Dress Gray

Alec Baldwin stars in this TV miniseries about the murder of a gay cadet in a military academy, and he stands accused and has to clear his name. I didn't know what to expect, but this played out more like a political thriller than a drama, especially Part 2, with the investigation and dealing with the people who were tailing Alec and his girlfriend. A lot of older celebrities star in this and are good, but some like Alexis Smith were given literally nothing to do. Hal Holbrook is very memorable, and Eddie Albert was given a rare dramatic role as the victim's father who didn't know he was gay. Some reviewers say there was too much talking and that this could have been much shorter. Maybe. But on the whole, this seemed to be an exceptional miniseries with outstanding, full-force performances by all.

In this 1986 whodunit, the death of a cadet at a U.S. military academy provides the basis for a story dealing with repressed homosexuality. The screenplay has great misdirection. You think the plot is headed one way, only to find at the end that it was headed in the opposite direction. Clues to the crime's solution are provided, but as with any good murder mystery, they are subtle and hard to find.

The acting ranges from good to excellent. {Hal Holbrook gives his usual, and endearing, deep-throated raspy voice performance). Production values are high. And the music is suitably eerie. Cinematography is quite good, and the film's ending has an Oliver Stone "JFK" feel to it, a sense that you are privy to the revelation of a cover-up (at the highest levels of course).

My only complaint is the verbose script. They could have cut back the forty thousand page screenplay considerably, without doing harm to the overall story. Nevertheless, "Dress Gray" is a well-crafted film, with an engaging plot that would, in my opinion, be of interest to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery.

In fact, I was there in 1985 when it was being filmed. I remember Alec Baldwin etc. As far as the movie goes, it was a great flick! I loved watching this after I graduated from New Mexico Military Inst. This movie was long but the content was good and of course, Owen Wilson and I were both cadets at this time. Perhaps this has influence on Owen?

Is it true that a homosexual is courting danger when he attempts to seduce a straight guy? Interesting premise, and that is certainly so in this 2-tape movie. Well acted by all concerned and the dialogue is dynamite!!

Comments like "Most of these cadets (poorly disguised West Point cadets) are children of judges back home" straight out depict the truth behind the facade of respectability and equality. Reminders of the cheating scandals at all the military academies are also brought up lest we forget. Despite that, the ending is upbeat and made me strangely proud of my country.

Of course, I'm a sucker for a marching set of uniforms and for some insane reason the equally insane military phrase, "I get paid the same for marching as I do for fighting" came into my mind. The fighting in this movie has to do with character and honor, most importantly the honor of West Point and all national military academies. Paradoxically, the commandant is also interested in preserving that honor, as evil as he is in showing it.

One of the subtleties about honor was brought to our attention as one of the cadets is set up by the evil commandant, played so wonderfully by Mark Twain himself, Hal Holbrook. This cadet does not want to get into trouble and allows himself to be used in the Honor Court against the falsely accused cadet. But when asked the hard questions by Alec Baldwin (in top form), h e painfully answers truthfully.

The twists and turns the plot takes before we know 'who dunnit' are wonderful. And Eddie Albert keeps us guessing as to which side of the good/bad coin he's going to turn up on until the last few minutes. I now own this one, and as proof of its excellence, I can't wait to see it again. Like good literature, the proof of a good movie is that you get more out of it with repeated viewings.

Did you know that if you washed out of the military academies, you were sent to Viet Nam during the 70's? That may have indeed been the case for some, but certainly not a rule.

I just saw "Dress Grey" for the first time since it was shown on TV in 1986. It got top ratings and reviews then.

On IMDb, and also searching the Web, I haven't been able to find anything about any other professional work by David Harum (who played Cadet Barham, head of the Honor Council) and Susan Hess (who played Elizabeth Hand).

According to IMDb, "Dress Grey" was Barum's only professional acting job, and Hess just disappeared after 1990.

That is disappointing, since they gave such striking performances.

"Blood and Orchids," is another favorite mini-series that I loved and it was shown on TV in 1986 also. I have two other favorite: "Evita Peron (1981)," with Faye Dunaway, and "The Thornbirds." In general, I hate mini-series and don't watch them ever.

Anyone out there with any info? Thanks!