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:

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

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Taglines:

Duty. Honor. Country.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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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

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

Superb

I note that the book this was based on was republished a couple of years back to "rave" reviews. I reread it and it was as good as I remembered it.

The series, which, due to the type of work I was doing at the time, I only saw parts of, was also marvelous. Of course, I have to admit, I've seen very few movies with Sam Elliot that I didn't like.

A synopsis of the plot traces the lives of two Army officers; one (Elliot) an enlisted Medal of Honor winner in World War I who was given a battlefield commission and the other a rich West Point graduate staff officer who never heard a shot fired in anger; as their careers and lives moved forward through World War II and beyond.

I see that practically every other miserable excuse for a mini-series has been released on video or DVD, I would say it is long past time that this quality piece of work received its due.