Beyond the Prairie II: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder Continues (2002)

A sequel to the 2000 TV movie Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, this two-hour film chronicles the later events in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose evocative autobiographical novels also inspired the long-running TV series Little House on the Prairie. After enduring many a hardship in South Dakota, 19th century schoolteacher Laura (Meredith Monroe) and her homesteader husband Almanzo (Walton Goggins) pull up stakes and move to Missouri, along with their daughter Ruth (Skye McCole Bartusiak). The little family's dream of achieving financial security as apple farmers is sorely threatened when Laura, substituting for her ailing husband, attempts to handle all the farming chores herself -- as a cold and merciless winter swiftly and inexorably approaches. Monroe and Goggins repeat their roles from the earlier film, as does Richard Thomas as Laura's father Charles Ingalls. Beyond the Prairie II: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder Continues made its CBS network debut on March 17, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi