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Movie poster

Grim Prairie Tales is a 1990 American horror film, directed and written by Wayne Coe, and starring James Earl Jones and Brad Dourif. It is an anthology film of four western stories, told by two travellers around a prairie campfire. Morrison (Jones) is a grizzled bounty hunter carrying a body, while Farley Deeds (Dourif) is a clerk on the way to a romantic reunion with his wife.

Synopsis

The first story, told by Morrison, is about an Indian tribe's revenge against the man (played by Will Hare) who desecrates their burial ground. When that tale fails to impress Deeds, the second story, also by Morrison, tells about a man (played by Marc McClure) who helps a seductive seemingly pregnant woman (played by Michelle Joyner) in trouble. Deeds then responds with the only non-supernatural story of the three, about a homesteader family whose father (played by William Atherton) is forced to participate in a lynch mob. Finally, Morrison tells about a gunslinger (played by Scott Paulin) haunted by a man he kills. The next morning, Deeds points out to Morrison that the body he's carrying doesn't match the description on the wanted poster; Morrison cuts the body loose and rides out.

Atherton appeared in the lead role in the 1978 NBC television western miniseries Centennial. Tom Simcox appeared in Grim Prairie Tales as the character Horn. In an acting career from 1962-1991, he appeared in eight Gunsmoke episodes and in other television westerns.

External links

• Grim Prairie Tales at the Internet Movie Database
• "Grim Prairie Tales" New York Times review by Stephen Holden
• GrimPrairieTales.com serves as Wayne Coe's personal site