding, Squanto gets kidnapped along with fellow Indian Epenow by some English explorers.
They are taken to England, where Squanto and Epenow are informed that they are the "property" of Sir George.
Sir George bills Squanto as a "savage" and a "barbarian". A crowd is gathered to watch Squanto fight with a bear.
After being injured by the bear, Squanto begins to sing to it in his language, which causes the animal to lie down and go to sleep. The crowd is mesmerized by the spectacle.
Squanto uses the opportunity to escape from captivity. Sir George is furious and orders a search party to bring Squanto back no matter what it takes.
Squanto escapes by boat and gets caught in a large storm. He's washed ashore somewhere along the English countryside, where he is found by some monks who bring him back to their monastery.
He begins to heal from his injuries and learns to trust the monks who have taken care of him. Squanto also comes to realize that his protector is the hawk, who warns him when danger is near.
As time passes, Sir George gets angrier and angrier. He can't believe that no one can find Squanto. "A naked Indian with
hair down to the ground and a necklace made of shells and feathers
disappears into a civilized city, and all the well paid and well-trained
military men can’t find him.It’s not a needle in the haystack.It’s a haystack!" he exclaims.
At the monastery, Squanto forms a bond with Brother Daniel. The two begin to teach each other their languages so they can understand one another.
Squanto makes moccasins for Brother Timothy who loves them and declares them to be super comfortable. Brother Paul, who is mistrustful of Squanto, says, "Brother Timothy, you
did not join this monastery to be comfortable!There will be comfort enough in the life to
come."
And Squanto even introduces the monks to such novelties foods as popcorn, which the brothers proclaim to be delicious.
When it is learned that a boat is headed for the New World, Squanto is anxious to be on it. All the brothers sadly bid him farewell. Even Brother Paul has come to see Squanto as a friend and is sorry to see him go.
Squanto is reunited with Epenow on the boat. While Squanto had a mostly good experience in England, Epenow is very bitter about the time spent there as he was in captivity the entire time.
Once back in America, Squanto goes to his village and is devastated to see that not one member of his tribe is left alive. All have been wiped out by disease brought over by the English settlers.
Tensions rise between the people of Epenow's tribe and the English. Fighting causes both sides to be aggressive towards each other.
Squanto lays down his weapons and urges both sides to do the same. He cautions that enough blood has been shed.
And so the Indians begin to help the Pilgrims learn how to live in this new land. At harvest time they come together to give thanks for all that they've been provided.
Cast rundown:
Adam Beach.................................Squanto
Michael Gambon............................Sir George
Mandy Patinkin..............................Brother Daniel
Eric Schweig..................................Epenow
Donal Donnelly..............................Brother Paul
Stuart Pankin................................Brother Timothy
And that's it for Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. The Indian language spoken in this film is Mi'kmaq, which was actually spoken in Nova Scotia and not in Massachusetts where this movie is set. The film has been heavily criticized for its historical inaccuracies. It has also been called the first film to tell the story of the first Thanksgiving from Squanto's point of view.
In the United States, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. So today, I thought we'd take a look at a Thanksgiving-themed film. 1953's "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" is the sequel to "On Moonlight Bay" and tells the continuing story of Marjorie, Bill, and the Winfield family as they live their lives in small-town America.
The film's cast includes Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Billy Gray, Mary Wickes, Russell Arms, Maria Palmer, Howard Wendell, Geraldine Wall, and PeeWee Flannery.
Right away we are re-introduced to the Winfield family, one of whom is the youngest child Wesley. He's currently obsessed with being a private investigator (Fearless Flanagan, Badge 79). He also keeps a watch over Gregory, a turkey who is eventually supposed to end up as Thanksgiving dinner.
Housekeeper Stella is the one who tells of each member of the family. At the end of her introductions, she says, "Oh, you're probably wondering who I am.Well, don't be so nosy."
The Winfields are all excited. Their daughter Marjorie's boyfriend Bill is coming home from the war.
Bill is happy to be coming home, too. On the train, he and his fellow servicemen sing "My Hometown Is A One Horse Town".
When Bill arrives at the Winfield house, he greets an excited Marjorie, who began trying on a wedding dress the minute she heard that Bill was on the way.
Bill and Marjorie head off to a town dance, and their romance picks up right where they left off. They sing "Your Eyes Have Told Me So" as they move around the dancefloor.
Meanwhile, Wesley is having trouble keeping control of Gregory. "For the last time," says Mr. Winfield, "that turkey does not belong in the house!" Wesley replies, "Well, if he's good
enough to be on the table, he's good enough to walk around it."
After the dance the other night, Bill and Marjorie had a little misunderstanding. So, Marjorie decides to make Bill jealous by singing with Wesley's music teacher. "Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee" does its job and stings Bill into action. He and Marjorie are back together before the song is through.
Preparations for Thanksgiving dinner are in full swing. Bill and Marjorie take a break from helping so they can sing "Ain't We Got Fun".
Mr. Winfield steps into the kitchen and looks at the turkey cooking in the oven. "Looks good," he says. "When will it be ready?" Stella gives him a sarcastic look and quickly closes the oven door. "I don't know. I never cooked one with the door open before," she says.
Through some fast thinking on Wesley's part, Gregory the turkey gets a reprieve and isn't cooked up for dinner. Naturally, Mr. Winfield isn't happy about being deceived.
After dinner, Bill and Marjorie sing the title song together. Afterwards, Marjorie says, "You know, I think we have more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving than anybody." To which Bill replies, "Yeah. Except Gregory."
After all the Thanksgiving festivities are over, Mr. Winfield goes over to visit actress Renee LaRue at her hotel to discuss a play that his bank is sponsoring. He reads the script, but isn't particularly happy with one piece of dialogue. He takes it home to give it some more consideration.
Unfortunately, the paper is found by Wesley who shows it to Marjorie. Out of context, it looks like their father is cheating on their mother with Miss LaRue! Soon the whole town gets in on the scandalous gossip.
Marjorie and Stella sympathize with Mrs. Winfield, who doesn't suspect a thing.
Bill and Marjorie continue to see each other. However, the "situation" with her father and Miss LaRue has Marjorie a bit skittish about the institution of marriage.
At home, Marjorie and Wesley fuss over Mrs. Winfield, because they feel badly about the "games" their father is playing with Miss LaRue. Mrs. Winfield tells her husband that they are treating her like a queen. "You are a queen! And that's straight from the king," says Mr. Winfield. Stella shoots him a look and blurts out, "Henry the Eighth!"
While all this is going on, Marjorie participates in a sketch for a show in town. She sings an energetic "King Chanticleer", to much applause from the crowd.
In case you were worried about the Winfield marriage or whether Bill and Marjorie would really get together, don't despair. Everything works out in the end.
And that's it for By The Light Of The Silvery Moon. Doris Day always mentioned this film as one of her favorites of her own films. Doris was 30 years old when she played 18-year-old Marjorie. Gordon MacRae was 31 years old when he played 20-year-old Bill.
So Happy Early Thanksgiving! Stayed tuned tomorrow for another Thanksgiving post.
