The new Western film co-starring Jason Momoa and Zahn McClarnon premieres Friday in theaters and on digital platforms.
Martin Sensmeier wants to help set the record straight.
The talented young star of 1883 and The Magnificent Seven is proud of his work in director Christian Camargo’s The Last Manhunt, a new Western drama — set for a Nov. 18 theatrical and digital premiere — that promises a revisionist view of the real-life events previously dramatized in the 1969 movie Tell Them Willie Boy is Here. And he’s greatly pleased to have shared the storytelling duties with an impressive cast that also includes Mainei Kinimaka, Jason Momoa (who also serves as co-writer and co-producer), Zahn McClarnon, Lily Gladstone, Raoul Max Trujillo, Brandon A. Oakes, and Tantoo Cardinal.
Sensmeier stars as Willie Boy, a long-distance desert runner from the Chemehuevi tribe who, in 1909, must flee into the Mojave Desert with his young lover Carlotta (Mainei Kinimaka) after accidentally killing Carlotta’s father, William Johnson (Zahn McClarnon), a Chemehuevi shaman and tribal leader.
In pursuit of the fugitives, the local sheriff (director Camargo) leads a mounted posse (including co-star Momoa) armed with superior firepower, and accompanied by Native American trackers seeking justice for their “murdered” tribal leader. At first, Willie Boy and Carlota evade capture by outlasting the men and their horses. But sensationalistic news stories meant to sell papers add to the mounting pressure to capture Willie Boy — dead or alive.
Martin Sensmeier recently joined us in the C&I Studio to talk about the challenges and responsibilities he accepted while playing Willie Boy in The Last Manhunt.
