NNDB
This is a beta version of NNDB
Search: for
The Blue and the Gray (14-Nov-1982)

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers: Bruce Catton (story); John Leekley (story); Ian McLellan Hunter

Keywords: Drama, Civil War

TV miniseries.

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Diane Baker
Actor
25-Feb-1938   Mirage
Kathleen Beller
Actor
19-Feb-1956   The Bronx Zoo
Paul Benedict
Actor
17-Dec-1938 1-Dec-2008 Harry Bentley on The Jeffersons
Lloyd Bridges
Actor
15-Jan-1913 10-Mar-1998 Airplane!
Frank Broyles
Football
26-Dec-1924 14-Aug-2017 Arkansas Head Coach, 1958-76
Rory Calhoun
Actor
8-Aug-1922 28-Apr-1999 Auto thief turned actor
Colleen Dewhurst
Actor
3-Jun-1924 2-Aug-1991 Murphy Brown's mother
David Doyle
Actor
1-Dec-1929 26-Feb-1997 Bosley on Charlie's Angels
Julia Duffy
Actor
27-Jun-1951   Stephanie on Newhart
David W. Harper
Actor
4-Oct-1961   Jim-Bob Walton on The Waltons
Sterling Hayden
Actor
26-Mar-1916 23-May-1986 Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove
Gregg Henry
Actor
6-May-1952   The Big Brass Ring
Stacy Keach
Actor
2-Jun-1941   Mike Hammer, also voice narrator
Brian Kerwin
Actor
25-Oct-1949   Murphy's Romance
William Lucking
Actor
17-Jun-1941   Piney on Sons of Anarchy
Charles Napier
Actor
12-Apr-1936 5-Oct-2011 Duke Phillips on The Critic
George Newbern
Actor
10-Dec-1964   Justice League
Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Actor
23-Dec-1921 31-Jul-2015 Lt. Ed Ryker on The Rookies
Warren Oates
Actor
5-Jul-1928 3-Apr-1982 Two-Lane Blacktop
Geraldine Page
Actor
22-Nov-1924 13-Jun-1987 Toys in the Attic
Gregg Palmer
Actor
25-Jan-1927 31-Oct-2015 The Rebel Set
Gregory Peck
Actor
5-Apr-1916 12-Jun-2003 To Kill A Mockingbird
George O. Petrie
Actor
16-Nov-1912 16-Nov-1997 Harv Smithfield on Dallas
Duncan Regehr
Actor
5-Oct-1952   Zorro
Rip Torn
Actor
6-Feb-1931   Arthur on The Larry Sanders Show
Robert Vaughn
Actor
22-Nov-1932 11-Nov-2016 Napoleon Solo on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
John Vernon
Actor
24-Feb-1932 1-Feb-2005 Dean Wormer in Animal House
Noble Willingham
Actor
31-Aug-1931 17-Jan-2004 Hard-working supporting actor
Paul Winfield
Actor
22-May-1941 7-Mar-2004 Jim in the 1974 Huckleberry Finn

REVIEWS

Review by Medusa (posted on 8-Feb-2005)

The first time I saw this I was very young and enjoyed it. The story line follows a war artist correspondant, John Geyser, through the Civil War. His family is from Virginia and side with the Confederacy. He has cousins from Pennsylvania who side with the Union. John, as an observer, sees both sides of the war. The first part of the war, he tags along with the Union regiment his cousins are fighting in. Then he heads South and meets up with his family who considers him a traitor.

There are strong and weak actors. Some of the more memorable characters include John's cousins who fight for the union, Malachy and Jake Hale, John's younger brother Luke, who provides comic relief, John's very stingy Uncle Jacob who gave John his start as a newspaper artist, and of course Gregory Peck as Abraham Lincoln.

The film has many inaccuracies and is not the most historically enlightening, nor does it have the battle sequences of Glory and Gettysburg. The longest battle sequence is Bull Run, where the characters (John's two brothers and two cousins) are disconnected, unlike Gettysburg that keeps you with the characters. There are also a couple side romance stories. John falls in love with a Senator's daughter. John's best friend falls in love with John's cousin. There's also many, many characters that are introduced for one or two scenes and then are never heard from again. The story line is choppy, events are wrongly ordered (Vicksburg and the Gettysburg Address) and major events are often left out to make room for odd side stories; later in the movie they refer back to the events that they didn't show (Battle of Antietam and the main Battle of Gettysburg). John's cousins are from Gettysburg, but it makes no mention of them fighting at their hometown. What it shows instead is Stuart's calvary "joy riding." They simply end the war with Lee coming out of Appomatax Court House; they don't show any last battles. In fact by the time the movie reaches Lee's surrender it's been awhile since they've shown any war scenes at all.


Have you seen this film? We would love to see your review.
Submit your review for this film


Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile



Copyright ©2019 Soylent Communications