Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977– )

The story of a power-hungry U.S. President, and the men he surrounds himself with in order to keep his hold on power. Based on John Ehrlichman's book about the Nixon administration.

Writer:

David W. Rintels (creator)

Stars:

Cliff Robertson, Jason Robards, Stefanie Powers

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Cliff Robertson	...	William Martin (6 episodes, 1977)
Jason Robards	...	President Richard Monckton (6 episodes, 1977)
Stefanie Powers	...	Sally Whalen (6 episodes, 1977)
Robert Vaughn	...	Frank Flaherty (6 episodes, 1977)
Lois Nettleton	...	Linda Martin (6 episodes, 1977)
Barry Nelson	...	Bob Bailey (6 episodes, 1977)
Harold Gould	...	Carl Tessler (6 episodes, 1977)
Tony Bill	...	Adam Gardiner (6 episodes, 1977)
Andy Griffith	...	Esker Scott Anderson (6 episodes, 1977)
John Houseman	...	Myron Dunn (6 episodes, 1977)
David Selby	...	Roger Castle (6 episodes, 1977)
Frances Lee McCain	...	Paula Stoner Gardiner (6 episodes, 1977)
Lara Parker	...	Wanda Elliott (6 episodes, 1977)
John Lehne	...	Tucker Tallford (6 episodes, 1977)
Nicholas Pryor	...	Hank Ferris (6 episodes, 1977)
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Simon Cappell (5 episodes, 1977)
Frank Marth	...	Lawrence Allison (5 episodes, 1977)
Meg Foster	...	Jennie Jamison (5 episodes, 1977)
Peter Coffield	...	Eli McGinn (5 episodes, 1977)
Diana Ewing	...	Kathy Ferris (5 episodes, 1977)
George Gaynes	...	Brewster Perry (4 episodes, 1977)
Phillip R. Allen	...	Walter Tulloch (4 episodes, 1977)
Barry Primus	...	Joe Wisnovsky (4 episodes, 1977)
Linden Chiles	...	Jack Atherton (3 episodes, 1977)
Thayer David	...	Elmer Morse (3 episodes, 1977)
Skip Homeier	...	Lars Haglund (3 episodes, 1977)
Borah Silver	...	Burt Saraceni (3 episodes, 1977)
Regis Cordic	...	TV Anchorman (3 episodes, 1977)
John Randolph	...	Bennett Lowman (2 episodes, 1977)
Madison Arnold	...	Harvey Bass (2 episodes, 1977)
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Mrs. Bailey (2 episodes, 1977)
Joseph Sirola	...	Ozymandias (2 episodes, 1977)

Storyline

The story of a power-hungry U.S. President, and the men he surrounds himself with in order to keep his hold on power. Based on John Ehrlichman's book about the Nixon administration.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. president | president | washington d.c. | white house | government | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Washington a puertas cerradas

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

750 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Vaughn won an Emmy for playing Frank Flaherty. In his acceptance speech, he thanked director Gary Nelson for directing twelve and a half hours of television "by himself."

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Connections

Featured in The 30th Annual Emmy Awards (1978)

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Soundtracks

"March Of The Elephants"
Composed by Dominic Frontiere

User Reviews

Classic piece of political drama

I saw this mini series in 1994, when the BBC was running a series of programmes to mark the twentieth anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation.

This may be fiction,but it's all thinly disguised in the same way that "Primary Colors" is.

It is amazing. Jason Robards is great as Monckton, the Nixon-type President.A mass of contradictions:arrogant,ruthless, devious and yet eager to make history.Cliff Robertson plays a CIA director who realises that this type of President in the Oval Office is a danger to democracy.There is a great role for Robert Vaughn as the Haldeman figure.This is a far cry from The West Wing and Commander in Chief.This is a White House staffed by men who are utterly ruthless in the pursuit of power.Idealism does not exist in this world,only cynicism.Spying on so-called enemies is standard procedure.

If you've read "All the President's Men" or "The Final Days", then you will recognise the characters being portrayed.

Would love to get a copy on DVD.