Once an Eagle (miniseries)

Last updated
Once An Eagle
Eagleposter99.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Richard Michaels
E.W. Swackhamer
Screenplay byPeter S. Fischer
Story by Anton Myrer
Produced byPeter S. Fischer
Starring Sam Elliott
Cliff Potts
Darleen Carr
Amy Irving
Glenn Ford
CinematographyJ.J. Jones
Edited byHoward Deane
John Elias
Chuck McClelland
Music byDana Kaproff
Production
company
Distributed by MCA TV
Release date
  • December 2, 1976 (1976-12-02)(United States)
Running time
540 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Once An Eagle is a 1976 nine-hour American television miniseries directed by Richard Michaels and E.W. Swackhamer. The picture was written by Peter S. Fischer and based on the 1968 Anton Myrer novel of the same name.

Contents

The first and last installments of the seven-part series were each two-hour broadcasts, while the interim episodes were 60 minutes.

The mini-series concerns the thirty year careers of two military men, from the outbreak of World War I to the aftermath of World War II.

Plot summary

Sam Damon (Sam Elliott) is a virile and praiseworthy warrior.

Courtney Massengale (Cliff Potts) is the opposite—an impotent, self-aggrandizing conniver.

The story tracks their journey over 40 years, between the First and Second World Wars, as their lives, and the lives of those around them, change along with the world.

Cast

Background

Once An Eagle was the second of four story subseries of the NBC anthology series Best Sellers ; it was preceded by Captains and the Kings , and followed by Seventh Avenue and The Rhineman Exchange.

Anton Myrer's book, on which the series is based, is a military novel written in the United States. The novel is noted for its stark descriptions of men in combat and in its analysis of human and technical challenges and the moral dilemmas of command. It is one of only two novels on the US Army's recommended reading list for Officer Professional Development; the other is The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. A coincidental element to both novels is that Sam Elliott had a starring role in the film adaptation of each one, playing a US Army general officer. [1]

Filming locations

Some of the scenes of the film were filmed in Napa Valley, California.

DVD release

Timeless Media Group released the complete television series on a two-disc DVD set on August 31, 2010.

Origin of title

The title is derived from a Persian poem:

And so in the Libyan fable it is told,
That once an eagle, stricken with a dart,
Said, when he saw the fashion of the shaft,
"With our own feathers, not by others' hands,
Are we now stricken".
Naser Khosrow [ citation needed ]

Awards

Nominations

Related Research Articles

<i>The Streets of San Francisco</i> American crime drama television series

The Streets of San Francisco is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Road to Avonlea is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the CBC Family Hour anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created by Kevin Sullivan and produced by Sullivan Films in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Disney Channel, with additional funding from Telefilm Canada. It follows the adventures of Sara Stanley, a young girl sent to live with her relatives in early 20th-century eastern Canada. It was loosely adapted from novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery, with many characters and episodes inspired by her stories.

<i>The Killer Angels</i> 1974 novel by Michael Shaara

The Killer Angels is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book depicts the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and the days leading up to it: June 29, 1863, as the troops of both the Union and the Confederacy move into battle around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and July 1, July 2, and July 3, when the battle was fought. The story is character-driven and told from the perspective of various historical figures from both the Confederacy and the Union. A film adaptation of the novel, titled Gettysburg, was released in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Elliott</span> American actor (born 1944)

Samuel Pack Elliott is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and a National Board of Review Award. He has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Diffring</span> German actor (1916–1989)

Anton Diffring was a German actor. He had an extensive film and television career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. Primarily a character actor, he often played Nazi officers in World War II films, and other antagonistic authority figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Potts</span> American television and film actor (born 1942)

Cliff Potts is an American television and film actor whose roles include Andy Wolf in the 1972 science fiction film, Silent Running starring Bruce Dern.

<i>Lancer</i> (TV series) American television series

Lancer is an American Western television series that aired Tuesdays at 7:30 pm on CBS from September 24, 1968, to June 23, 1970. The series stars Andrew Duggan as a father with two half-brother sons, played by James Stacy and Wayne Maunder.

<i>In Love and War</i> (1958 film) 1958 film by Philip Dunne

In Love and War is a 1958 American CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color film set in World War II, directed by Philip Dunne. It is based on the 1957 novel The Big War by Anton Myrer. Myrer was a former Marine wounded during the Second Battle of Guam in 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Myrer</span> American novelist

Anton Olmstead Myrer was a United States Marine Corps veteran and a best-selling author of American war novels that accurately and sensitively depict the lives of United States military personnel while in combat and in peace time. His 1968 novel, Once An Eagle, written at the peak of the Vietnam War, is required reading for all Marines and is frequently used in leadership training at West Point. The novel, considered a classic of military literature and a guide to honorable conduct in the profession of arms, has been compared favorably to Leo Tolstoy's magnum opus War and Peace. Eight years after publication, Once an Eagle was made into a television mini-series starring Sam Elliott. Glenn Ford played a supporting character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darleen Carr</span> American actress

Darleen Carr is an American actress, singer, and voice-over artist. She is also known as Darlene Carr or Darleen Drake. She has two sisters, both actresses.

<i>Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy</i> 1977 television film directed by Richard T. Heffron

Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy is a 1977 American made-for-television biographical film that originally aired on ABC. Based upon the biography by Hank Searls called The Lost Prince: Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy, the film chronicles the life of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., the older brother of John F. Kennedy who was killed in action in World War II, leaving behind aspirations to become the first Irish-Catholic president. Young Joe stars Peter Strauss in the title role and was directed by Richard T. Heffron.

<i>Once an Eagle</i> Novel by Anton Myrer

Once an Eagle is a 1968 war novel by American author Anton Myrer. The novel takes place between the 1910s and 1960s, and covers many of the United States' military involvements during that period. Once an Eagle tells the story of Sam Damon, career Army officer, from his initial enlistment as a private to his rise to general officer rank. Damon is an honorable soldier who rises in rank by success in field command, and cares for the welfare of his troops. His career is contrasted with that of another soldier, Courtney Massengale, who has no honor, no concern for his troops, and rises in rank through staff positions by cunning and political connections. As the two rise in the ranks together, they frequently clash in their views.

Best Sellers is a television series broadcast by NBC during the 1976–77 season. It is an anthology series consisting of miniseries, each one based on a best-selling historical novel that had been written in the last 10 years. In total, four miniseries were aired: Captains and the Kings, based on Captains and the Kings (1972); Once an Eagle, based on Once an Eagle (1968); Seventh Avenue, based on Seventh Avenue (1967); and The Rhinemann Exchange, based on The Rhinemann Exchange (1974). The theme music was composed by Elmer Bernstein, who also scored Captains and the Kings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">55th Infantry Division (United States)</span> Military unit

The US 55th Infantry Division was a 'phantom division' created in October 1943 to cover the departure of the US 5th Infantry Division from Iceland. An entirely notional force, its existence was reported to the Germans only through controlled agents as Iceland was too far from Europe to make use of radio deception.

Gone to Texas is a 1986 American made-for-television biographical film originally titled Houston: The Legend of Texas. It stars Sam Elliott in the title role, and is a biopic of Sam Houston's years as Governor of Tennessee through his involvement in the Texas Revolution.

Patricia Schartle Myrer (1923–2010) was an editor, literary agent and publishing executive based in New York City. She was editor-in-chief of Appleton-Century-Crofts publishing. She eventually became president of McIntosh & Otis literary agency. She married novelist Anton Myrer in 1970. Some of the authors she represented were Mary Higgins Clark, Patricia Highsmith and Eleanor Hibbert. She retired in 1984 and died in 2010.

<i>Capital Punishment</i> (film) 1925 film

Capital Punishment is a surviving 1925 American silent melodrama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Clara Bow, Margaret Livingston, Mary Carr, and Elliott Dexter. It was produced by B. P. Schulberg and is now in the public domain. It was written and produced with the intent of challenging the viewing public question the use of capital punishment.

No Time at All (<i>Playhouse 90</i>) 23rd episode of the 2nd season of Playhouse 90

"No Time at All" was an American television film broadcast on February 13, 1958, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the 23rd episode of the second season of Playhouse 90.

Captains and the Kings is an eight-part television miniseries broadcast on NBC in 1976 as part of its Best Sellers anthology series. It is an adaptation of the 1972 novel Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell. Like the novel, the miniseries is about an Irish American family, headed by ambitious Irish immigrant Joseph Armagh, which accumulates economic and political power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

References

  1. Military Times Archived 2010-03-31 at the Wayback Machine newsweekly web site. Last accessed: February 9, 2011.