Once an Eagle 

The story of two Army officers, one a ruthless, career-obsessed schemer, the other his exact opposite, and their personal and professional lives from the end of World War I to the beginning of Vietnam.

Stars:

Cliff Potts, Darleen Carr, Amy Irving

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Cliff Potts	...	Courtenay Massengale 7 episodes, 1976-1977
Darleen Carr	...	Tommy Caldwell 7 episodes, 1976-1977
Amy Irving	...	Emily Pawlfrey Massengale 7 episodes, 1976-1977
Glenn Ford	...	George Caldwell 7 episodes, 1976-1977
Sam Elliott	...	Sam Damon 7 episodes, 1976-1977
Ralph Bellamy	...	Ed Caldwell 4 episodes, 1976
Dane Clark	...	Harry Sheppard 4 episodes, 1976
Andrew Duggan	...	Gen. McKelvey 4 episodes, 1976
Lynda Day George	...	Marge Krisler 4 episodes, 1976
Gary Grimes	...	Jack Devlin 4 episodes, 1976
Clu Gulager	...	Alvin Merrick 4 episodes, 1976
Robert Hogan	...	Ben Krisler 4 episodes, 1976
Kim Hunter	...	Kitty Damon 4 episodes, 1976
David Huddleston	...	Earl Preis 4 episodes, 1976
Juliet Mills	...	Joyce 4 episodes, 1976
Harriet Nelson	...	Harriet Nelson 4 episodes, 1976
Albert Salmi	...	Sen. Bert McConnadin 4 episodes, 1976
John Saxon	...	Capt. Townshend 4 episodes, 1976
James Shigeta	...	Lin Tso-Han 4 episodes, 1976
Barry Sullivan	...	Gen. Bannerman 4 episodes, 1976
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Alma Caldwell 4 episodes, 1976
Forrest Tucker	...	Col. Avery 4 episodes, 1976
David Wayne	...	Col. Terwilliger 4 episodes, 1976
William Windom	...	Gen. Duke kPulleyne 4 episodes, 1976
Anthony Zerbe	...	Dave Shifkin 4 episodes, 1976
John Anderson	...	George Varney 4 episodes, 1976
Andrew Robinson	...	Reb Rayburne 4 episodes, 1976
Jeff Cotler	...	Sam, as a boy 4 episodes, 1976
Tracie Savage	...	Peggy Damon 4 episodes, 1976
Lynne Marta	...	Celia Harrodson 4 episodes, 1976
Dennis Burkley	...	Krazewski 4 episodes, 1976
Will Seltzer	...	Brewster 4 episodes, 1976
Jane Elliot	...	Cheryl Logan 4 episodes, 1976
Patricia Stich	...	Nurse Pomeroy 4 episodes, 1976
Patti D'Arbanville	...	Michele 4 episodes, 1976
Hayden Rorke	...	Paul Sinclair 4 episodes, 1976
Ron Masak	...	Maynard Lambert 4 episodes, 1976
James Cromwell	...	J.L. Cleghorne 4 episodes, 1976
George Wyner	...	Dr. McCabe 4 episodes, 1976
Cathey Paine	...	Mae Lee Cleghorne 4 episodes, 1976
Kip Niven	...	Ryetower 4 episodes, 1976
Kario Salem	...	Joe Brand 4 episodes, 1976
Tom Reese	...	Sgt. Stoner 4 episodes, 1976
Lee de Broux	...	Bill Nickerson 4 episodes, 1976
Andrew Stevens	...	Donny Damon 4 episodes, 1976
Jim Antonio	...	Capt. Lasovitch 4 episodes, 1976
Melanie Griffith	...	Jinny Massengale 4 episodes, 1976
Ben Piazza	...	Capt. Jerome 4 episodes, 1976
Kent Smith	...	Gen. Jacklyn 4 episodes, 1976
Jordan Rhodes	...	Sgt. Ives 4 episodes, 1976
George Murdock	...	Sgt. Chepenek 4 episodes, 1976
Frank Michael Liu	...	Capt. Nagasay 4 episodes, 1976
Bert Kramer		4 episodes, 1976
Simon Scott		4 episodes, 1976
Jenifer Shaw		4 episodes, 1976
Rick Podell		4 episodes, 1976
George Loros		4 episodes, 1976
Chick Vennera		4 episodes, 1976
Lew Brown		4 episodes, 1976
Gary Springer		4 episodes, 1976
Rod Porter		4 episodes, 1976
Rori Gwynne		4 episodes, 1976
Richard Forbes		4 episodes, 1976
John Waldron		4 episodes, 1976
Sari Price		4 episodes, 1976
John Fujioka		4 episodes, 1976
Frank Farmer		4 episodes, 1976
Jan Burrell		4 episodes, 1976
William Bryant		4 episodes, 1976
William Bassett		4 episodes, 1976
Steve Eoff	...	German Sergeant 4 episodes, 1976
Steven Hood	...	Messenger 4 episodes, 1976
Jane Merrow	...	Hallie 4 episodes, 1976
Allen G. Norman	...	Gamekeeper 4 episodes, 1976
Jameson Parker		4 episodes, 1976
Bryan A. Seneviratne	...	Japanese Soldier 4 episodes, 1976

Storyline

The story of two Army officers, one a ruthless, career-obsessed schemer, the other his exact opposite, and their personal and professional lives from the end of World War I to the beginning of Vietnam.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | army | officer | tv mini series | military | 

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Taglines:

Duty. Honor. Country.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Charlton Heston had wanted to make a movie of this back in the 1960s.

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Goofs

In the World War One scenes (set in 1918), the German soldiers are shown wearing the 1914-style uniforms with spiked helmets, which were phased out in 1916.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: John Davidson/Richard Pryor/Darleen Carr/Dr. Michael Fox (1976)

User Reviews

AWESOME!!!

This miniseries is the mystery of the ages. It rightfully enjoys one of the highest ratings--if not the very highest reviewer rating on record--of any product on film, yet for some inexplicable reason nobody has managed to release it commercially for a quarter century. Does anyone know why? A new generation of viewers never have seen this masterpiece, and to compare it to inferior products as The Winds of War led by the ever sleepy Robert Mitchum is like making an analogy of Lawrence of Arabia to Ishtar.

The cast was incredibly deep for television and included early roles for such actors as Melanie Griffith and Amy Irving and late ones for the likes of Ralph Bellamy and Glenn Ford. And at center stage was the steady work of Sam Elliott, who seemed tailor made for his interpretation of Anton Myror's straight arrow soldier Sam Damon. Truly, it ranks with his John Buford character in Gettysburg as among his best roles.

If anyone knows any way to locate a dub of even a part of this epic please email me. I have been trying to use it for a course on leadership that I teach at a California university. This drama, for our purposes, ranks above such acclaimed films as Hoosiers, Twelve O'Clock High, and Wall Street for lessons to be learned. A must see for anybody who can--and the number seems to be near zero today. What a tragedy.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Once an Eagle

Filming Locations:

Napa Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

540 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1