Lonesome Dove

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Lonesome Dove
Cover to the Pulitzer Prize announcement edition
Author	Larry McMurtry
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Lonesome Dove series
Genre(s)	Western
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	1985
Media type	print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	843 p. (hardback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-671-50420-7 (hardback edition)
Preceded by	Comanche Moon
Followed by	Streets of Laredo

Lonesome Dove (mini series)
The 1989 film Lonesome Dove DVD cover
Directed by	Simon Wincer
Produced by	Dyson Lovell Suzanne De Passe
Written by	Larry McMurtry (novel) William D. Wittliff (teleplay)
Starring	Robert Duvall Tommy Lee Jones Danny Glover Diane Lane Robert Urich
Music by	Basil Poledouris
Cinematography	Douglas Milsome
Editing by	Corky Ehlers
Distributed by	Motown Productions
Release date(s)	February 5, 1989
Running time	384 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Followed by	Return to Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove, written by Larry McMurtry, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning western novel and the first published book of the Lonesome Dove series. The story focuses on the relationship of several retired Texas Rangers and their adventures driving a cattle herd from Texas to Montana.

McMurtry originally developed the tale in 1972 for a feature film entitled The Streets of Laredo (a title later used for the sequel), which was to have starred John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and James Stewart, and be directed by Peter Bogdanovich, but plans fell through. McMurtry later resurrected the screenplay as a full-length novel, which became a bestseller and won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.^[1]

It was then made into a four-part TV miniseries, which won seven Emmy Awards and was nominated for twelve others.^[2] It spawned four follow-up miniseries, Return to Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo, Dead Man's Walk, and Comanche Moon, and two television series, Lonesome Dove: The Series and Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.^[3]

Contents 1 Origins 2 Plot 3 Characters 4 Cast 5 Historical references 6 Awards 7 Adaptations 7.1 DVD & Blu-ray 8 See also 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links

[edit] Origins

The original Lonesome Dove story had been written as a movie script for a 1960s film to be directed by Peter Bogdanovich and star John Wayne, James Stewart, and Henry Fonda, but Wayne turned the part down on John Ford's advice and Stewart backed out as a result, so the movie was abandoned and McMurtry later turned the script into a full-scale novel, Lonesome Dove, which eventually became a television miniseries with Tommy Lee Jones in the Wayne role, Robert Duvall in the Stewart part, and Robert Urich filling in for Fonda. James Garner had been offered Robert Duvall's role in the original miniseries but had to turn it down for health reasons, and eventually wound up playing the part first portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones and originally created for John Wayne in the sequel, "The Streets of Laredo".^[4]

[edit] Plot

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Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae (Robert Duvall) and Captain Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones), two famous ex-Texas Rangers, run a livery called the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small dusty Texas border town of Lonesome Dove. Smooth, charming and easy going, Gus loves women and women return the sentiments, but he's twice a widower and he never marries the love of his life, Clara (Angelica Huston). Although he had proposed many a time, she had rejected him every time because, in her words, Gus is "a rambler," and she despises Call because she feels jealous of the years Gus spent with him instead of her. She needed to settle down and have a family and a good life; he was brave and a dead aim, but was lazy and prone to wandering away for another adventure.

While McCrae is warm, good natured, and understanding of people, Captain Call, Gus's best friend and partner, is the opposite: a workaholic taskmaster who hides in his work, emotionally cut off. He is afraid "to admit he's human," according to McCrae. He only loved one woman, a whore named Maggie, who gave birth to his only son, Newt. Though he knows he is his bastard son's father, he refuses to admit it and give Newt his name. He is hypercompetent at his work to compensate for his complete failure at human relationships. He is cold and driven by pride and honor, not love. Even when he drags the body of the only human who ever understood him and loved him anyway over 2000 miles across the Great Plains, suffering ridicule and hardship, he claims he is doing it for duty, not friendship. He is the Western version of Captain Ahab whose reckless stubbornness ends in tragedy.

Working with them are Joshua Deets (Danny Glover), a black man who is an excellent tracker and scout from their Ranger days, Pea Eye Parker (Timothy Scott), another former Ranger who works hard but isn't all too bright, and Bolivar (León Singer), a retired Mexican bandit who is their cook. Also living with them is the boy Newt Dobbs (Rick Schroder), a seventeen-year-old whose mother was a prostitute named Maggie and whose father may be Call.

The story begins in the small town of Lonesome Dove, as Jake Spoon (Robert Urich), a former comrade of Call's and McCrae's, shows up after an absence of more than ten years. He is a man on the run, having accidentally shot the dentist of Fort Smith in Arkansas. The dentist's brother happens to be the sheriff, July Johnson (Chris Cooper). Reunited with Gus and Call, Jake's breath-taking description of Montana inspires Call to gather a herd of cattle and drive them there, to begin the first cattle ranch in the frontier territory. Call is attracted to the romantic notion of settling pristine country. Gus is less enthusiastic, pointing out that they are getting old and that they are Rangers and traders, not cowboys. But he changes his mind when Jake reminds him that Gus' old sweetheart, Clara, lives on the Platte, 20 miles from Ogallala, Nebraska, which is on their route to Montana. Captain Call prevails. They make preparations for their adventure north, including stealing horses in Mexico and recruiting almost all the male citizens of Lonesome Dove.

Ironically, Jake Spoon decides not to go after all, being selfish and undependable and because he promises the town's only prostitute, Lorena Wood, known as Lorie (Diane Lane), he'll take her to San Francisco.

Ogallala also happens to be the destination of Elmira, the wife of Sheriff Johnson, as she runs away to meet up with her true love, Dee Boot. So the three groups head north. They encounter horse thieves, murderers, hostile Indians, inclement weather and a few inner demons.

[edit] Characters

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• Captain Augustus McCrae - Co-owner of the Hat Creek Cattle Company, McCrae considers himself the brains of the outfit. Generous, humorous, and lazy to the point of eccentricity, he serves as a foil to the more serious, practical Call. When not working (which he does as little as possible), Gus pursues his three chief interests in life: women, alcohol and cards. He is well-known in the territory for his loud voice, superior eyesight and accuracy with a revolver.

• Captain Woodrow F. Call - Gus's partner in the company. Less verbose and chatty than McCrae, Call works long and hard and sees no reason why others should not do the same. A former Texas Ranger who won a merit award from the Governor of Texas for "courage under fire", he served with Gus when both were young men. Though Call has utter disdain for lazy men who drink, gamble, and whore their lives away, he has his own secret shame which he hides carefully from his comrade. Call's ability to "break" unmanageable horses is also well-known.

• Pea Eye Parker - The wrangler and blacksmith of the Hat Creek Cattle Company, Pea Eye served as a corporal in the Rangers under Gus and Call. Pea Eye (his real name long forgotten) is not especially bright, but he is reliable, brave, and kind. He follows Call's lead without question.

• Joshua Deets - An ex-slave and former Ranger, Deets is a ranch hand at the company. On the drive, he serves as scout. A remarkable tracker and morally upright man, he is one of the few men whom Call respects and trusts.

• Newt Dobbs - A young orphan raised by Gus and Call. His mother was a prostitute named Maggie Tilton, who died when he was a child. He knows his mother was a prostitute, and has no idea who his father might be. Most other observers, notably Gus and Clara Allen, are quite certain that Call is his father. Call eventually comes to this realization privately, but is never able to admit it explicitly.

• Jake Spoon - A former comrade-in-arms of Gus, Call, Pea Eye, and Deets. Jake is, if anything, lazier than Gus, but without the latter's redeeming virtues. A gambler and drinker, Jake prefers living in luxury and ease and shirks work with a passion, which irks Call mightily. He is, however, a man of great personal charm and is seldom unlucky in love.

• Dishwater Boggett - A cowboy of great skill, "Dish" serves as the top hand for Call's cattle drive. His main aspiration is to win the love of Lorena Wood.

• Lorena Wood - A kind-hearted young woman who was forced into prostitution by her lover, she was then abandoned in Lonesome Dove. Lorena is silent, strong willed, and intimidating, refusing to submit meekly to her various admirers. Discontent with her line of work, "Lorie" hopes to leave the dead town and find her way to San Francisco.

• Blue Duck - When Gus and Call quit Rangering, Blue Duck was unfinished business. The son of a Comanche war chief and his Mexican prisoner, Blue Duck leads a band of renegade Indians and buffalo hunters. He is feared across the plains as a murderer, rapist, and slaver.

• July Johnson - The sheriff of the town of Fort Smith, Arkansas. July is a kind, long-suffering young man, recently married to a woman he knows little about and who is utterly disdainful of his attention. After his brother, Ben, is accidentally killed by Jake Spoon, July's domineering sister-in-law Peach bullies him into setting out in pursuit. July is accompanied by his young stepson, Joe, and his incompetent deputy, Roscoe.

• Roscoe Brown - The deputy sheriff of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Roscoe is a timid man who spends his days playing dominoes and occasionally bringing in the local drunk for an overnight stay at the jail. After July is sent off after Jake Spoon, Roscoe is coerced into tracking down July's wife, Elmira, who has run away in July's absence. Roscoe is also afraid of wild pigs. He, along with Joe, are later killed by Blue Duck.

• Clara Allen - A former love of Gus, she declined his marriage proposals years ago. She lives in Nebraska, married to a Bob Allen, a horse trader who is comatose, having been kicked in the head by a horse. They have two girls, though she is afflicted deeply by the death of her sons. Though separated from Gus by many miles and years, she still holds him fondly in her heart. In contrast, she has utter contempt for Call.

• Po Campo - Cook for the Hat Creek Cattle Company on their cattle drive. Picked up on the way during a stop in Austin (San Antonio in the miniseries). He is most notable for his use of "exotic" ingredients and his refusal to ride animals. Po had a wife that, in his words, "lives in Hell, where I sent her." His sons were previously killed by the renegade half-breed outlaw, Blue Duck.

• Elmira Johnson - July's coldhearted, pregnant wife. Shortly after July departs to track Jake Spoon, Elmira flees town in search of old flame Dee Boot. She finally gets to Ogallala just before Dee is hanged for murder. Along the way she travels on a whiskey boat, enlists a couple of buffalo hunters in her quest, and gives birth at Clara Allen's ranch then abandons her baby there. She and the buffalo hunters are killed by the Sioux shortly after leaving Ogallala.

• Peach Johnson - July Johnson's sister-in-law. She pressures July to bring Jake Spoon back for killing her husband.

• Bolivar - The cook for the Hat Creek Cattle Company. He is obsessed with ringing the dinner bell.

• Jimmy and Ben Rainey, Soupy Jones, Needle Nelson, Jasper Fant, Bert Borum, Lippy Jones, Hugh Auld, Sean and Allen O'Brien - Other hands hired by Call to work the cattle drive.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Robert Duvall	Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae
Tommy Lee Jones	Captain Woodrow F. Call
Timothy Scott	Pea Eye Parker
Danny Glover	Joshua Deets
Rick Schroder	Newt Dobbs
Robert Urich	Jake Spoon
D. B. Sweeney	Dishwater Boggett
Diane Lane	Lorena Wood
Frederic Forrest	Blue Duck
Chris Cooper	July Johnson
Barry Corbin	Roscoe Brown
Jorge Martínez de Hoyos	Po Campo
Glenne Headly	Elmira Johnson
Helena Humann	Peach Johnson
León Singer	Bolivar
Lanny Flaherty	Soupy Jones

[edit] Historical references

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According to McMurtry, Gus and Call were not modeled after historical characters, but there are similarities with real-life cattle drivers Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight. When Goodnight and Loving's guide Bose Ikard died, Goodnight carved a wooden tombstone for him, just as Call does for Deets. Upon Loving's death, Goodnight brought him home to be buried in Texas, just as Call does for Augustus. (Goodnight himself appears as a minor but sympathetic character in this novel, and more so in the sequel, Streets of Laredo, and the prequels Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon.)

Other books of the Lonesome Dove series feature more prominent historical events and locations such as the Santa Fe Expedition, Great Raid of 1840 and the King Ranch, and characters such as Buffalo Hump, John Wesley Hardin, and Judge Roy Bean.

Several years ago, McMurtry mentioned in a newspaper interview that he first thought of the name for his epic while at a restaurant in Oklahoma. On that day, he saw a van which was owned by Lonesome Dove Baptist Church in Southlake, Texas. Lonesome Dove has existed as a Baptist church and cemetery in Southlake since 1846. That left an impression on him.

The sidearm Gus McCrae carries in the Miniseries is the Walker Colt, designed by Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker, and produced by Connecticut gun-maker Samuel Colt in 1847. It was first issued to the Texas Rangers, who praised the pistol for its durability as well as its accuracy and dependability. It was the most powerful black powder revolver ever made, and became as much of a legend as the early Rangers who carried it.

The sign for the Gus and Call's Hat Creek Cattle Company includes the Latin motto "Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit," which appears to be a reference to a proverb ("Uva Uvam Videndo Varia Fit"), first attributed to Juvenal. The proverb is translated as "A grape (uva)other grapes (uvam) seeing (videndo) changes (varia fit)." Some readers think McMurtry's substitution of "vivendo" for "videndo" is an artifice used to underscore Gus's lack of education and unfamiliarity with Latin. But, when Call asks Gus about the motto he jumbles it comically, and does not even pretend to know what it means. Having established that, McMurtry gained nothing by adding a spelling error that only Latin scholars would catch. Likewise, it seems unlikely—as other readers have suggested—that the substitution was simply a typographical error. Although the substitution is ungrammatical, "vivendo" means "living," so the effect is that the motto is changed from "A grape changes when it sees other grapes" to "A grape is changed by living with other grapes," or, since we are not really concerned with grapes after all, "We are changed by the lives around us." The author's alteration takes on greater significance in light of larger themes in the narrative, dealing with one's way of life, and indicated in the remark made by Gus to Call: "It ain't dyin' I'm talkin' about...it's livin'."

[edit] Awards

Award	Recipient	Year
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction	Larry McMurtry	1986
Peabody Award		1990

^[1][2]

Awards	Category	Won	Nomination	Winner
American Cinema Editors (1990)	Best Edited Episode from a Television Mini-Series		Y	Corky Ehlers For Part 3 ("The Plains")
BMI Film & TV Awards (1990)		Y		Basil Poledouris
Casting Society of America (1989)	Best Casting for TV Miniseries	Y		Lynn Kressel
Directors Guild of America (1990)	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials		Y	Simon Wincer
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Miniseries or a Special	Y		Lynn Kressel
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special	Y		Manlio Rocchetti (makeup supervisor), Carla Palmer (makeup artist), and Jean Ann Black (makeup artist) For Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)	Y		Basil Poledouris (composer) For Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special	Y		Van Broughton Ramsey For Part 2 ("On the Trail")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special	Y		Simon Wincer (director) For Part 1 ("Leaving") and Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special	Y		Dave McMoyler (supervising sound editor), Joseph Melody (co-supervising editor), Mark Steele (sound editor), Richard S. Steele (sound editor), Michael J. Wright (sound editor), Gary Macheel (sound editor), Stephen Grubbs (sound editor), Mark Friedgen (sound editor), Charles R. Beith Jr. (sound editor), Scott A. Tinsley (sound editor), Karla Caldwell (sound editor), George B. Bell (sound editor), G. Michael Graham (sound editor), Kristi Johns (supervising adr editor), Tom Villano (supervising music editor), and Jamie Forester (supervising music editor) For Part 3 ("The Plains")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special	Y		Donald F. Johnson (sound mixer), James L. Aicholtz (dialogue mixer), Michael Herbick (music mixer), and Kevin O'Connell (sound effects mixer) For Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Philip Leto (hairstylist) and Manlio Rocchetti (hair supervisor) For Part 2 ("On the Trail")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Cary White (production designer) and Michael J. Sullivan (set decorator) For Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Douglas Milsome (director of photography) For Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single Camera Production		Y	Corky Ehlers (editor) For Part 3 ("The Plains")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Robert Duvall For Part 2 ("On the Trail")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Tommy Lee Jones For Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Anjelica Huston For Part 3 ("The Plains")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Diane Lane For Part 3 ("The Plains") and Part 4 ("The Return")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Miniseries		Y	Suzanne de Passe (executive producer), Bill Wyttliff (executive producer), Robert Halmi Jr. (co-executive producer), Dyson Lovell (producer), and Michael Weisbarth (supervising producer)
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Danny Glover For Part 1 ("Leaving"), Part 2 ("On the Trail"), and Part 3 ("The Plains")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Glenne Headly For Part 1 ("Leaving"), Part 2 ("On the Trail"), and Part 3 ("The Plains")
Emmy Awards (1989)	Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special		Y	Bill Wyttliff (teleplay) For Part 1 ("Leaving") and Part 4 ("The Return")
Golden Globes (1990)	Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	Y
Golden Globes (1990)	Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	Y		Robert Duvall
Golden Globes (1990)	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV		Y	Tommy Lee Jones
Golden Globes (1990)	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV		Y	Anjelica Huston
TV Land Awards (2007)	Miniseries You Didn't Miss a Moment Of		Y
Television Critics Association Awards (1989)	Outstanding Achievement in Drama	Y
Television Critics Association Awards (1989)	Program of the Year	Y
Western Heritage Awards (1990)	Television Feature Film	Y		William D. Wittliff (writer/executive producer), Suzanne de Passe (executive producer), Robert Duvall (star), Tommy Lee Jones (star), and Anjelica Huston (star)
Writers Guild of America Awards (1990)	Adapted Long Form	Y		William D. Wittliff For Part 1 ("Leaving")

^[2]

[edit] Adaptations

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A television miniseries adaptation, produced by Motown Productions, was broadcast on CBS in 1989. It starred Robert Duvall as Augustus McCrae, Tommy Lee Jones as Woodrow F. Call, Rick Schroder as Newt, Diane Lane as Lorena Wood, Danny Glover as Joshua Deets, Robert Urich as Jake Spoon, Anjelica Huston as Clara Allen, Frederic Forrest as Blue Duck, Chris Cooper as July Johnson, and Barry Corbin as Roscoe Brown. Four other actors (Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, James Garner, and Jon Voight) were offered the role of Woodrow Call but declined for various reasons before the role fell to Tommy Lee Jones. The miniseries was primarily filmed at various locations, including ranches, in Texas and New Mexico. Real ranch horses were used for authenticity during the filming of the movie.

ION Television has shown a digitally remastered version of the miniseries starting the weekend of June 30, 2007 during the "RHI Movie Weekend" (RHI Entertainment are the current owners of the Lonesome Dove miniseries). The four episodes are entitled in order: 1. Leaving, 2. On The Trail, 3. The Plains, 4. Return.

There was also a syndicated spin-off TV series Lonesome Dove: The Series centering on Newt (Scott Bairstow) taking up residence in the fictional town of Curtis Wells, Montana, having adopted his father's family name of Call. Starting out as a fairly romanticized interpretation of the west, it was heavily revamped for its second season, gaining a much grittier feel and the new title Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years. Filming took place in Calgary, Alberta, and a total of 43 episodes were produced, airing between 1994 and 1996.

[edit] DVD & Blu-ray

Lonesome Dove, Return to Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk are all available on DVD in the United Kingdom (distributed by Acorn Media UK) and the United States. Both seasons of the TV series have also been released in the U.S.

Lonesome Dove was filmed in a soft matte 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio, allowing it to be cropped from the 4:3 negative. It was then released on Blu-ray Disc on August 5, 2008 just months before the film's 20th anniversary.

[edit] See also

• Lonesome Dove series

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• McMurtry, Larry. (1985). Lonesome Dove: A Novel. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671504207

[edit] External links

• Lonesome Dove at the Internet Movie Database
• Lonesome Dove at the TCM Movie Database
• Lonesome Dove at Allmovie
• Lonesome Dove exhibit at Texas State University - San Marcos
• Pappy's Holdup wagon journey - Location where part of Movie was filmed.
• Photos of the first edition of Lonesome Dove
• Study Guide for "Lonesome Dove"

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie	Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1986	Succeeded by A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor