Released to TV in 1976 and directed by Bruce Bilson, "The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe" chronicles events in Wyoming when homesteader/interim Sheriff Joshua Cabe (John McIntire) is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to hang in thirty days. His three adopted daughters (Louise Williams, Renne Jarrett & Lezlie Dalton) hatch a harebrained scheme to smuggle him out of a nasty cave prison before going to the gallows. Jack Elam plays Uncle Bitterroot, John Dehner the warden and Geoffrey Lewis the ne'er-do-well. Jeanette Nolan is also on hand.
This was the third in a trilogy of TV movies, the first two being "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe" (1972) and "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return" (1975). The producers could never get the same people to play the main characters with the exception of Elam returning as Bitterroot from the first film.
The Western locations are actually good and realistic, but they're obviously the same locations used for 70's TV Westerns, like the Kung Fu series. The best part about "New Daughters" is the likable cast, particularly the three girls, with Louise Williams standing out as the spirited brunette. Lezlie Dalton was on the soap Guiding Light for a couple of years before leaving acting; it's nice to see her again.
"New Daughters" isn't a Western comedy, but rather a lighthearted Western drama. Despite the quality locations and cast, the story (by Margaret and Paul Savage) is thoroughly contrived in the manner of TV show Westerns. If you can handle that and like the cast it's fairly entertaining.
The film runs 73 minutes and was shot in Southern California.
GRADE: C
