Jeremiah Johnson is a 1972 Western movie directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford and Will Geer as “Bear Claw” Chris Lapp.
The movie is partly based on the life of the legendary mountain man John Jeremiah Johnson, as told in Raymond Thorp and Robert Bunker’s Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson and Vardis Fisher’s Mountain Man.
Was Jeremiah Johnson A Real Person?
Jeremiah Johnson was a made-up name for the film, but his real name was John Johnston, which he took after being kicked out of the Navy for striking an officer during the Mexican-American War.
After being discharged from the Navy, Johnson went to the mountains in search of solitude. His first stop, according to legend, was a cabin on the Little Snake River in northern Colorado.
He honed his hunting, trapping, and survival skills with an older mountain man named Old John Hatcher, whom he had befriended.
After learning the skills needed to survive in the wilderness, he set out independently. During his travels, he married a Flathead tribe member and began to settle into his new life.
We wouldn’t be telling his stories if Johnson had lived his life as a mountain man. According to legend, while he was out hunting, his pregnant wife was murdered and scalped by the territorial Crow tribe. As a result, he sought vengeance against the Crow.
Is Jeremiah Johnson Film A True Story?
“Jeremiah Johnson” is based on the true story of John Johnston, also known as Crow-Killer and Liver-Eater Johnston.
Disgusted with civilized society, Jeremiah (Robert Redford) decides to live as a mountain man in the Rocky Mountains. The main issue, however, is that he has no idea how to survive in the harsh conditions of the mountains.
Fortunately, he meets another mountain man named Chris Lapp (played by Will Geer), who saves him from starvation and teaches him how to survive the dangerous winters and rugged mountain conditions.
In his new life as a rugged individualist, “Jeremiah Johnson” faces many trials, tribulations, and challenges. He discovers how to skin a dangerous grizzly bear and trade with Indians.
Despite his pleas for the soldiers to leave the area alone, “Jeremiah Johnson” appears to have found peace in the wilderness with this new family. That is until he assists some soldiers who violate a Crow burial ground. The Crow Indians retaliate against Johnson.
Enraged, Johnson vows to kill every Crow Indian he finds in the area, earning him the moniker “Crow Killer.”
The scenic beauty in this classic western shot entirely on location in Utah takes viewers on a visual journey that depicts the beauty and danger of the mountains.
Actor Robert Redford Is Still Alive: Where Is He Now?
Robert Redford is still alive and well, and the news of his death was a hoax. He has been a Hollywood fixture for decades, known for acting and founding the Sundance Film Festival.
However, the actor hasn’t been acting as frequently in recent years, and there has been much speculation about whether he is officially retiring or not. After saying he was done working in 2018, Robert made a surprise appearance in another film.
A year after The Old Man and the Gun, he made a surprise appearance in the 2019 Marvel film Avengers: Endgame.
Robert also took a step back from Sundance. In 2019, he announced that he would no longer be involved in the Sundance Film Festival in the same capacity.