The year is 1870, and most of the Mill Creek Indians in California have been killed or pushed into hiding.
Hiram A. Good (David Nordstrom), famed Indian hunter, nicknamed Boone of the Sierras, was instrumental in making the land around safe for white settlers.
So when William Seagraves has a couple of cattle go missing and suspects Indians, he rushes to the man known as Hi Good for help.
Hi Good doubts the Mill Creek Indians were to blame. After all, they’ve learned the high price of crossing a white man.
But prodded by Seagraves and his assistants, he dons his war clothes again, grabs his new rifle and sets off in search of the guilty parties.
He winds up gunning down the first Mill Creek male he comes across, an old man with gray hair. He takes his three female companions hostage.
And Indian Ned, his half-breed servant, watches the treatment of the Indians in horror, finally snapping when Hi Good sells the three women into slavery.
David Nordstrom as Hiram A. (Hi) Good, questioning the wisdom of an Indian hunt in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
Cory Zacharia as Indian Ned, the half-breed guarding Indian captives in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
Review:
An odd combination of movie and documentary that shines a light on a horrific treatment of Indians in California once white settlers arrived.
Hi Good is reluctant to pick up the gun again. But once he does, he soon rediscovers the blood lust that made him famous.
Especially memorable is the scene in which Hi Good and his companions stroll off to do battle with the defenseless Mill Creek Indians.
Wearing furs and head coverings and with their faces smeared with grease, they’ve transformed from civilians to savages in a heartbeat.
Eli Jemenes as Sandy Young, watching Hi Good in action in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
James Gibbons as William Seagraves in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
Directed by:
Lee Lynch
Cast:
David Nordstrom … Hiram A. Good
Cory Zacharia … Indian Ned
Al Bringas … George Spires
Eric H. Heisner … Bull Sublett
James Gibbons … William Seagraves
Eli Jemenes … Sandy Young
Terry Leavey … Obe Fields
Runtime: 73 min.
Also with: Tammy Locke, Robby Arriola, Shalene Peake Banks, Stephen Berkman, Sarah Brill, E.B. Brooks, Miller Carr, Jolene Crawford, Rochele Crawford, Christian Cummings, Brett Eastman, Albert Enos, Erick Enos, Evan Enose, Kirk Fowler, Martin Jaquez, Thorbjorg Jonsdottir, Cat Lane, Lee Lynch, Carl Nordstrom, Megan Nordstrom, Beverly Overstreet, Jeremy Peconom, Otter Peconom, Sage Peconom, Kid Ringo, J. Santos, Micahel Q. Schmidt, Marnie Weber, Jim Wharff, Raelene Wharff, Tombstone Tony
Al Bringas as George Spires, one of Hi Good’s assistants in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
Eric H. Heisner as Bull Sublett, urging Hi Good to pick up his rifle again in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
Memorable lines:
Sandy Young, Hi Good’s lover: “Why’d you do it, Ned?”
Ned: “I didn’t think he could be kilt.”
High priest of Hi Good: “We are gathered here today to bid farewell to one of our brothers, who died most grievously. Where will we write his faults?”
Chanters: “In the sand. In the sand. In the sand.”
Priest: “And where will we write his deeds?”
Chanters: “In the stone. In the stone. In the stone.”
Priest: “So be it.”
Terry Leavey as Obe Fields, suspicious of what Indian Ned has been up to in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
Cory Zacharia as Indian Ned, deciding it’s time to pick up a weapon himself in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
David Nordstrom as Hiram A. (Hi) Good saves Indian Ned (Cory Zacharia) from a whipping in The Murder of Hi Good (2012)
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I’m not a Mason but I couldn’t help noticing the Masonic symbols in this movie. This review helps explain a few things. Apparently Hi Good was a Mason. What was it that the filmmakers were trying to imply here I wonder.
This was an interesting , if somewhat appalling, movie.
Hi John thank you so much for watching the film and thinking about it! Yes this is an appalling history therefore I made an appalling film. To answer your question, I was trying to imply that Hi was a Mason, as it was recorded that he got a major loan for his sheep operation from the Masons therefore we can assume he was a member. I also felt that the legend of Hiram Abiff and the details surrounding his murder mirrored the details of Hi Good’s death so I wanted to draw parallels there, and lastly through my field research I discovered that the very first building in California (built by Americans) was a Masonic temple. Before that they were practicing in caves, so I wanted to emphasize that the early settlers of CA were members of clandestine communities. Thanks again for watching the film and please consider leaving a review on Amazon.
Unless you can find his name written and then signed in a Lodge history that he was a Mason don’t make such extraordinary claims. All Masons must sign the Lodge book upon acceptance – George Washington to present day.
How can you claim that the Masonic Temple built in 1848 was the first building in CA built by “Americans”. Where no other building standing before them in the entire state? What utter rubbish.
Hi thanks so much for your reply and for helping to unbury this history by watching my film.. Besides the architecture left by the Spaniards, I was unaware of any other older public buildings in CA besides the Masonic ones. Please send along whatever info you have in regards to this history. And in terms of his ties to the Masons, most of my references and information come from this 600 word tome that can be downloaded for free here: https://www.ishifacts.com/higood.asp