David and Molly Beaton, marry and leave their native Iowa to make a life for themselves as homesteaders in the Dakota Territory of the early 1870s.[10] The U.S. Government Homestead Act offers applicants 160 acres of land in undeveloped areas. Those who stay on the land for five years become the official owners.[11] The young couple manages to survive government and railroad corruption,[12] and perseveres through blizzards, a grasshopper invasion, crop destruction, and giving birth in a sod house among other challenges.
Director:
Michael O'Herlihy
Stars:
Roger Kern as David Beaton
Linda Purl as Molly Beaton
Robert Hays as Dan Grey
Shelly Juttner as Nettie Peters
Robert Donner as Mr. Peters
Frank Marth as Mr. Svenson
Brendan Dillon as Doyle
Charles Tyner as Mr. Beaton
Jonathan Kidd as Dr. Thorne
Arnold Soboloff as Clerk in Land Office
Britt Leach as Mr. Loftus
Dennis Fimple as Man in Land Office
Bernice Smith as Mrs. Svenson
Janis Jamison as Eliza