Captains and the Kings

I have just seen Captains And The Kings on video and I thought that was the best mini-series that I have ever seen. Richard Jordan was outstanding as Joseph Armagh. This was probably the best performance of his film career. He put his whole heart and soul into this role. And he certainly deserved the Golden Globe award that he won for this. He had me hooked from his first scene to the end, so much so that I just kept watching it until it was finished. I also thought that Perry King was also excellent as Rory Armagh and I think he should have received something for his performance. Patty Duke was terrific as Bernadette and I am glad that she did win the Emmy for her role, she certainly deserved it. I also thought that Blair Brown, Charles Durning and Jane Seymour were also excellent in this. So I highly recommend this mini-series to anybody that appreciates great talent and a great story and this was a classic with outstanding acting.

Richard Jordan heads a starry cast in "The Captains and the Kings."

After the miniseries format proved popular NBC started a series called "Best Sellers," where impressive casts (mostly TV stars, but this one dug out Henry Fonda) enacted recent popular novels.

Taylor Caldwell's best-selling family-saga novels appeared perfect for this format.

Other best sellers were not so carefully chosen, and the "Best Sellers" series faded away. Occasionally, especially on CBS, classics were adapted for TV. NBC eschewed that stuff and stuck to recent best sellers, but the writers weren't always able to work magic. And few things are more boring than a dull 1970s miniseries. "The Captains and the Kings" is at least capable of sustaining interest; if, in nothing else, the wonder of who would show up next in tiny parts. They were prodigal with talent then. Actors like John Carradine were wasted.

Anyone can look up the impressive (for the 1970s) cast. Of particular interest are rising-star actresses like Blair Brown and, particularly, Jane Seymour. But she doesn't show up until the tail end of the thing.

The story is schmaltzy but that's what made popular novels and miniseries TV back then. Richard Jordan may not be everyone's idea of a great star, but he's the glue holding this remarkable miniseries together.

I really can't say enough about it here, because I've been hugely attached to it since it came out. There are several reasons to watch it - along with the "historical romance" reasons, there are the political ideas (which are that much bigger in the novel, but a very big part of this TV version). Whether it's borderline "conspiracy" thinking (with "those men" who influence everything) or not, those ideas have influenced plenty of my political thinking. (Partly because of this story, I always think the phrase "opportune little war" when I hear about ANY given war- and quite some time BEFORE the past three years.) Richard Jordan was just great as Joseph, an Irish character who hardly fits any of the images of Irishmen (even the positive ones), who's almost completely "cool", and whose emotions don't come out (in a big way) except in certain dramatic scenes, like the scenes with Catherine or Tom (for opposite reasons). There isn't enough room to mention all the best actors and characters, or scenes, but there's Perry King as Rory Armagh, Patty Duke Astin as Bernadette (I think someone here mentioned how great she was as a tragic character, and she won an Emmy for it, very deservedly), Jane Seymour as Margery, Cliff DeYoung as Brian Armagh, the aviator-film-maker etc., with his star Pearl Gray (Pearl White), Vic Morrow, who was extremely good as Tom Hennesey (and whom you really feel sorry for in that last scene with him, in spite of everything he's done), Beverly D'Angelo as Miss Emmy, Charles Durning as Big Ed Healy (I don't know if he's ever played a more entertaining character), and Harvey Jason as Harry Zeff. As far as I know, he's mainly a supporting actor in comedies, and you see that in his "sidekick" kind of relationship with Joseph, but of course with other levels to it - the scene where Joseph accuses Harry of being disloyal to him, which is the one kind of talk Harry can't stand to hear from him, and the scene where Joseph turns his back on blackmailing the senator, and Harry is glad for all three of them (not knowing what's coming next). And of course, the big guest stars, like John Houseman as Mr. Chisholm and Henry Fonda as Senator Bassett (two of the best scenes). Again, I could go on and on, but it's simply a very underrated story, as far as I know (in spite of the Emmy). Though to me, underrated is putting it pretty mildly.

Finally! Powerful and spectacular miniseries. Marvelous actors, led by the always brilliant Richard Jordan (may he rest in peace) who makes us adore Joseph Armagh before he takes him to a ruthless, power-hungry SOB we still somehow care about. Bit by bit he destroys his life while he thinks he's building it. Harvey Jason is terrific as the only friend who always believes in him. Other supporting actors are the likes of Henry Fonda (brief but absolutely mesmerizing), Vic Morrow, Ray Bolger, Patty Duke Astin, Jane Seymour and a score of others at the top of their craft. Our terrible loss is that so many of them are gone now, but boy, what they left behind. Having so many of them in one work is a genuine treat.

This is one of the best 'movies' I have ever seen. The depth and the detail of Taylor Caldwell's masterwork is likewise, masterfully translated to the screen, (small screen, in this case). But I still remember it as though I had seen it in a theater. A rich and detailed 'period piece', that never faltered or struck a false note in it's production. Ms. Caldwell's story is a primer for all who seek to find the truth behind the "Movers and Shakers" of our societies, (The Captains and the Kings). A nicely but thinly veiled tale of mankind's lusty greed for money, and hence, power. Or power and hence, money. Maybe it was me, but it never failed to hold my interest from the very first to the ending credits. I have seen it only once and that was its original airing back in 1976 as a TV mini-series, but it still holds a huge interest for me. (I just went on-line to find out about it!) I remember the actors and the acting being superb, with the casting flawless. I would love to see it again, but it seems to have disappeared from the marketplace! Could this be the work of some powerful family or group??