Dream West

Dream West is a 1986 American television miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain and directed by Dick Lowry.

Dream West
Genre	Historical novel-based Drama
Based on	Dream West by David Nevin
Written by	Evan Hunter
Directed by	Dick Lowry
Starring	Richard Chamberlain Ben Johnson Rip Torn
Theme music composer	Fred Karlin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producer	Chuck McLain
Producer	Hunt Lowry
Cinematography	Robert M. Baldwin David Eggby Jack Wallner
Editors	Byron "Buzz" Brandt Jack Fegan Dennis Mosher
Running time	337 minutes[1]
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	April 13 (1986-04-13) – April 20, 1986 (1986-04-20)

Development

The seven-hour miniseries was broken into three parts (2 hours, 2 hours, and 3 hours). Part 1 aired on Sunday, April 13, 1986.^[2] It was the 16th most-watched show of that week.^[3] Part 2 had been intended to follow the next day, but was postponed a day until April 15 due to a press conference by President Ronald Reagan about Libya (see 1986 United States bombing of Libya). Part 3 was moved to Sunday, April 20. Part 2 was the 15th most watched television show for its week, and Part 3 came in 8th place.^[4]

Plot

The film was based on the 1984 novel of the same name by David Nevin, based on the life of 19th century explorer and politician John C. Frémont.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Cast

• Richard Chamberlain as John Charles Fremont
• Alice Krige as Jessie Benton Fremont
• F. Murray Abraham as President Abraham Lincoln
• René Enríquez as General Castro
• Ben Johnson as Jim Bridger
• Jerry Orbach as Capt. John Sutter
• G. D. Spradlin as General Steven Watts Kearney
• Rip Torn as Kit Carson
• Fritz Weaver as Senator Thomas Hart Benton
• Anthony Zerbe as Bill Williams
• Claude Akins as Tom Fitzpatrick
• John Anderson as Brig. Gen. Brooke
• Lee Bergere as 'Papa Joe' Nicollet
• Jeff East as Tim Donovan
• Michael Ensign as Karl Preuss
• Mel Ferrer as Judge Elkins
• Gayle Hunnicutt as Mrs. Maria Crittenden

Reception

The Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors (2009) refers to the film as a "bracing yet relatively little remembered miniseries."^[11]

The film was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection in 2012.^[1]

References

1. (13 November 2012). Dream West (mini-series) - Only Broadcast Once, This 1986 Richard Chamberlain Miniseries Comes to DVD Archived 2017-09-06 at the Wayback Machine, tvshowsondvd.com, Retrieved 6 September 2017
2. Holston, Noel (11 April 1986). Cbs' 'Dream West' Spirited Miniseries, Orlando Sentinel
3. (17 April 1986). Nielsen Ratings, Chicago Tribune
4. (24 April 1986). Nielsen Ratings, Chicago Tribune
5. Hevesi, Dennis (29 March 2011). David Nevin, 83, author of epic novel 'Dream West', The Boston Globe (reprint of New York Times obituary)
6. (13 April 1986). "Dream West' has Oklahoma flavor, Oklahoman
7. (11 April 1986). Up-and-down `Dream West` Tosses And Turns With Script, Chicago Tribune
8. Jarvis, Jeff (14 April 1986). Picks and Pans Review: Dream West, People (giving the series a D minus rating)
9. Shales, Tom (12 April 1986). TV Preview, The Washington Post
10. Bobbin, Jay (13 April 1986). Miniseries Kingpin Richard Chamberlain Blazes Another Trail As Adventurer In Cbs Drama, Orlando Sentinel
11. Roberts, Jerry. Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors, Part I, p. 350 (2009)

External links

• Dream West at IMDb