The Blue and the Gray (1982) (TV)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
America just before and during the Civil War,
as seen through the eyes of an artist correspondent.

Series Cast
Stacy Keach ... Jonas Steele (3 episodes, 1982)
John Hammond ... John Geyser (3 episodes, 1982)
Diane Baker ... Evelyn Hale (3 episodes, 1982)
Kathleen Beller ... Kathy Reynolds (3 episodes, 1982)
Paul Benedict ... Arbuthnot (3 episodes, 1982)
Lloyd Bridges ... Ben Geyser (3 episodes, 1982)
Rory Calhoun ... Gen. George Meade (3 episodes, 1982)
Colleen Dewhurst ... Maggie Geyser (3 episodes, 1982)
David Doyle ... Phineas Wade (3 episodes, 1982)
Michael Horton ... Mark Geyser (3 episodes, 1982)
Warren Oates ... Maj. Welles / ... (3 episodes, 1982)
Gerald S. O'Loughlin ... Sgt. O'Toole (3 episodes, 1982)
Geraldine Page ... Mrs. Lovelace (3 episodes, 1982)
Dan Shor ... Luke Geyser (3 episodes, 1982)
Rip Torn ... Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (3 episodes, 1982)
Robert Vaughn ... Sen. Reynolds (3 episodes, 1982)
John Vernon ... Secretary of State Seward (3 episodes, 1982)
Paul Winfield ... Jonathan Henry (3 episodes, 1982)
Gregory Peck ... Abraham Lincoln (3 episodes, 1982)
Julia Duffy ... Mary Hale (3 episodes, 1982)
Robin Gammell ... Jacob Hale Sr. (3 episodes, 1982)
David W. Harper ... James Hale (3 episodes, 1982)
Gregg Henry ... Lester Bedell (3 episodes, 1982)
Cooper Huckabee ... Matthew Geyser (3 episodes, 1982)
Brian Kerwin ... Malachy Hale (3 episodes, 1982)
William Lucking ... Capt. Potts (3 episodes, 1982)
Charles Napier ... Maj. Harrison (3 episodes, 1982)
Walter Olkewicz ... Pvt. Grundy (3 episodes, 1982)
Penny Peyser ... Emma Gayser (3 episodes, 1982)
Duncan Regehr ... Capt. Randolph (3 episodes, 1982)
David Rounds ... Christopher Spencer (3 episodes, 1982)
Christopher Stone ... Maj. Fairburn (3 episodes, 1982)
Bruce Abbott ... Jake Hale Jr. (3 episodes, 1982)
Walter Brooke ... Gen. Herman Haupt (3 episodes, 1982)
Janice Carroll ... Mary Todd Lincoln (3 episodes, 1982)
Fredric Cook ... Captain Grimes (3 episodes, 1982)
John Dennis Johnston ... Lt. Hardy (3 episodes, 1982)
Warwick Sims ... Count Von Ziller (3 episodes, 1982)
Fred Stuthman ... George (older employee at the Gettysburgh Newspaper) (3 episodes, 1982)
Robert Symonds ... Gen. Robert E. Lee (3 episodes, 1982)
Maggie Wellman ... Nell (3 episodes, 1982)
Lyle Armstrong ... Lincoln's Advisor (3 episodes, 1982)
James Carroll Jordan ... Professor Lowe (2 episodes, 1982)
William Bryan Curran ... Dr. Bennett (2 episodes, 1982)
Alex Harvey ... Calvery Colonel (2 episodes, 1982)
Steve Nevil ... Johnny Reb (2 episodes, 1982)
Jordan Rhodes ... Pennsylvania Colonel (2 episodes, 1982)
Matthew Tobin ... James Hale's Doctor (2 episodes, 1982)
William Wellman Jr. ... Lt. Mercer (2 episodes, 1982)
Rick Ramey (unknown episodes)

Series Produced
Hugh Benson .... producer (2 episodes, 1982)
Harry Thomason .... producer (2 episodes, 1982)
Jack Arbib .... co-executive producer (unknown episodes, 1982)

Series Writing Credits
Ian McLellan Hunter (2 episodes, 1982)
and others...

Series Original Music
Bruce Broughton (unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography
Al Francis

Trivia
Some of the filming took place at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Arkansas. The film crew built a false side onto one of the historic buildings there and then blew it off for a special effect - assuring the State park officials that no harm would come to the building. The explosion was rather larger than promised and caused some damage to the structure of the historic house.

The final film project of Sterling Hayden.

One of Gregory Peck's greatest heroes from childhood was President Abraham Lincoln. Peck was initially concerned about playing him since at 66 he was a decade older than Lincoln was when he was assassinated.

Goofs
Anachronisms
During the scene where Lincoln and Captain Steele test the new repeating rifle, you can see cars driving in the background. Lincoln also walks away on an obviously modern concrete sidewalk.

Along the road that leads to the Geyser farm. You can see wire fence that is set up along the field. Wire fence was not invented until the 1870s.

Continuity
When John Geyser is shown making his drawings, the sketches you can see in the wide and medium shots rarely match the close-ups of the drawings. Most notably in the John Brown trial sequence, the wide shots show John has just a few doodles or sketchy outlines on his drawing pad, then we cut to a close-up of highly detailed, finished artwork.

The series shows Lincoln giving the Gettysburg address which occurred in November 1863 then shows the fall of Vicksburg which occurred in July 1863.

Crew or equipment visible
On the DVD release version, during the first Bull Run battle scene (set in 1861), a helicopter used to film scenes from the air is visible flying from left to right across the screen above the house on the hill.

Factual errors
When John Brown is hanged for the uprising at Harper's Ferry, the apple trees are in full blossom. John Brown was hanged on 2 December 1859.

The scene showing the First Battle of Bull Run shows the trees without leaves, indicating autumn or winter time. The battle actually took place in July, so the trees would be full of leaves.

In the Civil War the primary infantry weapon was the muzzle-loading musket. For close up shots most of the soldiers use the British made .577 Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket, which was imported in large quantities during the Civil War by both sides. However, in many scenes (especially the Vicksburg scene with victorious Union troops) many of the soldiers can be seen carrying the .45-70 U.S. Model 1873 Trapdoor Springfield rifle, a shortened breech-loading version of the U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifle Musket.

Memorable Quotes

Filming Locations
Arkansas, USA
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA
(Gregory Peck's train scene)
Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, Prairie Grove, Arkansas, USA
Van Buren, Arkansas, USA

The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments
on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982.
Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach,
Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln.
It was executive produced by Larry White and Lou Reda,
in association with Columbia Pictures Television, then owned by The Coca-Cola Company.

A few famous one's in this notably,
Gregory Peck, Robert Vaughn, Warren Oates,
and a couple of Duke's 'Pals'
Colleen Dewhurst ,Geraldine Page

User Review

Quote

A good if somewhat uneven miniseries
15 November 2000 | by antelope-3

This miniseries shows the war primarily through the eyes of a Virginian who wants to witness history but cannot commit to either side of the conflict. His new-found profession of journalism allows him to participate as a neutral observer. He is surrounded by relatives and friends on both sides, and the miniseries shows events through their eyes as well.

The human side of the war is stressed, and it excellently portrays the toll the conflict took on families.

Many of the subplots are taken from Civil War historian Bruce Catton's final work, "Reflections On The Civil War." However, none of the people in the book, including the real John Geyser, appear in the miniseries. Rather, observations made in the book are woven around the main storyline as supplementary material.

Most of the military aspects of the miniseries are laughable and bear little resemblance to reality. Due to the miniseries being done on a miniseries budget we see none of the grand scale evident in "Gettysburg" or "Glory."

Stacy Keach gives a terrific performance as Jonas Steele, the Federal special operations agent. We see from his performance a little of the decentralized, more personalized ways in which intelligence gathering and other non-standard military operations were conducted in the nineteenth century.

The miniseries ran for over six hours on CBS in 1982, but well over an hour was cut for the two-cassette video release. Get the whole treatment if you can.

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