A River of Skulls (2010)

Kelly Nixon plays Eula Jane Seeley, a young woman growing up during the California Gold Rush when her mother dies giving birth, throwing her life into turmoil.

Her father turns to drink, eventually deciding there’s no way he can work a mine and raise three children on his own. So Eula’s younger brother and sister are sent off to be raised by their aunt and uncle; Eula is sent to work for a stern boarding house owner named Mabel Flescher (Sheila Doyle) in order to help cover the cost of raising them.

There she meets and sparks the interest of two men, a half-breed named Jack Rivers (Aleph Ayin), who also works for Mrs. Flescher; and Percy Willoughby (Erik MacRay), the son of a rich businessman.

With a promise of marriage and an easier life, Percy manages to seduce Eula, leaving her pregnant with his child and a promise he has no intention of fulfilling.

Having lost the woman he loves, Jack sets out to reconnect with his outlaw father. Encounters with aging beauty Betsy Beaumont (Kristina van Cleave) and her philandering husband Carson (Bruce D. Cole) cause more problems for both of the star-crossed lovers.

Review:

First off, given the film’s title and its DVD cover, this is not the horror-mystery Western you’re likely expecting. It’s more the story of one girl’s struggles as she becomes a woman in the days of the California Gold Rush.

In the “making of” bonus feature, director Suza Lambert Bowser explains her goal: “I know there are a lot of stories about Calamity Jane. Really cool, sexy stories about women who could shoot ’em up and round ’em up. Or Lola Montez, Lotta Crabtree, sort of infamous madams and entertainers. And there are all kinds of glossy characters. But Eula Jane Seeley, I’m hoping, is a character who represents a more commonplace experience, but nonetheless one that has a great deal of depth.”

IMDb indicates the film was made with a budget of $80,000. If so, everyone involved deserves credit for doing so much for so little. And we get strong performances from Kelly Nixon and Aleph Ayin, who are not exactly what you’d called big-screen veterans.

That said, a meandering plot that’s more politically correct than historically correct detracts from the film’s realism. And that realism is already stretched by the fact that nearly everything in this film looks clean and tidy during a turbulant period in California history where very little was likely clean or tidy.

Kelly Nixon as Eula Jane Seeley in A River of Skulls (2010)

Aleph Ayin as Jack Rivers in A River of Skulls (2010)

Directed by:
Suza Lambert Bowser

Cast:
Kelly Nixon … Eula Jane Seeley
Aleph Ayin … Jack Rivers
Erik MacRay … Percy Willoughby
Sheila Doyle … Mabel Flescher
Bruce D. Cole … Carson Beaumont
Kristina van Cleave … Betsy Beaumont
Donald Forrest … Hank Flescher
Shaweh Haijan … Hettie McCormick
Thomas White … Hiram Seeley
Natasha Harrell … Cinnamon
Kari Wishingrad … Mama Rita
Westleigh Stenborg-Davies … Ephram Seeley
Christina Stenborg-Davies … Allyssa Seeley
Kira Lawrence … Lettita Seeley

Runtime: 100 min.

Erik MacRay as Percy Willoughby in A River of Skulls (2010)

Sheila Doyle as Mabel Flescher in A River of Skulls (2010)

Memorable lines:

Eula Jane Seeley: “I don’t know quite what to make of you, Jack Rivers.”
Jack Rivers: “Well, I could tell you if you ever gave me half a second.”

Mabel Flescher: “Now you listen to me, Jack Rivers, Joaquin Rivera or whatever your name is. I don’t truck with no half-breed even thinking about a white woman. You savvy?”
Jack Rivers: Silence
Mabel: “I asked if you savvy?”
Jack Rivers: “I understand you perfectly, ma’am.”
She gives him a stern look.
Jack Rivers: “I savvy.”

Betsy Beaumont to Jack Rivers as she tries to seduce him: “They say whiskey is like firewater to Indians. Does it make you savage too?”

Bruce D. Cole as Carson Beaumont in A River of Skulls (2010)

Kristina van Cleeve as Betsy Beaumont in A River of Skulls (2010)

Mabel Flescher: “You might as well tell me whose baby it is. Oh, good Lord, don’t tell me it’s Jack Rivers. Praise God, you might as well go live up at the camp with the rest of the low-life whores.”

Carson Beaumont: “A soft woman’s better than a hard bed.”
Jack Rivers: “Depends on the woman.”

Cinnamon: “Oh, my Lord, two pregnant women at one time. That’s enough water to set this house floatin’ away.”

Eula Jane Seeley, as she moves into a whorehouse: “I only hope God can forgive me.”
Mama Rita: “Well, if there’s room in the Lord’s heart for a tired old whore like me, I’ sure there’s room for you.”

Donald Forrest as Hank Flescher in A River of Skulls (2010)

Kelly Nixon as Eula Jane Seeley in A River of Skulls (2010)