Been spoofed lately?

Been spoofed lately

fiction
Edward w Pritchard


I am not the kind of person who enjoys practical jokes but I was the recent victim of a spoof.

A spoof was originally a word game invented by a British comedian Arthur Roberts. Spoof has come to mean as a slang word to con someone or a parody. Old Arthur Roberts the comedian and his high brow friends probably loved to play a hoax or two on an unsuspecting naive victim at a party back when the British empire ruled the world.

I fell for a spoof perpetrated by Hollywood today.  I consider myself a Historian and enjoy watching historical fiction in film.

Today I had the opportunity to see actors Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn in " The Old Santa Fe Trail" on Retro television.

story is in progress, to be continued

Let's try again:

Ronald Reagan as Custer and Errol Flynn as Jeb Stewart are two friends from West Point back in the 1850's who are competing for the same girl played by Olivia DeHavillan. At a party Olivia introduces Ronald to her college roommate so she and Errol can court. The roommate is a "dishy" blond whose Father in the movie is a short Abe Lincoln. Abe is four inches shorter than Robert E Lee in the scene. Meanwhile John Brown formerly of Hudson Ohio is preparing to attack Harper's Ferry.

Why was I spoofed? By watching this goofy movie again. Three times I have tried to watch it over the years. Abe Lincoln didn't have a daughter. John Brown is among the most complex and intriguing characters in American History and Raymond Massey plays a convincing John Brown.  I liked Ronald Reagan better as a President than as an actor in this film. As for the Santa Fe trail part the Railroad comes off as the hero of that segment. The bottom line on the movie? A Convoluted History of some events leading to the Civil War. Fun to watch but I prefer a Ken Burns documentary of the American West or the Civil War. Maybe in 1940's it was nice to have heroes who always beat the bad guys.

What am I trying to say. A fantastic cast and a mediocre script. I'll give the movie " The Santa Fe Trail" a B- for watching for entertainment value only.