9TH CIRCUIT COWBOY, A Film By Terry Sanders
Academy Award® Winner Terry Sanders’
9th CIRCUIT COWBOY, The Long Good Fight of Harry Pregerson,
Coming to Vimeo on Demand and Amazon on Jan. 26, 2021
Coming to Vimeo on Demand and Amazon on Tuesday, Jan. 26 is 9th CIRCUIT COWBOY, The Long Good Fight of Harry Pregerson, a new documentary directed by Terry Sanders, a two-time Academy Award®-winning director, writer, producer (1995 Best Feature Documentary, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, produced with Freida Lee Mock) and as producer and cinematographer for the 1955 Best Short Subject, A Time Out of War, a five-time Oscar® nominee, a Primetime Emmy® winner for Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me, which aired on PBS’s American Masters, among many other accolades.
To those who loved Harry Pregerson, he was a hero – a tough, tenacious, cantankerous, loveable hero – a proud Marine who took to heart – both on and off the bench – the motto: “Leave no one behind.” To his critics he was a Bleeding Heart Liberal on the Notorious 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – a would be Social Engineer – an Activist who “ruled with his heart instead of his head.” A judge for over 50 years, when he died, still on the bench at 94, it was said: “In the field of law and public interest there are stars – there are superstars – and then, there’s Harry Pregerson." 9th CIRCUIT COWBOY is the story of Pregerson who, for almost half a century, served on California’s famously liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and was known for placing his personal scruples over what he discounted as abstract legalities.
Growing up in a Jewish household during the Depression in diverse East Los Angeles, Harry enlisted in the Marines in World War II and served in the Pacific. In the bloody Battle for Okinawa, he received a field commission to lieutenant after suffering severe gunshot wounds to his legs. After the war, he went on to become a lawyer, a district court judge and ultimately one of the most admired, and sometimes scorned, appellate judges in the United States -- a champion for veterans, the homeless, the poor and the powerless.
Framed by the packed Shrine Auditorium celebration of Harry’s life, and interwoven with rare family photos, remembrances of people whose lives he touched and changed, television news reports, World War II Marine Corps battle footage and spectacular aerial views of Los Angeles, the city he knew and loved, 9th CIRCUIT COWBOY explores Harry’s inexhaustible passion – both on and off the bench – as a “rescue machine” to alleviate human suffering and fight for social justice.
About the Filmmaker
Director, producer, writer, cinematographer Terry Sanders is a two-time Oscar® winner and Emmy® winner who has produced and/or directed more than 70 award-winning dramatic features, theatrical documentaries, television specials and a large body of portrait films of major American artists, writers, musicians and public figures. Sanders’ first professional job after producing and photographing the Oscar®-winning dramatic Civil War short story film, A Time Out of War, was directing the second unit of Night of the Hunter for director Charles Laughton. Later he adapted The Day Lincoln Was Shot for CBS-TV and co-wrote the screenplay of The Naked and the Dead for Warner Bros. He produced and co-directed with his brother Denis the independent features Crime and Punishment, USA and War Hunt starring John Saxon and introducing Robert Redford.
Credits
Directed, Written and Produced by Terry Sanders
Photographed by Terry Sanders
Edited by Terry Sanders and Chris Jones
Music by Charles Bernstein
Assistant Producer Kaitlyn O’Hara
Production Sound Bruce Nolte
Assistant Camera Bruce Nolte, Chris Jones, Patrick Hubbard
Production Assistant Maria Astorga
USA
54 minutes / English
Shooting format: HD 1920 x 1080
Copyright: 2020
For more information on 9TH CIRCUIT COWBOY, visit:
Follow 9th CIRCUIT COWBOY on Facebook and Instagram.
About American Film Foundation
American Film Foundation is a 501(c) 3 Santa Monica-based non-profit production company that has produced both Academy® and Emmy® Award-winning documentaries. The company's projects range from theatrical documentary films and television series to dramatic feature films. American Film Foundation is headed by Terry Sanders and Freida Lee Mock, who have received three Academy Awards® and ten Academy Award® nominations. For more information, visit http://www.americanfilmfoundation.com/.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS: