Film Brought Fame to the Blackfoot

August 5, 2012 By: Erin Block

Made famous by Robert Redford’s film adaptation of Norman Maclean’s novella A River Runs Through It, the Blackfoot River was in the end both hurt and helped by all of the attention. Bringing tourists and a population boom to Montana, and flocks of new fly fishers which created an over-crowded river, it also brought environmental awareness and eventual restoration to the Blackfoot. In a recent interview with Vince Devlin of The Missoulian, John Maclean reflects on the twentieth anniversary of the film, talking about what would have been his father’s reaction and perspective on it all.