The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980) (TV)

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

Michael Berk
Douglas Schwartz

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

This is the story of the doctor whose farm John Wilkes Booth went to after assassinating Abraham Lincoln...

Plot Keywords:

John Wilkes Booth | Broken Leg | Prison | Doctor | Hard Labor

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dennis Weaver	...	Dr. Samuel A. Mudd
Susan Sullivan	...	Frances Mudd
Richard Dysart	...	Edwin Stanton
Michael McGuire	...	Captain Murdock
Nigel Davenport	...	Colonel George Grenfell
Arthur Hill	...	General Thomas Ewing
Larry Larson	...	Thorpe
Mary Nell Santacroce	...	Ellen Stanton
Clarence Thomas	...	Nathaniel
Bill Gribble	...	John Wilkes Booth
Luke Halpin	...	Herrold
Lawrence Montaigne	...	Judge Holt
Bill Hindman	...	President Andrew Johnson
Stuart Culpepper	...	Boone
Kent Stephens	...	Zachary
Roy Tatum	...	Lt. Lovett
Jim Peck	...	General Harris
Joe Dorsey	...	General Trafe
Richard Andrew	...	Dr. Ellis
Greg Oliver	...	Louis Weichmann
Bill Eudaly	...	Daniel Thomas
Don Devendorf	...	George Mudd
Tony Kish	...	William Watson
Fred Covington	...	Attorney Lake
George De Vries	...	Waters (as George DeVries)
Skip Foster	...	DeCampo
Jere Beery	...	Prison Guard
Richard Reiner	...	Prison Guard
Anthony Edenfield	...	Escaped Prisoner
Harold Bergman	...	Undersecretary
Don Ferguson	...	Guard on Ship
Terry Beaver	...	Union Sergeant
Teddy Milford	...	Andrew Mudd
Angela Tully	...	Sissy Mudd
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sean Ahern	...	Union soldier #1 (uncredited)
Dan Chandler	...	Master sergeant (uncredited)
Ilse Earl	...	Screaming woman (uncredited)
Ryan Grady	...	Thomas Mudd, age 3 (uncredited)
David Hamilton	...	Sam Jr. age 4 (uncredited)
Pat Hurley	...	Patient #1 (uncredited)
Panos Eli Karatassos	...	Sam Jr., age 1 (uncredited)
Charles Kaufman	...	Jones (uncredited)
Don Kovacs	...	Officer Lloyd (uncredited)
Tommy Lane	...	Capt. Longheart (uncredited)
Charles Lawlor	...	Jones (uncredited)
Melonie Martin	...	Sissy Mudd age 7 (uncredited)
Earl Miller	...	Thomas Mudd age 6 (uncredited)
Jack Norhanian	...	Guard #5 (uncredited)
Mark Rand	...	Andrew Mudd age 9 (uncredited)
Wallace Wilkinson	...	D.C. prison guard (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Wendkos

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Berk
Douglas Schwartz

Produced by
Michael Berk	....	producer
Paul B. Radin	....	executive producer (as Paul Radin)
Douglas Schwartz	....	producer
Martin Starger	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Gerald Fried

Cinematography by
Héctor R. Figueroa		(director of photography) (as Hector Figueroa)

Film Editing by
Ken Zemke		(as Kenneth W. Zemke)

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Jack De Shields

Set Decoration by
Ira Bates

Makeup Department
Janice D. Brandow	....	hair stylist (as Janis Brandow)
Mario Gonzales	....	makeup artist
Tom Miller	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Richard L. O'Connor	....	executive in charge of production
James Potter	....	post-production supervisor
Bill Watkins	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Hargrove	....	first assistant director (as Bob Hargrove)
Chris Soldo	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Joe Longo	....	property master

Sound Department
Ray Barons	....	production sound mixer
Bill Wistrom	....	sound effects editor (as William H. Wistrom)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Rust	....	key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael R. Faeth	....	wardrobe (as Michael Faeth)
Gilda Texter	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Tom Carlin	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Roy A. Grace	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Gene Kraft	....	title designer
Stratton Leopold	....	location manager
Marjorie Mullen	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Martin Starger Productions (as A Martin Starger Presentation)
• BSR Productions (as A BSR Production)
• Marble Arch Productions (in association with)

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1980) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Incorporated Television Company (ITC) (????) (worldwide) (DVD) (as ITC)
• Pathfinder Pictures (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• PolyGram Television
• USA Home Video (II) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• I.A.T.S.E.  this picture made under the jurisdiction of
• Marble Arch Productions  copyright holder (as Marble Arch Productions, Inc.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA

Company:

Martin Starger Productions

Trivia:

A fictionalized story based on true events surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The Secretary of War implies that Dr. Mudd is said to have inspired the saying "your name is mud." However, the first verified, recorded use of the phrase was ten years before Dr. Samuel Mudd was born.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)

harrowing

I have always been a fan of history especially the Lincoln assassination. I had previously written of how much I enjoyed The Day Lincoln Was Shot. Almost twenty years earlier, this film told the story of one of the players in this tragedy. What happened to Doctor Mudd was a terrible miscarriage of justice because he was only a doctor doing his duty who had nothing to do with Lincoln's assassination. This film captures the terrible mood in the country after the tragedy where reason took a back seat and there was a terrible desire for vengeance and not justice. This film is harrowing in its depiction of Mudds nightmare. Forced before a military tribunal of perjured testimony and convicted on fabricated evidence, torn from his loving family and sentenced to the living hell of the Dry Tortugas prison, America's Devils Island. Weaver does a wonderful acting job in conveying this man's anguish and at the same time his determination to survive and be reunited with his loving family. I am glad they presented a fair balanced portrait of this mans case especially when they showed his heroic efforts to care for the sick and dying soldiers at the Fort during the yellow fever outbreak. LA Laws Richard Dysart gives a creepy performance as the villanous secretary of war Stanton. The Iran hostage crisis was going on at the time this movie came out in March of 1980 and he sort of reminded me of the Ayatollah Khomeni. Susan Sullivan gives a wonderful performance as Mudd's loving and courageous wife who stands by her man. There is hardly a film I have ever seen that had a more happy ending. THe courageous and loving woman manages to work a miracle and Doctor Mudd's hellish ordeal is over at last.