The Blue and the Gray

Plot synopsis:
The plot revolves around the families of two sisters; Maggie Geyser and Evelyn Hale. The Geysers are southern farmers and slave owners in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Hales own a small newspaper in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Geysers are generally indifferent to the issue of slavery but are sympathetic to the Southern cause since slavery is a 200-year-old way of life in the south. The lone exception in the family is son John, an artistic young man who becomes sympathetic to the plight of southern slaves and free Negroes. The Hales are pro-Union and anti-slavery, but like many northerners at the time they hope for a peaceful solution to the nation's problems.The drama begins in October 1859 when John Geyser, the primary protagonist, wants to use his talent as an artist working for a newspaper and leave the farm. He travels to Pennsylvania to work as an artist correspondent for the newspaper of his uncle Jacob Hale, Sr. John's first assignment takes him to Charles Town, Virgina to cover the trial of abolitionist John Brown where he meets and befriends the mysterious Jonas Steele, a former Jayhawker and Pinkerton detective. Jonas returns with John to Gettysburg and falls in love with Mary, one of the Hale's two daughters but is afraid to commit to her to his troubling dreams to predict the future.After falling out with his family over the issues of slavery and secession over the Christmas of 1860, John returns to Pennsylvania. John's three brothers Matthew, Mark, and Luke will eventually serve in the Confederate Army. His three male Hale cousins Jake, Malachi, and James join the Union Army.James dies from an illness before the first battle of Bull Run in July 1861. Caught "betwixt and between", John will not fight for the South but is unwilling to bear arms against his own brothers. After being reunited with Jonas Steele, who has joined the Union Army as a scout, John becomes a war correspondent for Harper's Weekly.John travels with the Union Army and witnesses many of the important events of the Civil War including First Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg, the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness (Mark Geyser is listed as an MIA in this battle), Lee's April 1865 surrender at Appomattox and Abraham Lincoln's assassination.At Bull Run, John meets Kathy, who despite her social standing proves to be a good war nurse.Jonas overcomes his doubts and marries Mary.Lester Bedell, who had married Emma Geyser, are caught up in the Siege of Vicksburg. Lester is killed and Emma and her child return home.The Battle of Gettysburg is a prominent focal point of the story (Mary Steele is killed as the battle rages near her and Jonas's home).John has a reconciliation with his family as he, his father and brother Matthew with a group of Confederate troops defend and drive off a Union Army attack against their house. Matthew is killed in the battle.A little later, Jonas wins the Geyser family heart by getting the youngest brother out from a Union POW camp but his strange dream of President Lincoln arrives too late to save the president at Ford's Theater.In the final scene, the Hale and the Geyser family are reunited after the war at John and Cathy's wedding.

Tags: violence

Review:
I first saw this mini-series while in 5th grade history class as part of our studies on the Civil War, and I thought it was excellent.
Although the movie certainly takes dramatic license (the main character, a young Southerner who relocates to the north after becoming disillusioned with the cruel treatment of slaves, ends up stumbling across his staunchly pro-Confederate siblings as if they're all wandering around in the same town instead of an entire country!), you can see that the film makers took great pains to portray as many perspectives as possible, to show that each and every person involved in the war was human, with their own thoughts and feelings.
This mini-series should definitely be on any must-see list of war films..
This is such a good movie mainly due to the lack of bias and multiple story lines which keep you hooked throughout the extensive length of the film.
So when we finally decided to watch what seemed like a boring war movie...we never wanted to leave the trailer.
`The Blue and The Gray' is not a story about the Civil War. It is a long drama about a family set at the time of that war.
This was a very good film about the Civil War. It showed the mindset of people living in the south during that era; how they were swayed into entering a futile and dangerous undertaking.
As others have mentioned, this is a series of recollections of events which may (or may not) have occurred during the American Civil War. It is related from the point of view of a 'neutral' war correspondent, who's talent is for drawing sketches of what he has seen on various battle fields, from Bull Run to Appomattox Ct. House.
For me the best part of the mini-series was watching Gregory Peck (as Abraham Lincoln) deliver the Gettysburg address.
If you, on the other hand, are simply looking for a decent dramatization (ala "Gone With the Wind), you will enjoy this series.The acting by the cast was, in general, C+, with the exception of a few of the notables (Gregory Peck, for one).
Back in the early Sixties there was a short lived television series called The Americans about two brothers who after their father was killed decided to fight on opposite sides in the Civil War. The whole business about brother against brother was no exaggeration.
The Blue And The Gray brings that aspect of the Civil War better than any other film made for the big or small screen since The Americans.The families are the Geysers and the Hales related by the mothers, Diane Baker and Colleen Dewhurst being sisters.
A passing acquaintance played by Stacy Keach who gets himself involved in a lot of the major events of the war and married into the Hale family with Julia Duffy persuades Hammond to become a war correspondent and put his artistic talents to good use.
Hammond becomes a pictorial chronicler of the seminal event of his generation.Without ever losing control of the main story lines, what happens to the various Geyser and Hale family members, The Blue And The Gray captures the sweep and pageantry of the Civil War. Such real characters as Abraham Lincoln played by Gregory Peck and John Brown played by Sterling Hayden in what was his farewell performance do take a life of their own.
Young Harper falls victim to dysentery and his performance will move you.A few years later North and South covered a lot of the same ground that this particular mini-series did and it was as well done as The Blue And The Gray.
He is surrounded by relatives and friends on both sides, and the miniseries shows events through their eyes as well.The human side of the war is stressed, and it excellently portrays the toll the conflict took on families.Many of the subplots are taken from Civil War historian Bruce Catton's final work, "Reflections On The Civil War."  However, none of the people in the book, including the real John Geyser, appear in the miniseries.
I thought the makers of this movie followed the history of the period and gave a good presentation of the issues that the people had to deal with at the time.
Of course it cannot compare to the recent Civil War Movies or even the Ken Burns series .
Given the time that it was made I think it was a good portrayal of the period.My only fault with the movie was the fact that it seemed to put the fall of Vicksburg after the Gettysburg Address.
Believable characters in the best Civil War movie ever..
It shows how families, North and South, were affected in a profound way by the Civil War.
Every time we watch The Blue and the Gray, it is easy to develop feelings for the characters, who could almost be members of our own family.
It is this humanistic feature rather than dwelling on the intricacies of the battles themselves which makes this film great viewing, even for those who aren't "into" war movies..
not the best civil war movie--but not the worst either.
I remember my high school history teacher making us watch this in class my freshmen year of high school....at that time in my life I could've cared less about seeing this film.
and I liked it, in fact I cannot remeber why I was unable to get interested in this film the first time I seen it(I was probably too young to enjoy a long drama back then).but although I have seen some civil war movies that blow this one away.
it is very much worth watching.---its funny to see this film now because this films cast looks like an episode of "where are they now?" this music score is fair , the costumes are good(same as any other civil war movie)...but Ouch, but I kept noticing that all the actors have early 1980's post disco era hair styles rather than 1860's hair styles and the hair styles cause this film to look dated.
I found it interesting that the 4 brother this film is about are named after the 1st 4 books in the new testiment of the bible(Mathew,Mark,Luke and John -I failed to notice that the 1st time i seen this film)This is not the best Civil War Movie(that honor goes to "Gettysburg"), but its not the worst civil war movie either(that honor/shame goes to "The Rose and the Jackail")I give this film 3 out of 5 stars..
I'm not going to nitpick this film because the wrong number of buttons are on a Civil War jacket nor am I going to criticize the fact that certain battles are presented out of chronological sequence, as some others have already pointed out.But taken as a Civil War drama, THE BLUE AND THE GRAY ranks with the very best movies made about this era of American history and all of the performances are splendid.
The human drama, both on the home front before the war and during the various battles, is portrayed very realistically, as are the graphic battle scenes.The cast assembled does a wonderful job with characters that come alive.
But STACY KEACH and JOHN HAMMOND carry much of the film as the two leading characters who witness various aspects of the Civil War, seen through their eyes and experiences, and they are excellent.The supporting cast includes vivid performances from LLOYD BRIDGES, COLLEEN DEWHURST, RORY CALHOUN, GERALDINE PAGE, RIP TORN, STERLING HAYDEN, DIANE BAKER.
BRIAN KERWIN is excellent as the Hale brother facing battle for the first time, and the sequence with the balloon to observe the enemy from the air is full of tight suspense.It may not be a perfect history lesson, but it is photographed beautifully in color (all of it filmed in Arkansas), has a fine musical score and is well worth the time it takes to unwind a very compelling story with characters any viewer can relate to.I consider it one of the finest made-for-TV miniseries ever made..
The Blue and the Grey had a great plot and I really enjoyed this mini series.
Gettysburg on the other hand had plenty of extras; almost all of them Civil War reenactors, making the battle scenes more realistic.
Perhaps if the producers of The Blue and the Grey had used reenactors they could have had better battle scenes and the mini series would have been more realistic..
It and was the first ever Civil War movie I ever watched in my life.
Yes, I have seen better mini-series since then(Lonesome Dove, Horatio Hornblower)...and I've even seen better Civil War movies (Gettysburg, Glory) but this movie still holds a very special place in my heart When I go back and watch this film, I am amazed at how well it has held up against the test of time.
Although I still haven't seen the Thorn birds (don't really think I want too though) I am saddened by the fact that there aren't more films like this one being produced these days.I really recommend this movie to anyone who like Long drawn out storyline (and there is nothing wrong with that) Good battle scenes.
My personal grade goes to Gregory Peck as Lincoln, Lloyd Bridges, Cooper Huckabee, Sterling Hayden (excellent part of the film!), Rip Torn, Royce Applegate (who will shine soon in Gettysburg), and Julius Harris.
Given the right amount of publicity and introduction the blue and the gray could become one of the nations leading civil war films.The Blue and the Gray does not in any way compare visually to films like Gettysburg and Gods and Generals but the plot and characters make up for the lack of that big budget film feel..
Stacy Keach does a good job playing a Union officer who loses his wife and falls in love with a nurse who saves his life, but most of the performances are cliched and the costumes are not authentic.
Over all this film is strickly for either  80's pop culture students or Civil War buffs and they might snicker at the late great Gregory Peck's Lincoln.
McLaglen, "The Blue and the Gray" covers the Civil War era from 1859-1865 focusing on two related families: The Geysers, farmers from Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Hales from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who own a newspaper.
When war breaks out after the Southern states secede from the Union, John covers the war for Harper's Weekly.MAIN CAST includes Stacy Keach as a Pinkerton-turned-Union-officer who romances John's cousin (Julia Duffy); Gregory Peck as Lincoln; Kathleen Beller as an aristocrat-turned-nurse; Dan Shor & Michael Horton as John's brother; Rip Torn as General Grant; and Lloyd Bridges & Colleen Dewhurst as Mr. and Mrs. Geyser.
Director McLaglen had decades of experience by this this time with both TV shows and films, including a few notable Westerns, like "Bandolero!" (1968) and "Chisum" (1970); in fact, his "Shenandoah" (1965) was a Civil War 'Western.' The first half is great, but the second half flounders a bit and includes some cheesy plot gimmicks, like the mad slasher Confederate officer and John mistaking his babe (the nurse) supposedly making out with the Union stud (Keach).
What I like best about this "miniseries" (i.e. long movie) is that, despite some elements of TV-production cheese (e.g. the two Union & Confederate deserters' almost goofy meeting in the woods), the film takes you back in time to the Civil War era and provides a quality picture of what it was like.Some of the notable events covered include: The Battle of Bull Run, Army camp life, dysentery in the camps, cowards in battle and the branding thereof, balloon reconnaissance, fraternizing with the enemy after hours, brother vs.
Yes, some key events are off-screen (e.g. the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln getting shot), but that's the nature of the beast with a TV-budget and an overview-styled story.
A far better soap opera on the Civil War is "North and South".
What's really a shame is that there is some very good talent in the mini series that is completely wasted.
Unfortunately that portrait is not the American Civil War of the 1860s, but the Mini-series boom of the 1980s.
Try as they did to bring their sweeping story to the screen, they ended up giving the impression that the civil war was fought by 50 men (25 per side).
Speaking of extras, tB&tG is interesting in that it was one of the last productions to make use of extras wearing classic Hollywood Civil War costumes (I can't rightly call them uniforms).
There was some fanfare at the time that the production had made limited use of Civil War Reenactors.
By 1989 (7 years later)one could see that "Glory" was such a far cry from all previous Civil War movies.
The cast featured some great actors doing mediocre work(Sterling Heyden, Coleen Dewhurst, Geraldine Page, Rip Torn, and Gregory Peck).
The first time I saw this mini-series I actually liked it.
That was several years ago, way before I became a Civil war Re-enactor.When I started the hobby I saw the series again.
Nowhere is that better illustrated in the event that is oftentimes known as the War Between The States (North and South), but generally known as the Civil War. A bitter war fought largely over the question of whether it was right to keep anyone, especially those of African descent, as slaves, the war almost eviscerated the country during four long bloody year, from 1861 to 1865.
This was the subject for the epic 3-part miniseries THE BLUE AND THE GRAY, which aired on CBS on November 14, 16, and 17, 1982.The principal focus is on two families: the Geysers, a farm family from Charlottesville, Virginia who have no prurient interest in the issue of slavery that is essentially fueling the war but are sympathetic to the South; and the Hales, who are owners of a small newspaper in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and anti-slavery/pro-Union.
Both families, though, do reunite after the end of the war, but not before the war more or less claims its last victim in President Abraham Lincoln, when John Wilkes Booth guns him down at Ford's Theatre.In the meantime, the Civil War is re-enacted, under the bounds of what could be shown on television, with a fair amount of pain and horror without an over-reliance of melodrama, but with solid acting by a huge cast of great people, including Stacy Keach; Colleen Dewhurst; Lloyd Bridges; Warren Oates (in one of his last roles, as Major Welles); Sterling Hayden (as John Brown); Rip Torn (as General Ulysses S.
McLaglen, who had done the Civil War in fictional form prior to this, in the form of 1969's THE UNDEFEATED (with John Wayne), and 1965's SHENANDOAH (with James Stewart).Even in the restrictive confines of TV, and even when compared to later films on the subject like GETTYSBURG and LINCOLN, THE BLUE AND THE GRAY does very little skimping over what war in general, and this singular war in particular, does to people not only on both sides of the battle lines but also to those innocents caught in the middle.
It should be watched by anyone serious in understanding our nation's history in general, and the Civil War in particular, and is essential just for anyone still interested in historically based storytelling, small screen or otherwise..
Good cast and good acting all of which adds up to a very presentable dramatic view of the Civil War. The only (pleasant) distraction for me was John Hammond who is so good looking that one wonders if anyone alive in those days could have been such a beautiful, clean cut 'All American' male.
When you see old Civil War photos, most of the males, even the young ones, seem 'scruffy' and worn out before their time..
"The Blue and The Gray" was a TV miniseries that premiered on CBS in late 1982.Allegedly inspired by the works of famed Civil War historian, Bruce Catton, "The Blue and The Gray" follows the fates of two related families, the Geysers of Virginia and the Hales of Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. The story starts in the aftermath of John Brown's (Sterling Hayden) failed slave uprising and ends with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Gregory Peck.) In between, we see various members of the Geyser and Hale families experience army life, battles, death, privation, and prisoner-of-war camps.The main focus is on the third of four Geyser brothers, John (John Hammond), a budding artist who finds a career as a combat illustrator for a northern paper.
As a neutral observer, John acts as a sort of "Zelig" for the rest of the series: romancing a senator's daughter, witnessing the battles of Bull Run, Vicksburg, and the Wilderness, and hobnobbing with the political elites such as President Lincoln due to his being the cousin-in-law of one of Lincoln's military aides (Stacy Keach.)"The Blue and the Gray" was unfortunately directed by Andrew V.
Plus, the combat scenes look like something out of the 1960's WWII TV show "Combat:" lots of indirect artillery fire going-off and the "sarge" leading his "squad." The people behind this miniseries had little or no interest in trying to recreate any resemblance to actual Civil War combat.Overall, "The Blue and the Gray" has some interesting story lines and nice acting by some of the supporting actors, but it is done in by pedestrian direction, atrocious acting by its two "leads," and a failure to adhere to any sort of historical reality when it comes to its battle scenes..
The character playing the artist/correspondent referred to "the Confederacy" before the Civil War even started.But when that brother was lauded for capturing all those prisoners and received a battlefield promotion and then saluted with his left hand, that was when I had to turn it off."North and South" was much better.