Worst Portrayal

[Bentonville]

I'm not sure if this thread is open somewhere else around here. If so, pardon me.

Depending on the book or movie you have to have good guys and bad. What is the worst portrayal you've seen? North and/or south?

I would say the worst I've seen is in How The West Was Won. It managed to put the Confederate in the same light as WW2 propaganda film from WW2. Sneaky and vicious.

And just why was that guy in the HQ anyways???

 

[7thWisconsin]

We should set one more ground rule for your thread that the example should be from a major studio release, or popular novel. If we don´t somebody will mention a direct to video movie or self-published dreck that none of us have ever even heard of, so there won´t be a decent frame of reference. I had to think about that for a a while. Actually, as much as I love the movie, the Confederates that charge down the street in The Horse Soldiers are terrible. Their costuming is appalling and they look like hung-over refugees from an early reenactment.

 

[dlofting]

Absolutely hilarious description of the charge in the Horse Soldiers and spot on.

 

[Pollaco]

As far as bad portrayals , Max Baer Jr. as Sgt. Luther Liskell in "A Time for Killing". Laughing, giggling, well fed Confederate soldiers?

 

[Kearny The Magnificent]

There was an Amazon Original tv series called Point of Honor which came out in 2015 and was ridiculous. Only the pilot episode was made. The show starts out with a family on a massive Virginia plantation right after secession willingly freeing all their slaves because they decided slavery was evil then declaring their loyalty to fight for the south.

A close second would be Will Smith's Emancipation. Nothing about that movie made sense; from the slave catcher hunting for escapees choosing to murder them after catching them instead of returning them to work on building defenses to Will Smith breaking through Port Hudson's defenses on the initial assault.

 

[TallTallMan]

Never watched it but here's Willie Nelson as Jo Shelby in a TV movie:

 

[TallTallMan]

As far as bad portrayals , Max Baer Jr. as Sgt. Luther Liskell in "A Time for Killing". Laughing, giggling, well fed Confederate soldiers?

I looked it up. Roger Corman?

 

[TallTallMan]

Manhunt was about as inaccurate as a show can get.

 

[Pollaco]

Ronald Reagan *EDITED* was a lousy George Custer in "Sante Fe Trail".

 

[Bentonville]

We should set one more ground rule for your thread that the example should be from a major studio release, or popular novel. If we don´t somebody will mention a direct to video movie or self-published dreck that none of us have ever even heard of, so there won´t be a decent frame of reference. I had to think about that for a a while. Actually, as much as I love the movie, the Confederates that charge down the street in The Horse Soldiers are terrible. Their costuming is appalling and they look like hung-over refugees from an early reenactment.

I have a soft spot for that one. But the tight pants and that charge...

 

[Bentonville]

I looked it up. Roger Corman?

View attachment 506630

Is that The Crab Mosters?

 

[Bentonville]

Ronald Reagan was a great President but he was a lousy George Custer in "Sante Fe Trail".

Agreed. But Raymond Massy pulled of John Brown very well.

 

[R. Porter]

We should set one more ground rule for your thread that the example should be from a major studio release, or popular novel. If we don´t somebody will mention a direct to video movie or self-published dreck that none of us have ever even heard of, so there won´t be a decent frame of reference. I had to think about that for a a while. Actually, as much as I love the movie, the Confederates that charge down the street in The Horse Soldiers are terrible. Their costuming is appalling and they look like hung-over refugees from an early reenactment.

Is that the one with John Wayne as a Union cavalry officer who barricaded a wide street of a western-looking town, and then a train pulled up on a track that ran perpendicular about a block away with a boxcar centered in the street. Then it's door opens and a bunch of Confederates come charging out with a flag bearer in the lead and the Union cavalry wipes them out before they reach the barricade and the whole battle is over? At least that's the way I remembered it. I was about 6 years old when I saw it and thought the scene was stupid. Who would jump out of a boxcar and run completely exposed down a street at a protected foe? Sounds more like something a Russian would do at the beginning of the movie "Enemy at the Gates."

 

[7thWisconsin]

Is that the one with John Wayne as a Union cavalry officer who barricaded a wide street of a western-looking town, and then a train pulled up on a track that ran perpendicular about a block away with a boxcar centered in the street. Then it's door opens and a bunch of Confederates come charging out with a flag bearer in the lead and the Union cavalry wipes them out before they reach the barricade and the whole battle is over? At least that's the way I remembered it. I was about 6 years old when I saw it and thought the scene was stupid. Who would jump out of a boxcar and run completely exposed down a street at a protected foe? Sounds more like something a Russian would do at the beginning of the movie "Enemy at the Gates."

Yep. That´s it. The movie is a classic, so I hate to criticize it, but that is not a high point.

 

[James Brenner]

Well, "Thunder in the outhouse!", as Hannah Hunter would say. Of course the charge looked bad. Those poor guys had just ridden along a railroad track for opening credits, trudged along a dirt road trying to figure out directions, played a Confederate column marching along a river bank, represented a military academy, portrayed Forrest's cavalry, and sung (sang?) several hundred chorus's of "I left my Love". They were worn out and bedraggled by the time they got off the train. But I will (grudgingly) concede that you have a point.

 

[Richard Appledorf]

Is that The Crab Mosters?

Yes. Best movie ever made about giant crabs with telepathic powers menacing the professor from Gilligan's Island.

 

[Patrick H]

Never watched it but here's Willie Nelson as Jo Shelby in a TV movie:

View attachment 506628

Oh, man, you've gotta be kidding. I loved Willie as Gen. Shelby. He appears as a character witness at Frank's trial. His dialog was based on (but not verbatim) the actual trial transcript, too. Coming back to edit, I think this was actually quite a good movie. You would not normally think of Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson as Frank and Jesse James, but they were quite good in the roles. (Everyone has an opinion about this, and many don't agree with my opinion.) I was very interested, because it depicts events in my state. The locales looked very convincing. They were shot in Tennessee, but they looked like Missouri. The movie is The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James. Some historical inaccuracies, but it doesn't claim to be a history documentary. It's an entertainment. Take a chance on it. I don't think you'll be sorry.

 

[Peace Society]

Recently watched The Blue and The Gray. A lot of details are good, though some are skewed. And some of the scenarios seem downright bizarre. As if McLellan would chat with Lincoln about a subordinate getting married.

 

[Patrick H]

We were talking about most historically inaccurate civil war movie in another thread. I'll nominate Brian Donlevy as Quantrill in Kansas Raiders. He's actually a good actor, but there wasn't anything he could do with this particular assignment!

 

[TallTallMan]

Oh, man, you've gotta be kidding. I loved Willie as Gen. Shelby. He appears as a character witness at Frank's trial. His dialog was based on (but not verbatim) the actual trial transcript, too. Coming back to edit, I think this was actually quite a good movie. You would not normally think of Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson as Frank and Jesse James, but they were quite good in the roles. (Everyone has an opinion about this, and many don't agree with my opinion.) I was very interested, because it depicts events in my state. The locales looked very convincing. They were shot in Tennessee, but they looked like Missouri. The movie is The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James. Some historical inaccuracies, but it doesn't claim to be a history documentary. It's an entertainment. Take a chance on it. I don't think you'll be sorry.

Maybe I will at that. Thanks!