"The Castaway Cowboy" begins with Mr. Costain (James Garner) washing ashore on the island of
Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands back in 1850. It seems that Costain was kidnapped and forced to work on a ship...and he availed him a chance to escape by jumping overboard.
Soon Costain is befriended by a widow and her son. The MacAvoys have a large plantation there, but it's being underutilized and the crops are failing. Costain has an idea...why try to make pennies on crops when there are dollars to be make cattle ranching. This film is about the difficulties encountered trying to make a go of it. Some of the difficulties were cultural, some were definitely man-made.
In 2022, this film might be seen as a bit politically incorrect in the somewhat paternalistic way the Hawaiians are portrayed....and Disney+ mentions this on a tacked-on prologue. Fortunately they have NOT trimmed the film. I also noticed near the end that Costain was using a revolver...something pretty much impossible in Hawaii at the time. The revolver wasn't mass produced until the 1850s...and finding one in 1850 in such an out of the way place seems more than just unlikely. Not a major problem...just something this history teacher noticed.
All in all, a decent movie...especially since in the 20th century Kaua'i DID become a big cattle producing island! Yep..cowboys and cattle on the island!
Soon Costain is befriended by a widow and her son. The MacAvoys have a large plantation there, but it's being underutilized and the crops are failing. Costain has an idea...why try to make pennies on crops when there are dollars to be make cattle ranching. This film is about the difficulties encountered trying to make a go of it. Some of the difficulties were cultural, some were definitely man-made.
In 2022, this film might be seen as a bit politically incorrect in the somewhat paternalistic way the Hawaiians are portrayed....and Disney+ mentions this on a tacked-on prologue. Fortunately they have NOT trimmed the film. I also noticed near the end that Costain was using a revolver...something pretty much impossible in Hawaii at the time. The revolver wasn't mass produced until the 1850s...and finding one in 1850 in such an out of the way place seems more than just unlikely. Not a major problem...just something this history teacher noticed.
All in all, a decent movie...especially since in the 20th century Kaua'i DID become a big cattle producing island! Yep..cowboys and cattle on the island!