JEREMIAH JOHNSON
DIRECTED BY SYDNEY POLLACK
SANFORD PRODUCTIONS
WARNER BROS.
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
During the mid-nineteenth century, Jeremiah Johnson, after a stint in the US Army,
decides that he would prefer a life of solitude and more importantly peace
by living with nature in the mountains of the frontier of the American west.
This plan entails finding a piece of land upon which to build a house.
This quest ends up being not quite what he envisioned as he does require
the assistance of others to find his footing, and in turn he amasses friends
and acquaintances along the way, some who become more a part of his life
than he would have imagined.
Perhaps most importantly, some of those people provide him with the knowledge
of how to co-exist with some of the many Indian tribes, most importantly the Crow,
on whose land in Colorado Jeremiah ultimately decides to build his home.
But an act by Jeremiah upon a request by the US Cavalry leads to a chain of events
that may forever change the peaceful relationship
he worked so hard to achieve with his neighbors and their land.
Written by Huggo
Cast
Robert Redford ... Jeremiah Johnson
Will Geer ... Bear Claw
Delle Bolton ... Swan
Josh Albee ... Caleb
Joaquín Martínez ... Paints His Shirt Red (as Joaquin Martinez)
Allyn Ann McLerie ... Crazy Woman
Stefan Gierasch ... Del Gue
Richard Angarola ... Chief Two-Tongues Lebeaux
Paul Benedict ... Reverend Lindquist
Charles Tyner ... Robidoux
Jack Colvin ... Lieutenant Mulvey
Matt Clark ... Qualen
Tanya Tucker ... Qualen's daughter (uncredited)
Directed
Sydney Pollack
Writing Credits
Vardis Fisher ... (novel)
Raymond W. Thorp ... (story "Crow Killer") and
Robert Bunker ... (story "Crow Killer")
John Milius ... (screenplay) and
Edward Anhalt ... (screenplay)
David Rayfiel ... (uncredited)
Produced
John R. Coonan ... associate producer
Mike Moder ... associate producer
Joe Wizan ... producer
Music
Tim McIntire
John Rubinstein
Cinematography
Duke Callaghan ... director of photography
Trivia
Liver Eatin' Johnston's wife (who was pregnant at the time) was actually killed by a
random raiding party of Blackfeet, not as revenge for a violation of their burial grounds.
She was killed in the spring while Johnston was off trapping and he didn't return to find her body
until several months later.
He identified the band that had killed her because he recognized a Tennessee rifle
he had given her in the possession of a Blackfeet warrior.
Also, rather than isolated incidents as shown in the movie,
Johnston often recruited other mountain men as well as Indians (particularly Flatheads)
to help him with his vendetta.
The part about the warriors sent to kill him and told not to return without his scalp was true.
Based upon a real-life trapper named John Johnston, nicknamed "Crow Killer"
and "Liver Eater Johnston" for his penchant for cutting out and eating the livers of Crow Indian
s he had killed (several Crows had murdered his wife and he swore vengeance against the entire tribe).
Trapper John Johnston's body was buried in the Veterans Administration
cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.
After the movie came out, Johnston's body was reburied at Old Trail Town in Cody, WY.
Robert Redford was a pallbearer in the reburial ceremony attended by 2,000 people.
One of seven pictures director Sydney Pollack made with actor Robert Redford.
The picture was based on two published sources: the non-fiction
"Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson" by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker (1958)
and the fictional "Mountain Man: A Novel of Male and Female in the Early American West' (1965) by Vardis Fisher.
Reportedly, Robert Redford did many of his own stunts.
Redford also apparently paid the stunt guild accordingly so as to not put any stuntman out of work.
Many of the locations for the film were shot on or near Robert Redford's property in Utah
(he owned approximately 600 acres there at the time), although some locations were as much as 600 miles away.
For complete Trivia please see:-
Trivia
Goofs
Anachronisms
The time period is around the 1830s, yet when Johnson is guiding the soldiers
to rescue the civilians stuck in the snow, he asks the lieutenant
in charge how "the war with the president of Mexico is going.
" The lieutenant says, "It's over." Johnson asks, "Who won?"
The war with Mexico was from 1845 to 1847. The trade in beaver pelts was over by 1840.
After burying her murdered family, Crazy Woman begins singing "Shall We Gather at the River"
and Jeremiah joins in.
This song was written by Robert Lowry in 1864 and first published in 1865,
long after the time of the mountain men.
When first showing Johnson setting or checking a trap, you can clearly see the "V" logo
on the pan of the trap, meaning this was a Victor-brand trap
(widely used in the 1960s and 70s during the fur trapping boom of that period).
Victor traps were not in existence during the setting of this movie.
When he runs into Del Gue late in the movie Johnson tells Del that he may head to Canada.
In the 1830's? the country of Canada was not yet formed,
and while there was a region with the name it was far to the east of the Crow and Flathead territories.
The territory Johnson was most likely referring to would be Rupert's Land
or possibly the territory of British Columbia, those would be the non US territories
closest to the Crow Nation.
Audio/visual unsynchronised
Throughout the film gunshots are heard as a modern high velocity
(crack sound as the bullet is supersonic) rather than the boom of a subsonic blackpowder firearm.
Also, the firearm smoke is minimal (modern smokeless powder) modern smokless powder
wasn't available until about 1890.
Character error
As the newlyweds ride along, Jeremiah Johnson turns around in his saddle,
revealing a contemporary plain, gold, wedding band on his right hand,
which is how wedding bands are worn in Germany,
where I was stationed as a soldier in the United States Army.
Continuity
Del Gue buried in the sand is at first soaked with perspiration.
A minute later his head is almost dry.
When Jeremiah Johnson first finds Hatchet Jack's frozen body holding the .50 caliber Hawkens,
the gun is held with the barrel tilted slightly upward.
In subsequent shots, the angle of the rifle barrel changes several times
to slightly different downward- or upward-tilting angles, never the same twice.
In the last close-up shot of Hatchet Jack, his chest is moving up and down.
Near the end of the film when Johnson startles the stranger in the cabin,
you hear the sound of a single shot but there is no smoke or recoil from his gun.
When Jeremiah shares a rabbit with Chris, one shot shows no smoke from the fire,
but in the other shots much smoke was visible.
In the last close-up shot of Hatchet Jack you can see his chest moving up and down after he's supposedly dead.
Crew or equipment visible
Just after Jeremiah leaves bear claw, he stops and shoots a small deer.
When the deer is shot, you can, for a split second, see the arm of a person
that throws the deer onto the ground.
Errors in geography
The rescue party tells Johnson they have been watched all the way from the Gila River.
The Gila is 400 miles south of the Colorado border.
The Crow, Blackfoot and Flathead Indian tribes were up around what later became Montana.
The Colorado territory, where Johnson is supposed to be, had the Arapaho and the Cheyenne.
Factual errors
The wedding song is actually a song the Salish people sing at funerals.
The producers wanted a song during the wedding and the Salish don't have one.
So the technical adviser, Johnny Arlee, gave them three songs to choose from
and they liked "Coming Home", a death song.
Early in the film during the winter a grizzly bear is shown chasing a
Not likely since in the winter grizzly bears hibernate 5 to 7 months.
When Jeremiah leaves the trading post at the beginning of the film,
he states that his rifle is "only a .30 caliber, but it is still a Hawken".
Soon after he takes a shot at a running deer (before finding Hatchet Jack's .50 cal. Hawken),
and it can be clearly seen that the bore of his rifle is large - .50 cal. or larger.
Miscellaneous
Del Gue clothes are pristine with the bright colors unaffected after being buried in the sand.
Filming Locations
Ashley National Forest, Vernal, Utah, USA
Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA
St. George, Utah, USA
Leeds, Utah, USA
Snow Canyon State Park - 1002 Snow Canyon Drive, Ivins, Utah, USA
Uinta National Forest, Provo, Utah, USA
Kayenta, Arizona, USA
Mexican Water, Arizona, USA
Alpine Loop, Utah, USA
Sundance Ski Resort - State Highway 92, Sundance, Utah, USA
Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Sundance, Utah, USA
Timpanogos, Utah, USA