The Production Short of
"Letters From The Field"
From an Eye-witness Account of Custer's Last Stand

Production of History

Prado Valley - Location

The Prado Valley is 9,000 acres of protected wilderness and includes grassy meadows, forests of black willows, and open bluffs of significant height. Ideal for replicating the Little Bighorn Valley, the Prado Valley contains all the elements of the Little Bighorn, yet does not have all the building and highways which mar the open vista, and is smaller for ease of production. Protecting endangered species, there are specific areas that are off limits.

Third Act acquires a series of experts for each production. For Letters From The Field, we have master professionals within each field of the historical event: 7th Cavalry, Native Americans, and the Battle plus authorities on costumes, props, and animals.

Experts

Glen Swanson is perhaps the premier collector of LBH material, has consulted with the National Park Service, and helped with museum curation. He is our technical consultant and has advised us on horse color, costumes, makeup, routes, and more. 

Dr. Paul Apodaca is a Native American, former curator of Native American Arts at the Bowers museum, and teaches anthropology at a So. Cal. university. A Smithsonian Fellow, he advises galleries, museums and organizations on their displays, artifacts and history. He is our Indian expert.

 James Willart was the foremost expert on the Battle of the Little Bighorn when he passed several years ago. He was a friend of the book author Douglas Westfall, and edited the book Letters From The Field before he died. The script comes directly from this book.

 

Authorities

Glen Swanson Photos

Letters From The Field is a original historic story, taken from the letters of a young lieutenant. We are re-creating the events as he saw them, with high production values and a great accuracy. For this we have a series of experts to ensure both accuracy of the historical events, but also the details of the scenes for costumes, props, and animals.

Sharon Porter is an expert at developing costumes for period pieces including Victorian, Civil War, and the Indian wars. Peter Sherayko owns a vast back lot north of Hollywood which includes weapons, tepees, horses, and several buildings. He will be on location.

James Ellingson was born in Billings, Montana has ridden horses all his life including in the Little Bighorn Valley. E regularly heads up the First North Carolina Cavalry -- Civil War reenactors, is our extra coordinator, and will play a scout in the production.

"Letters From The Field"
First in the ~My American History~ series.