Monday Movie Madness: Tom Horn!

Hello, Posse!

I hope things are going well for you and yours this weekend. We had an interesting time the last few days. I was doing a 24-hour blood pressure test with EKG. Those are fun. They fall under, "you are getting old so we need to start checking this stuff" medical protocols.

It was P.R.'s birthday yesterday. I made the cake P.R. asked for, a Chilean Thousand Layer Cake. Not sure how it got that name, because there is only about 14 layers to the cake.

It is most definitely not "diet" food. There is caramel between every layer and nuts and crumbs between every third layer, then the whole thing is coated with nuts and crumbs on the outside to top it all off. It's a LOT of sugar. But P.R. was happy, so I'm happy.

Today we are taking a look at another "based on a true story" western movie, Tom Horn. Horn was a known as a legendary frontier scout/tracker and was credited with helping to capture Geronimo. he wrote about some of the more interesting episodes in his life and they were the basis for this movie.

Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. was born on November 21st, 1860 and was executed on November 20th, 1903. Just one day before his 43rd birthday. In his lifetime, Horn claimed to have been a soldier, a cowboy, a scout, a Pinkerton Agent, and a range detective. It is his time as a range detective that Tom Horn the movie takes place.

Horn had quite a reputation in the Wild West. It was believed that he had killed 17 individuals as a hired gun, but his execution was just for one, 14 year old Willie Nickell. At this time in Wyoming, a range war was going on, sheep ranchers vs. cattle ranchers. Nickell happened to be the son of a sheep rancher named Kels Nickell. Kels was feuding with his neighbor, a cattle rancher named Jim Miller.

Tom Horn was released in 1980 and is the only feature film credited to director William Wiard. Steve McQueen plays the lead roll and served as executive producer for the film as well. McQueen had been instrumental in getting previous directors released from the film and wanted to take over directing it himself, but due to Directors Guild of America's rules he could not.

McQueen is joined on the cast by a lot of familiar faces to western TV-show and movie fans including, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush, Slim Pickens, Peter Canon, Elisha Cook, Roy Jenson, James Kline, Geoffrey Lewis, Harry Northup, Steve Oliver, Bill Thurman, Bert Williams, Bobby Bass, Mickey Jones, Mel Novak, Clark Coleman, Drummond Barclay, Chuck Hayward.

In the movie, Horn (McQueen) is trying to lead a quiet life. Things change when he starts working for rancher John Coble (Farnsworth). When not tracking down rustlers, Horn starts a relationship with pretty school teacher Glendolene Kimmel (Evans). Horn takes his job of investigating local livestock theft, having lost his own herd to rustlers years before. Horn has a reputation of being brutal when dealing with rustlers. At first, locals appreciate his presence, but eventually some people in the community begin to take issue with his violent methods. When 14 year old Willie Nickell is killed by the same caliber gun that Horn is known to carry, some folks think it's the perfect opportunity to solve the problem with Horn, guilty or not.

The real Tom Horn wrote his autobiography, Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter while in jail for Nickell's murder. The book was posthumously published in 1904 and is still available for purchase today. IN the years since his execution, Horn's legend continues to grow and people still wonder if he was actually guilty of killing Willie Nickell. I guess you can always watch the movie and decide for yourself.

Movie Snack Recipe

I will admit I do not have a movie tie-in for today's movie snack recipe. I just saw this while I was scroll through recipes and did a dead stop when I saw the photo. It looks soooooo good! I had to share it!

Today's recipe comes from BonAppetit.com, Baked Three Cheese Onion Dip with Chive and Peperoncini (click red text or photo for recipe). The recipe was published in 2016 by Bon Appetit and is by Andy Baraghani. The photo you see here is by Michael Graydon Nikole Herriott.

This ooey, gooey, cheesy dip will go great with any movie, any night. You can serve this up with chips, toasted bread, crackers, melba toast, or even veggies if you want to lighten it up calorie wise. Personally, looking at this photo, I just want to grab a spoon and dig in! But seeing as how I am trying to be healthier, celery sticks are my friends! (and bonus, they have built in scoops for cheese)

Now Remember . . .

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Also . . .

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