The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (2001)

Synopsis: Television release (CBS): February 18, 2001. THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE is an entertaining, star-studded CBS adaptation of the best-selling children's novel by Karen Cushman. Set during the height of the 1880s Gold Rush, this... Television release (CBS): February 18, 2001. THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE is an entertaining, star-studded CBS adaptation of the best-selling children's novel by Karen Cushman. Set during the height of the 1880s Gold Rush, this colorful depiction of one family's move to the West, fraught with hardship and colorful adventures, stars Glenn Close as Arvella Whipple, a widowed mother who decides to move her family from Massachusetts to the dusty depots of California. Jena Malone stars as Arvella's oldest daughter, California Morning Whipple, an intellectual 12-year-old who detests the idea of moving to California so much that she changes her name from California to Lucy, a prim and proper New England name. The Whipples make their home in Lucky Diggins, a rough and rowdy mining town full of characters seeking to make their fortune. Arvella and her family run the local boarding tent, where they cross paths with a bawdy woman of the night (Chloe Webb), a cowboy poet (Meat Loaf Aday), and a sensitive missionary (Bruce McGill) who quickly falls for Arvella. Despite the constant adventures of life in the West, Lucy dreams of cultured society life in New England, where she could attend a proper school and read books at the library. But when Lucy is faced with making a choice between Lucky and life on her own in the East, she makes a decision that suprises everyone, even herself. Glenn Close and Jena Malone give powerful performances as two women, young and old, thoroughly changed by the pioneer spirit of the wild West in this charming tale reminiscent of the classic LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. [More]

Starring: Glenn Close, Jena Malone, Chloe Webb, Meat Loaf Aday

Starring: Glenn Close, Jena Malone, Chloe Webb, Meat Loaf Aday, Wilford Brimley, Bruce McGill, Dennis Christopher, Judy Gold

Director: Jeremy Kagan

Director: Jeremy Kagan
Screenwriter: Christopher Lofton
Producer: Bob Roe
Composer: Bruce Broughton

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