User:GateKeeper/Articles/Prairie Fever

Prairie Fever is a 2008 western film starring Kevin Sorbo, Dominique Swain, Lance Henriksen, Felicia Day, Jillian Armenante, and Jamie Anne Allman. Sorbo plays a drunken but caring Sheriff who must transport three Mail-order brides rejected by their husbands after being declared stricken with "Prairie Fever".

Plot
The film begins with the Sheriff of Clear Water City, Preston Biggs (Sorbo), attempting to stop a robbery in progress. One of the robbers takes the sherrif's wife hostage and tries to negotiate an exchange; Biggs trying to quickly end the standoff, shoots but misses and kills his wife in the process. Devastated at the loss of his wife, Biggs turns to drinking and ultimately looses his post as Sheriff.

Two years later, Biggs is drinking at a Saloon when he observes Olivia (Allman) and her husband James Monte (Henriksen) Cheating at a game of Poker. The opposing player enraged at his loss pulls out his pistol but is killed by Monte before he can fire. Olivia, fed up with the manner in which Monte treats her and feeling guilty about taking other people's money decides to flee. She ties up Monte while he sleeps, takes half of their earnings, and heads off in search of a better life.

Back at the Pure Luk Saloon, Biggs encounters two men whom he imprisoned four years earlier. Infuriated and seeking revenge they start a fight with Biggs and in the process end up destroying property. Biggs wakes up in jail the next day and is told by the current Sheriff that he must pay $200 dollars for the property destroyed. Lacking the money, he agrees to transport Lettie (Armenante) who is imprisoned for attempting to kill her husband --and believed to be infected with prairie fever--to Carson city.

After loading Lettie into the transport wagon, he heads off to pick up another woman : Abigail (Swain), who is also being sent back to board the Carson Train. Abigail believes she is going home, but in reality her family has decided to send her to the Asylum in St.Louis. Before they can take off, Frank (Mitchell) a local resident, shows up and pleads for Biggs to take back his over-religious wife, 'Blue' (Day). Biggs eventually agrees after Frank offers to pay him $50 dollars. The three women are part of seventeen mail-order brides ordered by the local Reverend (Ensign) from the nearby city, however the women seem to have trouble adjusting to their new lives and are diagnosed with prairie fever.

Shortly after departing, Biggs stops to set up camp, after getting off the wagon, Abigail has a panic attack and believes they sky is falling. Olivia, who has been left stranded after her purchased horse escapes, overhears the screams and calms down Abigail by giving her Bigg's hat to wear. Olivia befriends the three women and decides to join Bigg on his journey.

After becoming untied Monte decides to go looking for his wife, he manages to catch up to Bigg's wagon but Olivia hides and goes unnoticed. Meanwhile, Frank and his sexist brother Charlie (Gibbons), make plans to track down Bigg and steal back the money they paid to transport Blue. Shortly after Monte's visit, one of the wagon's wheels breaks off and all of Bigg's Alcoholic beverage's spill. They stop, unload a piano, and Lettie reveals that she used to play it until her husband started beating her. At this point the women start growing fond of Bigg and begin to trust him. Abigail tells the other women that her husband abandoned her.

During a face off with Frank and Charlie, Frank discovers the truth in his wife's over the top preaching; Charlie rapped 'Blue'. Frank becomes angry and Charlie shoots and kills 'Blue'. Frank is then shot and killed by Charlie. After a funeral for 'Blue', it is revealed that Lettie has a beautiful singing voice.