Heck, I took my Montana History in the early sixties. I left elementary school fully indoctrinated that Montana’s Vigilantes all wore white hats. As I got older, I realized that Professor Dimsdale and Nathaniel Langford, as Vigilantes themselves, might have allowed a little bias to slip into their books.
I think Bronson starred in five separate “Death Wish” movies, beginning in 1974. I remember one where he was packing a Wildey gas-operated pistol – a huge piece of iron. Obviously, there are a lot of vigilante movies out there.
I kind of prefer the historical story – Henry Plummer was the first sheriff elected in Montana. After his election, he went around asking every man in Bannack for a $2.50 contribution to build a gallows. Less than a year after his election, the Vigilantes hanged him on that same gallows. It’s really hard to come up with a fiction story that tops Montana’s Vigilantes hanging the Sheriff.
Still, I watched Citizen Vigilante. It did a job of stressing things that had happened in Europe. Some might consider it Islamophobic. I did like having a character named Sanders as the protagonist. I’m pretty sure it was Wilbur Sanders who gave the order “Men, do your duty.” to the Vigilantes who hanged George Ives in Virginia City on December 21, 1863. Plummer lasted until January 10, 1864.
There’s been a small movement to paint Henry Plummer as a good guy – a Democrat killed unjustly by the Republican Vigilantes. Plummer’s record before coming to Montana was at least as bad as Boone Helm’s – in both cases the Vigilantes removed people who were guilty of a lot of crimes. Still, had their cases gone to court, the chance of a hung jury, or being released after an appeal to the district court isn’t that remote.
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