You know Yellowstone, that show that is probably indoctrinating your parents with liberal ideas? Well, now it’s bringing Harrison Ford (a lifelong Democrat) into the fold, and I can’t wait for all the conservative parents to get even more confused (I wouldn’t know, my parents were always Dems). In addition to all the lib-pilling, 1923 is the latest addition into my favorite genre of Harrison Ford’s filmography: Cowboy.
I have watched everything Harrison Ford has ever been in, so I had to start Yellowstone from the beginning and go through all of it so I could watch 1923. And while the show itself is, at this point, a slow burn (only one episode has been released so far), it is part of Harrison Ford’s cowboy era, which is some of his best stuff.
He’s been a cowboy-type in things like Cowboys & Aliens, and you could probably make the argument that the Indiana Jones franchise is “western” enough, but his role as Jacob Dutton in 1923 really highlights how good Harrison Ford is in the genre. When you break it down, 1923 is a series based on the western genre, but one that also pushes our idea of it. Creator Taylor Sheridan previously made a name for himself on Paramount with Yellowstone and 1883, but he’s been breaking down the western genre since 2016’s Hell or High Water.
Ford’s entire filmography can be boiled down to movies where he is funny, movies where he’s being an action star, movies where he’s serious, and then the cowboys. Sometimes they mix and match the genres, but Harrison Ford as a cowboy still seems to fit him best—Han Solo is really a space cowboy, after all—and Jacob Dutton is a great addition to that.
While 1923 is currently a slower journey than Yellowstone, it is still a great look at how we have interacted with westerns in the past and (especially) how they function in history, making it a great addition to the Yellowstone universe and to Ford’s western filmography.
Is 1923 worth it for Ford and Helen Mirren alone?
Right now, we have only seen one episode of 1923, and it mostly gave us a lot of information about this era of the Dutton family. I’m not sure who’s who or which one of these kids is actually Jacob Dutton’s son, or whether or not I missed what happened to his kids entirely, but it has managed to pique my interest enough that I’m going to keep watching.
I probably would have anyway for Ford and Mirren, but I love the way that Taylor Sheridan weaves the story to keep us on the edge of our seats, trying to figure out how this is going to connect with and lead into the Dutton family we know from Yellowstone. This aspect of this franchise is fascinating because we’re still mainly focusing on the modern storyline of the Dutton family and ranch, but now we’re seeing how we got there. 1883 and 1923 are helping to fill out this family’s history and the stakes they’ve always had in Montana.
(featured image: Paramount+)
