Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Kris Kristofferson is Jericho Adams, who’s busy chopping down a tree for Christmas when old friend Sgt. Sam Webster (John Dennis Johnson) stops by.

It isn’t just a friendly visit. He and his Shoshone scouts, including Chief Washakie, are on the trail of a band of Blackfoot warriors led by Many Horses.

When Lt. Reid catches up with the scouting detail, he invites Jericho along. They can use as many men familiar with the area as possible, he says.

Jericho declines. He’s put killing behind him, settling down on a ranch with his pretty wife Dora (Kim Cattrall) and their young son.

As it turns out, the Blackfeet aren’t done with him. They attack Jericho’s home and, after a spirited fight, take all three family members captive.

Once at the Blackfoot camp, Jericho and Dora learn their fate.

Many Horses (Sheldon Peters Wolfchild) blames Jericho for the death of his son in battle, four years earlier. He plans to kill Jericho in retribution.

He plans to take Jericho’s son and raise him as his own. After all, his own wife, Little Deer, is now barren.

Being young and strong and capable of bearing many sons, Dora will be married off to one of the Blackfoot braves.

Then members of the camp come across a baby deer in the middle of winter, and its parents don’t flee when they approach.

Dora proclaims it a miracle of the season, and proceeds to enchant Many Horses and his followers with the story of Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

Kris Kristofferson as Jericho Adams, learning why his home was raided in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Kim Cattrall as Dora Adams, about to share the Christmas story with the Blackfeet in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Review:

Read that plot summary before you watch the film and you might groan. Indeed, it sounds like the makings for a groan-worthy made-for-TV TNT film.

Then a miracle happened. Kevin James Dobson turned it into a film that’s entertaining and quite enchanting on its own.

Superb performances from John Dennis Johnson and Kim Cattrall, later of “Sex in the City” fame, help.

So does a plot device that finds Dora’s version of the Christmas story translated into characters the Blackfeet can understand by Jericho, then translated to the tribe members by Many Horses.

The action scenes are well done too. And, with the exception of a silly shooting star, there’s even a neat little ending.

About as good of a Christmas film as you’re likely to find with a Western setting.

Sheldon Peters Wolfchild as Many Horses, explaining his plans for Jericho and his family in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

John Dennis Johnson as Sgt. Sam Webster, longtime friend of Jericho Adams in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Directed by:
Kevin James Dobson

Cast:
Kris Kristofferson … Jericho Adams
Kim Cattrall … Dora Adams
John Dennis Johnson … Sgt. Sam Webster
Rino Thunder … Chief Washakie
David Oliver … Lt. Reid
Sheldon Peters Wolfchild … Many Horses
Steve Reevis … Grey Eyes
Peter Alan Morris … Asher Adams
Joanelle Romero … Little Deer
Otakuye Conroy … Mary
Matthew E. Montoya … Joseph

Runtime: 88 min.

Steve Reevis as Gray Eyes, one of the leaders with the Blackfoot war band in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Joanelle Romero as Little Deer, Many Horses’ wife, taking possession of Jericho’s baby in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Memorable lines:

Sgt. Sam Webster of Dora Adams: “Well, you said she was feisty.”
Jericho Adams: “Inside’s her say. Outside’s mine.”
Sgt. Webster: “But you don’t get inside much.”

Jericho Adams: “I put killin’ behind me a long time ago, lieutenant. I’m a peaceable man now.”

Sgt. Sam Webster: “Jericho, you used to tell jokes so dirty they’d mortify a tent preacher two canyons away. Now look at ya.”

Jericho Adams: “You can buy us some time. They think something special is going on here.
Dora Adams: “There is, Jericho.”

Dora Adams: “I’m sharing the Christ story with these people, Jericho. I think God would want that.”
Jericho Adams: “Well, don’t go thinkin’ you’re convertin’ anyone. These people believe in their own God, and they’re spiritual enough as it is.”
Dora Adams: “You mean more than you, don’t you, Jericho?”
Jericho Adams: “Dora, if there is a God, I don’t mind him helpin’. But the only one who’s gonna get us out of here is Sam Webster and the U.S. Army.”

David Oliver as Lt. Reid, leader of the cavalry details tracking the Blackfeet in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Rino Thunder as Shoshone Chief Washakie, explaining that Jericho, Dora and their son have been taken hostage by the Blackfeet in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Otakuye Conroy as Mary in the Blackfoot version of the Christmas story in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Matthew E. Montoya as Joseph in the Blackfoot version of the Christmas story in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Kim Cattrall as Dora Adams, ready to defend her home and her child in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)

Kris Kristofferson as Jericho Adams, springing into action when his Christmas tree hunt is interrupted in Miracle in the Wilderness (1991)