Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Christmas is coming, but all sorts of problems are befalling the Keller and Red Eagle families, and most all of them can be traced back to one man — Ike Franklin (David Carradine).

Seems Ike granted a homestead to a cowboy named Johnny with the understanding that he’d marry his daughter, Mary, and they’d live on neighboring ranches.

Only Mary chose to marry a preacher named Seth Keller instead.

Johnny? He married an Indian woman named Sunny and moved her father, Chief Thomas (Wes Studi), into their home.

All of which stirred up Ike’s old hatred for Indians. His wife died in an Indian attack. And, in his mind, one savage is as bad as the next.

He’s determined to get his property back. If that means hiring men to kill Johnny and chasing the Red Eagle family off their land just before the holiday, so be it.

Then both of his grandsons are put in jeopardy — one because he gets lost looking for John, who’s gone missing; the other with a potentially fatal illness.

Suddenly, the Kellers find themselves relying on the help of the very neighbors Ike hates.

David Carradine as Ike Franklin, ordering soldier’s off his son-in-law’s property in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Wes Studi as Chief Thomas, one of the Indians Ike Franklin wants off land he once owned in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Review:

Feel-good family Western that’s certainly worth a watch if you’re looking for a change of pace from the violent turn many modern oaters have taken.

Just be forewarned: You can probably predict much of what will happen before it takes place on the screen.

Daniel Quinn might have the most interesting role as Seth Keller. A preacher by trade, he finds himself running a stage station out West. And putting up with the disdain of Ike, who resents the fact that he isn’t a rancher like himself.

Buck Taylor, who played on “Gunsmoke” for oh, so many years, has a bit role as a shotgun rider on the stage.

Daniel Quinn as Seth Keller, a former minister and stage depot operator in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Sarah Aldrich as Mary Keller, Ike Franklin’s daughter, in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Directed by:
James Intveld

Cast:
David Carradine … Ike Franklin
Wes Studi … Chief Thomas
Michael Parks … Justice Stanley
Tim Abell … John Red Eagle
Sarah Aldrich … Mary Keller
Irene Bedard … Sunny Red Eagle
Mark Rolston … Capt. Johnson
Daniel Quinn … Seth Keller
Darian Weiss … Zachary
Masam Holden … Samuel Bald Eagle
Buck Taylor … Buckskin Charlie
Tracy Nelson … Adrianne
Rance Howard … Dr. Babcock
Francine York … Mrs. Stanley
Brian Libby … Frank

Runtime: 83 min.

Tim Abell as John Red Eagle, the rancher who was supposed to marry Ike Franklin’s daughter, until she picked another man in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Irene Bedard as Sunny Red Eagle, wife of Johnny and mother of Samuel in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Memorable lines:

Buckskin Charlie to young Zachary: “You’re growing faster than a green weed in a fresh buffalo heap.”

Stanley: “Your daughter Mary, she’s a good mother. Seth, he’s a decent husband to her.”
Ike Franklin, swallowing hard: “He’s not a rancher.”
Stnaley: “Excuse me?”
Franklin: ‘He’s not a rancher.”
Stanley: “Well, we all weren’t cut out to be ranchers.

John Red Eagle to son Samuel: “You can learn from all life’s experiences, son, good and bad. Takes a lot of strength and spirit to look through a man’s hatred and still see his good. Your grandfather taught me that.”

Capt. Johnson: “I think you could be making a big mistake.”
Ike Franklin: “No, captain, I already made the big mistake.”

Darian Weiss as Zachary Keller, oldest son of Mary and Seth in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Masam Holden as Samuel Red Eagle, son of Sunny and Johnny in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Wyatt Turner as Kit Keller, youngest son of Mary and Seth, who falls ill in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Michael Parks as Justice Stanley, the man Ike Franklin turns to to chase the Red Eagle family off a neighboring plot of land in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Rance Howard as Doctor Babcock, summoned to help save the life of Kit Keller in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)

Buck Taylor as Buckskin Charlie, one of the stage line employees in Miracle at Sage Creek (2005)