Cross of Fire (TV 1989)

Story of the rise and fall of 1920s' Ku Klux Klan leader D.C. Stephenson.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writer:

Robert Crais

Stars:

John Heard, Mel Harris, David Morse

Won 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Credited cast:
John Heard	...	David 'D.C.' Stephenson
Mel Harris	...	Madge Oberholtzer'
David Morse	...	Klell Henry
George Dzundza	...	Boyd Gurley
Donald Moffat	...	George Oberholtzer
Kim Hunter	...	Mrs. Oberholtzer
Caroline Kava
Keith Szarabajka
Ed Wiley
Dakin Matthews	...	Hiram Evans
Douglas Roberts
William Schallert	...	Reverend
Dion Anderson	...	Sen. Monroe
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Buzz Barton	...	Mayor of Addis
Lloyd Bridges	...	Lawyer

Storyline

Story of the rise and fall of 1920s' Ku Klux Klan leader D.C. Stephenson.

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Plot Keywords:

ku klux klan | hate crime | based on true story

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

La croix de feu

Filming Locations:

Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leonard Hill Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

200 min 180 min (2 parts) 104 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Harriet Monroe is shown raking leaves in her yard, but all the trees around her have green leaves, because the filming was done in July.

User Reviews

I was shocked

This actually isn't that bad of a movie, considering the fact that it... 1.) has no stars I have even really heard of, except for a few I don't care for. 2.) was not just a movie-of-the-week, but was a miniseries, which aired on my TV it's entirety (though I only saw most of the second part) and # 3.) is flawed by a few hokey parts, such as people cheering loudly in a courtroom.

But every movie has its flaws, and "Cross of Fire" actually had some good points as well. It covers the rise of Ku-Klux-Klan leader D. C "Steve" Stevenson, who eventually became so powerful in his town, that he could pretty much get away with doing whatever he wanted, or so he thought.

Now court cases appear frequently in these kinds of movies, and often the cases are much more dramatized than they would ever be in the real world. This case had it's dramatic moments, some of them touching, others quite silly, but hey, D. C Stevenson was supposed to be a prominent figure, so it wasn't totally off-the-wall. I also enjoyed Madge's lawyer-friend, who proved to be not the wimp everybody thought he was. I am not certain of the actor who played this fellow, but he was actually quite well-cast, as was Lloyd Bridges as Steve's veteran lawyer. Mel Harris, as Madge, was actually somewhat touching in her own sense, and the man who played Steve nailed down a pretty hateful character, who only rarely over-acted.

Well, while I don't exactly think I would watch "Cross of Fire" again and again, but it's rare when a miniseries is able to rise above the usual silliness. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's...alright.