History Comes to Life in ‘The Contested Plains’
A docudrama was recently filmed in the Texas Panhandle near Pampa, Texas.
The docudrama is called "The Contested Plains", the story takes place in 1874.
On September 11, 1874, a band of Southern Cheyenne Indians led by Chief Medicine Water massacred John German, his wife, and three of their children near Fort Wallace in western Kansas. Four daughters were spared and taken captive. Subjected to exposure, malnutrition, and cruel treatment, the sisters were eventually taken into the Texas Panhandle where the two youngest girls were abandoned. Surviving on their own for six weeks, the two sisters were found by Grey Beard’s band, which was camped north of McClellan Creek, about 14 miles south of Pampa, Texas. “The Contested Plains” is a poignant recreation of the four girls’ struggles for survival and their subsequent recapture by U.S. Army.
The story of "The Contested Plains" takes place in the middle of the Red River War of 1874 and was in the heart of the Texas Panhandle.
This film used historians, educators, and dramatic presentations to tell this story. The film was produced by the White Deer Land Museum Foundation in Pampa, Texas, in association with Fall River Productions from Wichita, Kansas.
Not only was part of the film, filmed in the Pampa area, but it also used extras from the Texas Panhandle. I know this because my son was an extra in the film. This was a unique experience for him and his friend. He said it was a fun experience to get dressed up in costumes from that time period. He played a soldier in the film, and he actually got to use his talents and play the bugle.
Now my son isn't a movie star, he's just a huge history buff that had a once in a lifetime opportunity, however, those featured in the film whose names you might know include Mo Brings Plenty, Buck Taylor, Mary McDonough, Darby Hinton, Wyatt McCrea, R.W. Hampton, Cody Jones, Delno Ebie, Mark Mannette, Nora Dooley, and Olivia Prue.
The movie will premiere in several locations, and in places where it was filmed. In fact, the showing you will want to attend will take place on Sunday, September 4th at 5:30 pm at the M.K. Brown Center in Pampa, Texas.
Tickets will be available at the door of the M.K. Brown Center.
If you can't make it to the Pampa premiere on Sunday, September 4th, then you can make a short trip to OKC to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum on Friday, September 2nd at 7:30 pm. Or September 9 at 7 pm at the Orpheum Theater in Wichita, Kansas, and on September 11 at 2 pm at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas.