Pure Country (film)
Encyclopedia
Pure Country is a 1992 American dramatic musical
western film directed by Christopher Cain
. The film stars George Strait
in his acting debut with Lesley Ann Warren
, Isabel Glasser
and Kyle Chandler
. The film was considered a box office bomb
, however the soundtrack was a critical success and to date Strait's best selling album. The film was followed by a sequel in 2010 titled Pure Country 2: The Gift
.
", which wins him Harley's love.
, but mostly in Maypearl
. The graveyard scene was shot at Cresson Cemetery in Cresson, Texas
, and the concert sequences were filmed at concert venues in Fort Worth, including Will Rogers Coliseum.
was released on October 15, 2010.
George Strait appears as himself, but will not be the central character of the film. The sequel has no storyline connection to the original, and instead focuses on a young woman's struggles to become a country singer with Strait in a more limited role.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
western film directed by Christopher Cain
Christopher Cain
Christopher Cain is an American screenwriter, actor, director, and singer. He married Sharon Thomas in 1969 and adopted her two sons, Roger and Dean Cain. The couple's daughter Krisinda Cain Schafer was born in 1973....
. The film stars George Strait
George Strait
George Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...
in his acting debut with Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Emmy Awards and five times for Golden Globe, winning one....
, Isabel Glasser
Isabel Glasser
Isabel Glasser is an American actress who has starred in the movies Forever Young, Pure Country and the Law & Order franchise.-External links:...
and Kyle Chandler
Kyle Chandler
Kyle Martin Chandler is an American film and television actor best known for his roles in the television shows Early Edition as Gary Hobson, Deputy Jackson Lamb in the film Super 8, and as Coach Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead...
. The film was considered a box office bomb
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, however the soundtrack was a critical success and to date Strait's best selling album. The film was followed by a sequel in 2010 titled Pure Country 2: The Gift
Pure Country 2: The Gift
Pure Country 2: The Gift is a 2010 American musical western film directed by Christopher Cain. It is the sequel to the 1992 Pure Country and stars country music artist Katrina Elam.-Cast:* Katrina Elam as Bobbie Thomas* Travis Fimmel as Dale Jordan...
.
Plot
Wyatt "Dusty" Chandler (George Strait) is one of the hottest performers in country music. Dusty feels that his elaborate stage show is overwhelming his music, a suspicion confirmed one night when he forgets several bars of a chart-topping hit and his fans don't even notice. Disillusioned, Dusty walks off after the concert without telling his manager, Lula (Lesley Ann Warren). The only person he tells is his best buddy and drummer, Earl (John Doe), and that he's taking a break, but he doesn't say where he's going or for how long. After shaving his beard and cutting off his ponytail, Dusty heads for the small farm town where he grew up, visiting his wise old grandmother (Molly McClure) and ending up at the ranch of the Tucker family, where nobody recognizes him. He stays on at the ranch, paying room and board and taking roping lessons, all the while earning the respect of owner Ernest (Rory Calhoun) and falling in love with Ernest's daughter, Harley (Isabel Glasser), a woman determined to save the struggling spread with victory in a Las Vegas rodeo. When Dusty learns that Lula has secretly replaced him onstage with her boyfriend, Buddy Jackson (Kyle Chandler), dressed like Dusty and lip-syncing to a recording of Dusty, he returns to the stage. He demands that his stage shows be toned down, without all the smoke and elaborate light show of which he had grown weary. His first appearance after his "vacation" is in Las Vegas at the same time as the rodeo Harley Tucker is competing in. He writes a special love song just for her and arranges for her and her family to have front row seats to the concert. True to his wishes, he does the show without all the hoopla and sits on the edge of the stage - playing and singing "I Cross My HeartI Cross My Heart
I Cross My Heart is the title of a song written by Steve Dorff and Eric Kaz, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in September 1992 as the lead-off single to his album Pure Country, which is also the soundtrack to the movie of the same title. It reached...
", which wins him Harley's love.
Cast
- George StraitGeorge StraitGeorge Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...
as Wyatt "Dusty" Chandler - Lesley Ann WarrenLesley Ann WarrenLesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Emmy Awards and five times for Golden Globe, winning one....
as Lula Rogers - Isabel GlasserIsabel GlasserIsabel Glasser is an American actress who has starred in the movies Forever Young, Pure Country and the Law & Order franchise.-External links:...
as Harley Tucker - Kyle ChandlerKyle ChandlerKyle Martin Chandler is an American film and television actor best known for his roles in the television shows Early Edition as Gary Hobson, Deputy Jackson Lamb in the film Super 8, and as Coach Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead...
as Buddy Jackson - John DoeJohn DoeThe name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...
as Earl Blackstock - Rory CalhounRory CalhounRory Calhoun was an American television and film actor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
as Ernest Tucker - Molly McClure as Grandma Ivy Chandler
- Terry McIlvain as Tim Tucker
- Toby Metcalf as J.W. Tucker
Production notes
Pure Country was filmed in 1991 throughout TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, but mostly in Maypearl
Maypearl, Texas
Maypearl is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States. The population was 956 in 2009.-Geography:Maypearl is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
. The graveyard scene was shot at Cresson Cemetery in Cresson, Texas
Cresson, Texas
Cresson is a city in Hood, Johnson, and Parker counties in the U.S. state of Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 377 and State Highway 171, seventeen miles southwest of Fort Worth. The Pate Museum is in Parker County in between the two...
, and the concert sequences were filmed at concert venues in Fort Worth, including Will Rogers Coliseum.
Box office
Despite Strait's super-star status in the music world, Pure Country only grossed just over $15 million at the box office. Although the expectations had been higher for his first major film role, this did not stop the soundtrack album from becoming the best-selling of Strait's career to date.Sequel
A sequel to Pure Country, Pure Country 2: The GiftPure Country 2: The Gift
Pure Country 2: The Gift is a 2010 American musical western film directed by Christopher Cain. It is the sequel to the 1992 Pure Country and stars country music artist Katrina Elam.-Cast:* Katrina Elam as Bobbie Thomas* Travis Fimmel as Dale Jordan...
was released on October 15, 2010.
George Strait appears as himself, but will not be the central character of the film. The sequel has no storyline connection to the original, and instead focuses on a young woman's struggles to become a country singer with Strait in a more limited role.