MY BOUNTY HUNTER (70 min., ©2001) – featuring MARTA BECKET of Death Valley Junction’s Amargosa Opera House.

FULL MOVIE: https://vimeo.com/162147616

(TRAILER: <https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mybountyhunter>)

Here’s a nice diversion for the new year, to Death Valley Junction and our group of “desert stories.”

MY BOUNTY HUNTER is about an old man, Jefé, who is on the run from the law, holed up in an old adobe house on the outskirts of Death Valley Junction. Two dot.comers decide to hunt him down, to grab publicity for their fledging website launch of bountyhunter.com. It is never clear what exactly Jefé is wanted for, but as the chase proceeds we get to meet an array of his desert friends and hear their real-life stories. We're told about abusive fathers, fathers dying too young, and the loss of innocence when a dropped light-meter entrusted to a seven-year-old impacts the man he is to become. Marta Becket (1924-2017), first lady of the Amargosa Opera House,<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/arts/dance/marta-becket-dead.html>), shares her story of the difficulty she had as a young woman, breaking free from her overly-possessive mother. The two bounty hunters (Stephen King and Dave Duffett) bumble their way along, learning more about themselves than how to catch a harmless old man who sells corn cob pipes.

Marta Becket

MyBountyHunter

(70 min., Color, © 2001)

A Feature Workshops Production

Written/Directed by Molly Ainsley, Dave Duffett, Morgan Schmidt-Feng, Lloyd Francis, Stephen King, Tim Kolarsick, Stephen Rubin, Rick Schmidt, Phil Smy and Chris Tow.

Produced by Morgan Schmidt-Feng and Rick Schmidt.

Director of Photography - Morgan Schmidt-Feng https://filmsight.com/