Episode #1.5 (9 Nov. 1985)

Having locked Madeline in her room and nearly starving her to death, Justin convinces the doctor that her condition is self-inflicted. The doctor prescribes his own tonic and a daily dose ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard T. Heffron

Writers:

John Jakes (from the novel by), Douglas Heyes (developed for television by),

Stars:

Kirstie Alley, Georg Stanford Brown, David Carradine

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kirstie Alley	...	Virgilia Hazard Grady
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Garrison Grady
David Carradine	...	Justin LaMotte
Philip Casnoff	...	Major Elkanah Bent
Lesley-Anne Down	...	Madeline Fabray LaMotte
Genie Francis	...	Brett Main
Terri Garber	...	Ashton Main Huntoon
Wendy Kilbourne	...	Constance Flynn Hazard
Jim Metzler	...	James Huntoon
James Read	...	George Hazard
Lewis Smith	...	Charles Main (credit only)
John Stockwell	...	Billy Hazard
Patrick Swayze	...	Orry Main
Johnny Cash	...	John Brown
Olivia Cole	...	Maum Sally (credit only)

Storyline

Having locked Madeline in her room and nearly starving her to death, Justin convinces the doctor that her condition is self-inflicted. The doctor prescribes his own tonic and a daily dose of laudanum which, despite its addictive qualities, will serve to calm her nerves. Madeline is soon a very different woman: submissive and with few words to say, she has little memory of her love affair with Orry and their decision to run off together. Orry and Brett travel to Philadelphia where he wants to give his good friend George Hazard his share of the profits from their cotton mill. Unfortunately, Virgilia is also visiting leading to a confrontation with Orry over slavery. Orry and Brett leave and it will be some time before before he and George see one another. On the train trip home, they are stopped by a group led by abolitionist John Brown. Ashton, now married to James Hontoon, spends a good deal of her time in bed with lovers while her political activist husband is away promoting ...

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Plot Keywords:

love | abolitionist | bare chested male | abolition movement | explosion | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1985 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

David L. Wolper Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Abraham Lincoln is shown wearing his famous beard on campaign posters for the presidential election of 1860. He did not grow a beard until after he had won the election.

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Quotes

Virgilia: You think he's dead dont you? He's not dead he's free.

User Reviews

Episode Five: Union and Families Shaken by Approaching Turmoil; 'Dixie' Vs 'John Brown's Body' Sound Powerfully

"I wish I was in the land of cotton,

Old times they are not forgotten;

Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land...

...John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave

his soul's marching on!

Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah!

Glory, glory, hallelujah! his soul's marching on!"

While the Main and Hazard enterprise occurs to be surprisingly successful and love between Brett and Billy seems to represent a promising future for the youth of the country, the fearful turmoil caused by differences between the north and the south approaches. The action of the episode is set in the late 1850s when the secession voices in the south are as loud as never before, the radical abolitionist, John Brown, organizes a raid at Harper's Ferry and Abraham Lincoln is soon to be elected the president of the United States. Poison of radical, 'extremist' politics infects friendship and love...

Episode Five accurately depicts the tensions that existed in American society before the outbreak of Civil War. Those rising conflicts do not spare the Mains and the Hazards. Quarrels are revealed in the fanatical cry of Virgilia Hazard (Kirstie Alley) – "Any man who stands in our way will die in blood and fire" and in the political manifestos of Ashton's husband, James Huntoon (Jim Metzler) – "We'll give them (Yankees) a southern welcome they will never forget." In between come those who strive for happiness or at least for normality in those crazy times: Brett, Billy, Orry, George, Constance. But Madeline? Her nerves seem to be totally 'calmed' and her fate entirely shaped by her tyrant husband Justin LaMotte. Addicted to tonic with laudanum prescribed by Justin's Dr Sapp, post-delirious Madeline does not know reality, does not remember Maum Sally's death. The attempts to flee from Resolute seem to be in vain. She occurs to have forgotten anything she headed for and anyone she loved. Meanwhile, her secret spreads to the most unwelcome, 'foxy' minds...

The noteworthy moments of Episode Five include:

• the emotionally powerful confrontation at the Hazards' during Orry

and Brett's visit at Lehigh Station. Orry lets the negative emotions take over while Virgilia manifests her radical views on the verge of lunacy ("John Brown is a new Messiah") - that is the turning point for the danger of poisonous divisions already present in families. The almost insane question "Which side do you take?" (which John Jakes refers to in the afterword to the novel) becomes an evidently poisonous influence on families...the only drawback of the scene is the fact its many witnesses make the whole situation a little bit unnatural;

• the raid at Harper's Ferry where Priam and the Grady join John

Brown's men and die – Virgilia, nearly on the verge of emotional lunacy at the body of her husband, yells in the memorable scene: "He is not dead, he is free;"

• the wedding of Ashton Main and James Huntoon with the nice historical

detail of family portrait thanks to a new invention - photography - not long after Sir John Herschel's first glass negative in 1839;

• the scene of Virgilia, having being rescued from an asylum by

Congressman Sam Greene once taken with her speech at Philadelphia, visits his house. David Ogden Stiers does a splendid job as a powerful man who generally gets what he wants and talks with a certain degree of distance while Kirstie Alley portrays a woman who confronts yet does not change her radical views - the scene is well handled;

• bitter quarrel of Orry and Brett over Brett's desire to marry Billy

Hazard. Although the quarrel is not so dramatic in the source novel (Orry is not drunk and he does not punch Brett), Genie Francis highlights the emotionally genuine nature of her character and makes the scene extraordinarily powerful;

Among the guest appearances of the episode, a true surprise is Elizabeth Taylor as Madame Conti who runs a brothel at New Orleans. There is a painting with a secret past that falls into the wrong hands. Quite predictable but great credit to Elizabeth Taylor. Thanks to her sophisticated performance, the scene belongs to one of the most memorable ones in the TV series. Another episode appearance is that of Johnny Cash as John Brown at Harper's Ferry.

While the American flag is being thrown on the ground disrespectfully and the Palmetto flag, a symbol of secession, flows proudly with applause and enthusiasm, events lead to terrible yet inevitable war...

Let me finish this review with the quintessential line by John Jakes which resembles his motives and which finds its resemblance in this particular episode: "The primary purpose of NORTH AND SOUTH is to entertain. Still, I wanted the story to be an accurate reflection of the period, not so much a retelling of every last incident that contributed to the outbreak of war in Charleston harbor, but a fair representation of prevailing attitudes and tensions on both sides." (John Jakes, p. 728)