made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
based very loosely on a series of books by
Janette Oke
Janette Oke (née Steeves; born February 18, 1935) (pronounced "oak") is a Canadian author of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer era and centered on female protagonists. Her first novel, ''Love Comes Softly'', was publi ...
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...
on December 3, 2005.
It is the third movie in the Love Saga, which includes ''
Love Comes Softly
''Love Comes Softly'' is a 2003 made-for-television Christian drama film set in the 19th century, based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 13, 2003. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr., and st ...
'' (2003), ''
Love's Enduring Promise
''Love's Enduring Promise'' is a 2004 made-for-television Christian drama film based on a series of books by Janette Oke.
The film is the second in the '' Love Comes Softly'' series of television movies on Hallmark Channel that includes ''Love ...
Love's Unending Legacy
''Love's Unending Legacy'' is a 2007 made-for-television Christian drama film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 7, 2007. It was directed by Mark Griffiths and stars Erin Cottrell. It is t ...
'' (2007), ''
Love's Unfolding Dream
''Love's Unfolding Dream'' is a 2007 made-for-television Christian drama film and the sixth film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on December 15, 2007 and was produced for Hallmark by Larry Levin ...
'' (2007), ''
Love Takes Wing
''Love Takes Wing'' is a 2009 made-for-television Christian drama film and the seventh film based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It aired on Hallmark Channel on April 4, 2009.
After lots of planning and dreaming, young couple Willie LaHaye (
Logan Bartholomew
John Logan Bartholomew (born February 9, 1984) is an American actor born in Galion, Ohio, best known for his role of Willie LaHaye in 3 of the 8 films in the ''Love Comes Softly'' series. He later appeared in series like '' CSI: Miami'' (2005) a ...
) and Missie LaHaye (
Erin Cottrell
Erin Cottrell (born August 24, 1975) is an American actress who has appeared in the role of Missie LaHaye in five of the eight films in the ''Love Comes Softly'' series. She was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
She acted in '' Love's Long Journey ...
) have headed West on the Wagon Trail, leaving behind the hometown of Missie's parents. Missie is caught between the excitement of the new adventure and the pain of not knowing when she'll see her family again. Willie and Missie leave the Wagon Train and travel further West to Tettsford Junction. When they get there, they meet a boy called Jeff and his older brother Sonny who they see riding into town with two other outlaws. Unknown to Jeff, Sonny's 'job' is being part of a gang of outlaws and hijacking and stealing from innocent people.
When Willie and Missie arrive on their new farm, the tiny house is old and run down, but Missie is happy because it is the first home they can call their own. Missie is worried that Willie is working too hard on their new farm, and she doesn't find the right time to tell him of her pregnancy. Later on, they are riding over their land together, and they see native Indians, and Willie fears for Missie's safety. They find a good place between the trees to bury their money box of hard-earned savings, and Missie draws a map to mark out the spot. Later on in town, Willie interviews a few men and hires four ranch hands, Henry, Cookie, Fyn, and Scottie. Meanwhile, Missie meets one of their neighbors, a Native American Indian woman named Miriam Red Hawk McClain who becomes her friend.
When Missie is riding over to the Indian camp to take books and teach the children how to read, a group of hunters from the camp close in on her and chase her at a gallop back to the camp just for a bit of fun, and Miriam comes out and apologized deeply and introduces her brother Sharp Claw, and her husband Sean. Willie finds out that Missie was riding out alone and fearing that the Indians might have chased her, he rides straight away to the Indian camp to find her. Back at the house, Willie is mad that Missie rode out on her own, and he forbids her to do it again. But she refuses and tells Willie that she believes the Lord sent Miriam to her to help deliver their baby, and Willie tells her the he is the happiest man alive.
The next day, Sonny is teaching Jeff how to rope when Trent and Pacey have someone else they want to rob and Sonny has to leave Jeff again. The next day is Christmas Day and Missie invites the ranch hands to Christmas dinner and they are all touched because they have not had Christmas dinner for many years. In town, Jeff asks Missie to read him a note Sonny sent him and it says that Sonny will be back after Christmas, and Jeff runs off, knowing he will have to have Christmas by himself. That night Missie and the ranch hands are all in the house decorating the Christmas tree. Willie is still in town and when he finally comes back Missie is mad at him because it is Christmas Eve, but then she realizes he was so late because he brought Jeff back with him. Fyn lifts Jeff up and he puts the star on top of the Christmas tree. Then they have a big dinner and open their presents and Scotty is very touched because it is the first Christmas present he had ever got.
The next day Sonny and the others come back into town and Jeff is delighted to see Sonny again. That night in the saloon, the ranch hands are having drinks and playing cards and Trent and Pacey come up and Fyn says that Willie "digs up a box of money to pay us, just like buried treasure." Trent and Pacey immediately get the idea to rob Willie.
When Willie, Missie, Jeff, and Henry are having a Sunday morning meeting, Sonny, Trent, and Pacey hijack the house to get Willie's money. Willie and the ranch hands are tied to a fence and held at gun point by Sonny and Pacey, while Missie is forced to ride out with Trent and dig up their buried money. Willie tells Sonny to tell Jeff "what you really does for a living, stealing from innocent people. Probably been involved in a murder or two." Jeff urges Sonny to tell Willie that he is wrong and he's never killed anyone, and Sonny tells Jeff that he's "never killed nobody," and that he's doing this for him, to build a ranch of their own, to get a better life for them.
Out in the woods, Missie finds a pistol underneath the money box, and she points it at Trent and shoots straight through the middle of the note he's holding. Back at the house, Willie hears the shots and finally frees himself, running at Pacey and knocks him to the ground. But Sonny runs over to help Pacey, and they soon have Willie tied up on the ground again. A rider gallops up, presumably Trent, with no Missie in sight. Jeff desperately asks Sonny if Missie is ok, and Sonny yells at the rider, saying that Missie better not be hurt. But the rider suddenly points a pistol at Pacey's back and pulls down the face-covering bandana; everyone is stunned to see that it is Missie, who had taken over Trent and put his coat and hat on, leaving him tied up to a tree near the money box. Missie orders Sonny to untie Willie, and then Willie picks up a gun and tells Sonny to "tie up Pacey, just like you did to us, and then maybe we'll ask the Lord to spare your life." But when Sonny went to tie up Pacey, Pacey said, "Let me help you with that," as he pulled a gun from his pocket and shot Sonny. Willie immediately shoots Pacey in the shoulder while Missie, Jeff, and Fyn run over to Sonny, who asks for their forgiveness for everything he's done. Missie forgives him, knowing that he isn't a bad man underneath and he only stole to support his little brother, and she promises to look after Jeff. Shortly after, Sonny passes away.
That night Missie goes into labor, and with Miriam as her midwife, she gives birth to a baby boy named Matthew Isiah LaHaye, after Willie's brother Mathew who died when they were kids.
Cast
*
Erin Cottrell
Erin Cottrell (born August 24, 1975) is an American actress who has appeared in the role of Missie LaHaye in five of the eight films in the ''Love Comes Softly'' series. She was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
She acted in '' Love's Long Journey ...
as Missie LaHaye
*
Logan Bartholomew
John Logan Bartholomew (born February 9, 1984) is an American actor born in Galion, Ohio, best known for his role of Willie LaHaye in 3 of the 8 films in the ''Love Comes Softly'' series. He later appeared in series like '' CSI: Miami'' (2005) a ...
Irene Bedard
Irene Bedard (born July 22, 1967) is an American actress, who has played mostly lead Native American roles in a variety of films. She is perhaps best known for the role of Suzy Song in the 1998 film '' Smoke Signals'', an adaptation of a Sherma ...
as Miriam "Red Hawk" McClain
*
Gil Birmingham
Gil Birmingham (born July 13, 1953) is an American actor known for his role as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater in the Paramount Network's television series ''Yellowstone''. He is also known for his portrayal of Billy Black in '' The Twilight Sag ...
James Tupper
James Tupper (born August 4, 1965) is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Jack Slattery on the ABC television series ''Men in Trees'', Dr. Chris Sands on the NBC medical drama series ''Mercy'', and David Clarke on ABC's ''Revenge''. He also s ...
as Henry Kline
*
Johann Urb
Johann Urb (born 24 January 1977) is an Estonian-American actor, producer, and former model.
Early life and education
Johann Urb was born in Tallinn to parents Tarmo and Maris Urb. His father is an Estonian musician and the brother of actor a ...
as Fyn Anders
*
Jeff Kober
Jeff Kober (born December 18, 1953) is an American actor, known for his television roles as Dodger in ''China Beach'', Jacob Hale Jr. in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Joe in the fourth season of '' The Walking Dead''. He is also known his movie rol ...
Diane Salinger
Diane Louise Salinger (born January 25, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for Apollonia in ''Carnivàle
''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1 ...
Dale Midkiff
Dale Alan Midkiff (born July 1, 1959) is an American actor, best known for playing Louis Creed in the horror film ''Pet Sematary'' (1989) and Captain Darien Lambert in the TV series ''Time Trax''.
Career
Midkiff acted in off-Broadway plays lik ...
as Clark Davis
Differences from the novel
* In the novel, while Willie goes on out to the homestead, Missie stays with the Taylorsons in Tettsford Junction for 3 months so she can be near a doctor when she delivers her baby. Willie's ranch in the novel is a 6-day wagon trip from Tettsford Junction. A new town is later built near the ranch in '' Love's Abiding Joy''
* Willie and Missie name their son Nathan Isaiah in the novel. Nathan is the middle name of both Willie and Clark; Isaiah is after the Bible verse they memorized for the journey west. Nathan Isaiah is the name shown in the films end-credits, instead of Matthew Isaiah, the name in the film.
* There is no Sonny or Jeff in the novel. There is also no native family living near the Ranch. The novel depicts a family of Mexicans.
Awards
The following people received "''Camie Awards''" in 2006 for their role in making the film:
* Larry Levinson (executive producer)
* Brian Gordon (producer)
* Erik Olson (producer)
* Michael Landon Jr. (director & screenwriter)
* Cindy Kelley (screenwriter)
*
Janette Oke
Janette Oke (née Steeves; born February 18, 1935) (pronounced "oak") is a Canadian author of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer era and centered on female protagonists. Her first novel, ''Love Comes Softly'', was publi ...
(author of book)
*
Erin Cottrell
Erin Cottrell (born August 24, 1975) is an American actress who has appeared in the role of Missie LaHaye in five of the eight films in the ''Love Comes Softly'' series. She was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
She acted in '' Love's Long Journey ...
(actress)
*
Logan Bartholomew
John Logan Bartholomew (born February 9, 1984) is an American actor born in Galion, Ohio, best known for his role of Willie LaHaye in 3 of the 8 films in the ''Love Comes Softly'' series. He later appeared in series like '' CSI: Miami'' (2005) a ...
(actor)
Notes
Missie was portrayed by
January Jones
January Kristen Jones (born January 5, 1978) is an American actress and model. She played Betty Draper in ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and a Pr ...
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...