Bailey Chase is Henry Isle and Dobie Brown is his wife Rosa, a young couple heading to western Kansas to homestead land there in the 1870s.
The early years are difficult thanks to drought, problems with the Native Americans and the loss of their first child.
Rosa wonders if she’s enough of a dreamer to help her husband tame a new land.
Henry nearly gives up after the loss of the child, proclaiming he’s brought his wife to a land where everything dies.
But the couple persevere and eventually turn that homestead into a lucrative farm and a home filled with children.
At the urging of one of her sons, now a college professor, Rosa looks back on her life and fondly remembers the late husband who helped make it all possible.
Bailey Chase as Henry Ise, trying to keep faith in his dream in spite of lean times in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Dobie Brown as Rosa Ise, a newlywed heading West with her husband and encountering a stranger on the trail in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Review:
Kudos to the filmmakers for trying, but this film about the pioneering days in Kansas tries to cover too many years and is way too sanitized to be successful.
For crying out loud, at least put some dirt on Henry Ile’s frontier clothing as he staggers into his home after he spends a day husking corn despite the fact that his health is rapidly declining.
Problems arise over the course of the film, but are resolved in a heartbeat. For instance, Henry is summoned to help neighbors with an out-of-control son who has rabies.
The son foams at his mouth. He promises not to bite his mother. Henry helps guide the parents out of the house.
In the next scene, he walks outside, says “God bless you,” to the parents and walks off.
We’re left to assume that he has put the son out of his misery. The subject is never discussed again.
Barry Corbin gets a strange sort of cameo. Buck Taylor plays Rosa’s father.
Meanwhile, the filmmakers should have considered having two actresses play the role of Rose Ile.
While Dobie Brown is very effective in the role from mid-life on, she’s not the least bit convincing as a 17-year-old pioneer starting fresh in Kansas with her new husband.
Bottom line: This is an occasionally poignant film, but mostly a boring misfire.
Killian McGaffin as Nebraska Stevens, a young man with rabies in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Rudy Ramos as Neharka, a Native American leader demanding food from settlers who has chased away their fame in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Directed by:
Ken Spurgeon
Cast:
Bailey Chase … Henry Ise
Dobie Brown … Rosa Ise
Gabriel Pranter … Chris Haag
Nikki Tomlinson … Louisa Haag
Barry Corbin … Vietz
Mary Beth McDonough … Mary Bartsch
Darby Hinton … Chris Bartsch
Buck Taylor … John C. Haag
Mark Mannette …. John Ise
Wyatt McCrea … John Kiplinger
Jami Krusemark … Amanda Kiplinger
Nora Graham … Laura Ise
Allison Tollefson … Alice Ise
Olivia Prue … Rosina Ise
Killian McGaffin … Nebraska Stevens
Ben Mannette … Danny Ise
Kane Young … Will Ise
Rudy Ramos … Neharka
Runtime: 102 min.
Gabriel Pranter as Chris Haag, Rosa’s brother, who has already settled in Kansas with his wife in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Nikki Tomlinson as Louis Haag, Chris Haag’s wife and Rose’s female companion in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Memorable lines:
Rosa Ile: “I’m trying to look at the bright side. But Henry is a dreamer.”
Mary Bartsch: “I think you have to be to come out here.”
Rosa: “I don’t know if I’m a dreamer, Mary.”
Rosa Ile: “You say yes to everything and everyone without asking any details, Henry.”
Henry: “I have to help.”
Rosa: “You have to take care of our family. Our needs.”
Neharka: “I have nothing to hunt. All of the hunt has moved away since your people came upon us.”
Mark Mannette as John Ile, trying to convince his mother to write down her memories of the pioneer days in Kansas in Sod & Stubble (2025)
Dobie Brown as Rose Ise and Bailey Chase as her husband Henry, facing another crisis in Sod & Stubble (2025)
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