Bailey Chase is Hunter Braddock, branded a deserter, coward and traitor for walking out on his cavalry unit during a raid on an Apache camp.
He’s haunted by images of that attack, specifically by the brutal murder of innocent women and children that prompted his decision.
Now he’s out of Yuma Prison and heading back home to reunite with children Luke and Adele and his wife’s parents, Ben Watkins (Bruce Boxleitner) and his wife Alma (Nancy Stafford).
Ben’s not so sure the ex-con can be trusted around those children and insist he find another roof to sleep under before seeing them.
So Hunter heads to the nearby town of Far Haven, where he taunted by some (especially Sheriff King’s deputies) and welcomed by others (including school marm Lily Rayne).
He winds up getting a job breaking horses at a stable run by a man named Abraham (A. Martinez). The stable also becomes that roof over his head.
Meanwhile, there have been a series of Indian raids in the area. And town boss Ambrose Masse is offering protection to outlying ranchers willing to pay the price.
Sure enough, the Martin homestead is hit. Ben Watkins winds up in a coma. The crisis helps bring Hunter Braddock’s family closer together.
Bailey Chase as Hunter Braddock, returning from prison branded a traitor and coward in Far Haven (2023)
Chris Mulkey as Sheriff King, trying to discourage a lynch mob in Far Haven (2023)
Review:
If you’re a parent looking for a family-friendly Western to watch with your young children, this film fits the bill.
If you’re a more mature fan of Westerns, looking for some gritty Old West action, this lands somewhere south of a Hallmark movie. And that’s ain’t a compliment.
Meaning complicated plot points are resolved in a heartbeat. In the most simplistic ways. And it’s all so, so predictable.
And the script is full of holes. Let’s see, Hunter Braddock walked away from the cavalry during an attack on an Indian camp. He returned home. He’s shown being captured at his home, with his wife’s parents and children looking on.
Yet he never shared the story of why he left the cavalry with Ben Watkins? Never told him about the slaughter of Apache women and children? Ben just learned of that, from his wife and children, prior to one of the sappy closing scenes?
The film also features on of the cheapest looking Western props I’ve seen in a while. If you’ve seen the film, you can probably guess what I’m talking about — that blue stagecoach with red curtains that looks like someone made a box out of cardboard, painted it blue and plopped it on four wheels.
Bruce Boxleitner as Ben Watkins, setting the conditions under which Hunter can reunite with his children in Far Haven (2023)
Nancy Stafford as Alma Watkins, reminding her forgetful husband where he left his spectacles in Far Haven (2023)
Directed by:
Gary Wheeler
Cast:
Bailey Chase … Hunter Braddock
Amanda Righetti … Lily Rayne
Bruce Boxleitner … Ben Watkins
Nancy Stafford … Alma Watkins
Lev Cameron … Luke Watkins
Livi Birch … Adele Watkins
A. Martinez … Abraham
Jesse Kove … Clay Cassidy
Martin Kove … Ambrose Masse
Chris Mulkey … Sheriff King
William Shockley … Deputy Jensen Longley
David Gridley … Deputy Fisher
Jeremy Gauna … Chaska
David Gridley … Dakota Broussard
Erin O’Brien … Willa Broussard
Drew Waters … Butch Broussard
Don Most … Chester Tilley
Tom Proctor … Deacon Kane
Daniel Williams-Lopez … Joaquin Vasquez
Craig Hensley … Capt. W.H. Brown
Runtime: 101 min.
Amanda Righetti as Lily Rayne, the school teacher who takes an interest in Hunter Braddock in Far Haven (2023)i
Jesse Kove as Clay Cassidy, a longtime friend of Braddock and helping hand on the Watkins ranch in Far Haven (2023)
Memorable lines:
Ben Watkins to Hunter Braddock, upon his return home: “I judge a man by his character, his word. And right now, yours is in considerable doubt.”
Alma Watkins: “You are a stubborn man, Hunter Braddock.”
Braddock: “Well, you’re no stranger to stubborn men.”
Sheriff King: “Braddock, if you wanted to keep actin’ like you’re wearin’ a uniform, you shouldn’t have took off the one you had on.”
Lilly Rayne: “Life has a way of destroying things that are sweet and kind.”
Livi Birch as Adele Watkins, a young girl happy to have her father home in Far Haven (2023)
Lev Cameron as Luke Watkins, the son who loves reading but resents his father when he first returns home in Far Haven (2023)
Martin Kove as Ambrose Masse talking to Hunter Braddock about a town’s bright future, for those who play their cards right, in Far Haven (2023)
William Shockley as Deputy Jensen Longley, the sheriff’s right-hand man in Far Haven (2023)
A. Martinez as stable owner Abraham, watching Hunter Braddock break a horse in Far Haven (2023)
Jeremy Gauna as Chaska, an Indian jailed for attacks he had no part of in Far Haven (2023)
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