Actress Profile: Maria Williams

Maria Williams
Birthdate:
Birthplace:

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Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Mountie	2011	Mirdsa	Wyeth Clarkson

Actor Profile: George Buza

George Buza
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio

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Cleveland-born Canadian actor George Buza has had a rather distinguished career in television and film, with his voice work being particularly notable. Best known in that area for his voicing of Beast in the X-Men Animated Series, George has contributed to dozens of animated series. Westerns comprise only a sliver of George's acting credits, however.

As a bonus, George has the distinguished honor of appearing in a 1989 episode of the 1985 reboot of The Twilight Zone series.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Mountie	2011	Kleus	Wyeth Clarkson
	Roughing It	2002	Jim	Charles Martin Smith
	Sodbusters	1994	Jake	Eugene Levy

Actor Profile: John Wildman

John Wildman
Birthdate: 7 November 1960
Birthplace: Montréal, Québec, Canada

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Canadian actor John Wildman has appeared in several television and big-screen productions, with 2011's The Mountie being his first feature-length Western.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Mountie	2011	Robert Johnson	Wyeth Clarkson

Actress Profile: Kestrel Martin

Kestrel Martin
Birthdate:
Birthplace:

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The young actress from Whitehorse, in the Yukon, has appeared in only one Western - which also happens to be her only feature film credit to date.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Mountie	2011	Cleora	Wyeth Clarkson

Actor Profile: Earl Pastko

Earl Pastko
Birthdate: 10 December 1965
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois

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American-born Canadian actor Earl Pastko has appeared in a variety of television and big-screen productions over the course of his career, including two Western films.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Mountie	2011	Olaf	Wyeth Clarkson
	Sodbusters	1994	Butch	Eugene Levy

Actress Profile: Jessica Paré

Jessica Paré
Birthdate: 5 December 1982
Birthplace: Montréal, Québec, Canada

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Montréal head-turner Jessica Paré is a rising star in both Canadian and American cinema and television, with a prominent role on the hit series Mad Men and a mammarable performance in the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine. Her Westerm filmography is, unfortunately, limited to a single title.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Mountie	2011	Amethyst	Wyeth Clarkson

Actor Profile: Andrew W. Walker

Andrew W. Walker
Birthdate: 9 June 1979
Birthplace: Montréal, Québec, Canada

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A prolific television actor with a handful of feature film credits to his name, Andrew W. Walker has recently ventured into the Western genre with the indie movie The Mountie and the soon-to-be-released The Gundown.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	The Gundown	2011	Cole Brandt	Dustin Rickert
	The Mountie	2011	Wade Grayling	Wyeth Clarkson

Director Profile: Wyeth Clarkson

Wyeth Clarkson
Birthdate:
Birthplace:

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Wyeth Clarkson, son of the Director of the Canadian Film Centre, has a number of contemporary teen films to his credit - including deadend.com, which lives on in e-comic format. His first foray into the Western genre was the 2011 independent film The Mountie.

Western Filmography

Title	Year	Runtime
The Mountie	2011	83 mins

Movie Review: The Mountie (2011)

aka The Way of the West, Lawman
Release Date:  2011
Director:  Wyeth Clarkson
Writers:  Wyeth Clarkson, Grant Sauve, Charles Johnston
Studio:  Travesty Productions
Rating:  R
Run Time:  83 minutes
Setting: Yukon

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Plot Summary
Retitled for American DVD audiences as The Way of the West, The Mountie is a distinctly Canadian film that follows disgraced Mountie Wade Grayling (Andrew W. Walker) as he surveys a remote corner of the Yukon Territory in preparation for the establishment of a NWMP (forerunners of the RCMP) outpost. As luck or misfortune would have it, Grayling stumbles upon a spartan settlement of Latvians on the Stewart River, under the control of priest Olaf (Earl Pastko), who not only have something to hide but are terrorized by a gang of Russian opium runners. Grayling, enraptured by the priest's daughter Amethyst (Jessica Paré) and seeking to atone for his past mistakes, digs up the group's secret and goes head to head with the Russians.

Andrew W. Walker traverses the Yukon as Wade Grayling

Review
Director and co-writer Wyeth Clarkson turns his attention from teen noir films to tackle the vast expanses of the late 19th-century Canadian West in The Mountie, and right away I was impressed by the lush cinematography which conveys - as well is it can on the small screen - the rugged and untamed beauty that is the Yukon Territory. I was equally pleased by the authenticity of the costumes and sets, though some items appeared a little too "new" to have been exposed to such an unforgiving environment for any longer than a day or two. So for me, the stage was adequately set for an enjoyable Canadian western that didn't suffer from aesthetic distractions.

The story is a familiar one, of a hero who suffers from being human (and having made a grievous mistake for which he's atoned) given an opportunity to conquer his past while aiding the helpless to a promising future. Montreal native Andrew W. Walker's constant Clint Eastwood impersonation is more than a little laughable as he portrays the gritty and worldwise Corporal Wade Grayling, and although Walker's performance was mostly stiff and emotionless I still found myself rooting for the protagonist as he takes on the ruthless Russian drug runners. Slight of build yet excellent with a long gun, Grayling's success and continued vitality is ensured by a number of implausible plot holes (point-blank misses by the bad guys, Spiderman-like agility, etc.) that are tough to swallow. Cue in those point-blank misses during the film's climactic gun battle, and The Mountie struggles to maintain a decent level of credibility.

The Latvian settlement

The Russians, led by a gruff Cossack named Kleus (George Buza), are a motley bunch who seem to have a hard time committing to any one course of action. For instance, upon meeting Cpl. Grayling they proceed to beat him to within an inch of his life, then invite him in for dinner and homemade apple pie. Later on, they use the priest's daughter as bait to capture him for the purpose of stringing him up, but take their sweet time about it which of course leaves plenty of opportunity for Grayling to escape.

Running parallel to Grayling's struggle with the Russians is his interest in Olaf's daughter Amethyst. Sporting a brutal facial scar intended to keep suitors at bay, she nevertheless captures Grayling's attention from the moment he first lays eyes on her. As the film progresses, she reveals details about her tragic life that only serve to strengthen Grayling's resolve to pursue her affections, which of course leads to the hanging situation I mentioned earlier.

Wade Grayling, surveyor

The performances from the primary actors were decent, the Clint Eastwood-isms aside. The supporting cast is made up mostly of amateurs, with very little in the way of dialog, but they do a fine job of portraying a fearful and oppressed community. A smattering of lines delivered in Russian was a nice touch to lend a bit more authenticity, offsetting some of the inconsistencies in the story, though for all I know they could have been speaking Vulcan.

Overall The Mountie was a decent and interesting movie and not nearly as terrible as some reviewers have portrayed it. If you ignore the atrocious attempt to market the film to American DVD audiences and don't expect an "American" western, taking the movie for what it is, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

For the Stathounds:
Body Count:	13
Explosions:	3
Full Moons:	1
Actors who've appeared on Dukes of Hazzard:	0
Actors who've appeared on Twilight Zone:	1*

^* Veteran actor George Buza, who in The Mountie plays Russian gang leader Kleus, appeared in the 1989 episode Crazy as a Soup Sandwich of the late-'80s The Twilight Zone reboot.
   

Actor Profile: Franklin Hutson

Franklin Hutson
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Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	A Cold Day In Hell	2011	Justice of the Peace	Christopher Forbes

Actor Profile: Jordan Pittman

Jordan Pittman
Birthdate:
Birthplace:

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Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	A Cold Day In Hell	2011	Trading Post Clerk	Christopher Forbes

Actor Profile: Billy Joe Royal

Billy Joe Royal
Birthdate: 3 April 1942
Birthplace: Valdosta, GA

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Singer/songwriter Billy Joe Royal, best known for his 1965 Top 10 hit "Down in the Boondocks", has enjoyed a long and successful career in country music. His only Western credit came as a bit part in the 2011 straight-to-DVD film A Cold Day In Hell.

Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	A Cold Day In Hell	2011	Rivers	Christopher Forbes

Actor Profile: Mark Pittman

Mark Pittman
Birthdate:
Birthplace:

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Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	A Cold Day In Hell	2011	Jacobs	Christopher Forbes

Actor Profile: Justin Hilton

Justin Hilton
Birthdate:
Birthplace:

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Western Filmography

	Title	Year	Role	Director
	A Cold Day In Hell	2011	Justin	Christopher Forbes