The Dain Curse (miniseries)

Last updated

The Dain Curse
The Dain Curse (miniseries).jpeg
Genre Mystery crime
Based on The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett
Written by Robert W. Lenski
Directed by E.W. Swackhamer
Starring James Coburn
Beatrice Straight
Jean Simmons
Paul Stewart
Composer Charles Gross
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Producer Martin Poll
Cinematography Andrew Laszlo
EditorMurray Solomon
Running time300 minutes
Production companyMartin Poll Productions
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseMay 22 (1978-05-22) 
May 24, 1978 (1978-05-24)

The Dain Curse is a 1978 American television miniseries which originally aired on CBS in three feature-length episodes. [1] It is an adaptation of the 1929 novel of the same title by Dashiell Hammett.

Contents

In the novel the lead character is known only as the Continental Op but for the series he is named as Hamilton Nash and played by James Coburn. [2] It was decided to retain the 1920s period setting of the original novel, although the location was shifted from San Francisco to New York City. [3]

Made on a budget of $5 million, it was the first time British actress Jean Simmons appeared in a miniseries. [4] It was nominated for three times at the 1978 Primetime Emmy Awards as well as an Edgar Award. [5]

Coburn later spoke proudly of The Dain Curse. He was quoted: "We went for a mood piece and a lot of it worked. For television, it was pretty good. Still, we had to fight the network (CBS) to make it the way we intended to do it. We didn’t want too many close-ups. They didn’t understand. They said this is television and that’s not the way to shoot it Well, I said, ‘fuck ‘em, let’s shoot it like a film’, and you know what?, we did for the most part.” [6]

Main cast


References

  1. Grant p.155
  2. Vagg, Stephen (February 14, 2025). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: James Coburn". Filmink. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  3. Phillips p.229
  4. Capua p.148
  5. Capua p.148
  6. Goldman, Lowell (Spring 1991). "James Coburn Seven and Seven Is". Psychotronic Video. No. 9. p. 27.

Bibliography