The American Civil War has ended four years earlier and Texas valiantly still refuses to join the Union . Carpetbaggers from the north dominate the economic landscape sticking their talons in to the population of Texas . Rebel Ben Westman becomes a folk hero fighting both the carpetbaggers and army of occupation . Texas born federal army captain David Porter is ordered to hunt Westman down
Carpetbagger is a word I've heard of for a very long time but it it's only recently that I've found out that it's a noun and derogatory term given to Northern businessmen who moved south to make a fast and cruel buck in the reconstruction of the South . You can rely on Americans to cheer the underdog and Westman is referenced in the opening narration as being a modern day Robin Hood so the audience quickly know whose side to take
One thing that sticks out is that watching THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS in 2013 is that the entire story could easily be made today as a war drama set in Iraq or Afghanistan with very little modification where an Iraqi/Afghan born US army officer finds himself set against a childhood friend waging a war of resistance against American occupiers . Of course from a moral point of view the audience would then be on the side of the United States and the Westman character would be the standard Hollywood bad guy rather than the noble freedom fighter . On second thoughts it wouldn't be the same story at all
That said THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS does have a rather timeless quality to it where audiences are allowed to cheer on someone who isn't necessarily a villain , just someone who is fighting for what he believes in and getting framed for something he didn't do . The film also manages to paint Porter as a man who has a dilemma of being part of a new America which means putting aside earlier friendships while having to do what a man has to do . Add to this the Technicolor cinematography and you've got a film that's far better than what could have been another B movie Western
Carpetbagger is a word I've heard of for a very long time but it it's only recently that I've found out that it's a noun and derogatory term given to Northern businessmen who moved south to make a fast and cruel buck in the reconstruction of the South . You can rely on Americans to cheer the underdog and Westman is referenced in the opening narration as being a modern day Robin Hood so the audience quickly know whose side to take
One thing that sticks out is that watching THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS in 2013 is that the entire story could easily be made today as a war drama set in Iraq or Afghanistan with very little modification where an Iraqi/Afghan born US army officer finds himself set against a childhood friend waging a war of resistance against American occupiers . Of course from a moral point of view the audience would then be on the side of the United States and the Westman character would be the standard Hollywood bad guy rather than the noble freedom fighter . On second thoughts it wouldn't be the same story at all
That said THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS does have a rather timeless quality to it where audiences are allowed to cheer on someone who isn't necessarily a villain , just someone who is fighting for what he believes in and getting framed for something he didn't do . The film also manages to paint Porter as a man who has a dilemma of being part of a new America which means putting aside earlier friendships while having to do what a man has to do . Add to this the Technicolor cinematography and you've got a film that's far better than what could have been another B movie Western