It's 1873: a slippery dime novelist teams up with a famous buffalo hunter to create a really bad, wildly successful western stage play -- in spite of their oil and water chemistry.

SYNOPSIS:

Title: BUNTLINE AND CODY

Format: TV Miniseries – 5x50 min episodes, Historical Fiction

Logline: It's 1873: a slippery dime novelist teams up with a famous buffalo hunter to create a really bad, wildly successful western stage play -- in spite of their oil and water chemistry.

Synopsis: This story is a missing link in the history of the west and development of the “Western.” It begins in 1872 with Ned Buntline: rogue, adventurer, bigamist, man of huge appetites, and successful dime novelist, who is usually broke in spite of the fact that he sometimes makes $20,000/year. On his return from failed temperance lectures in California, hard-drinking Buntline looks for a new hero to serialize, and finds one on the Nebraska plains in Will Cody, fearless scout, buffalo hunter, and guide.

When the two meet the physical contrast is marked: Buntline, (50), short and stocky, with a limp; Cody, (24), tall and handsome with a magnetic “presence.” Cody considers Buntline “a man of smoke and mirrors” who must prove himself “under fire,” which he does when he rides with Cody on a dangerous scouting mission. Cody agrees to work with him for a fee.

Their paths separate temporarily. Buntline returns to New York City and quickly writes his serial, Buffalo Bill, The King of the Border-Men, to generate money for his two neglected wives: downtrodden Lovanche, and not-so-downtrodden Kate, who once pulled a knife on him. The serial, a huge success, is also turned into a popular New York play by a local playwright. Cody starts to become famous, and his wife Louisa, used to comfort, becomes very dissatisfied with life on the prairie, which Cody loves in spite of the danger. She pushes him: “Get your money from Buntline, exploit your fame, Buffalo Bill!”

Cody’s fame grows – the Russian Crown Prince engages him as guide for a buffalo hunt, as do an influential group of movers and shakers. Later, when visiting this group in New York City, Cody confronts Buntline about the money he’s owed. Of course, he doesn’t have any – financial pressures: a new wife to support, the others suing for divorce. As a peace offering, Buntline pays Cody something; then takes him to see the Buffalo Bill play. When the real Buffalo Bill is discovered in the audience, he’s called on stage, where he’s paralyzed with stage fright. Nevertheless, the audience loves him – the epitome of the western hero. In the moment, Buntline sees all this, and has a commercial epiphany. He’ll write a Buffalo Bill play starring Cody. “You won’t have to act, just be yourself.” Cody declines and returns to the plains.

Louisa finally leaves, returning with their kids to her family home in St. Louis. Buntline nags Cody relentlessly, “There’s money in it” – this, along with almost being scalped while scouting, causes Cody to finally relent. He meets Buntline in Chicago, and in spite of his stage fright and Buntline’s shenanigans, including no money, no script, falling out with the theatre owner, plus horrible reviews, Scouts of the Prairie is a smashing success. Cody finds his feet on stage and realizes his star power: the audience comes to see him. He pushes out Buntline, eventually becoming the consummate showman. I always wondered: How did we go from the brutal, dangerous reality of Western life to glorifying the violence and portraying the tribes as “bad guys?” This play was the first step in romanticizing mass entertainment dealing with the West.

BUNTLINE AND CODY