''Dream West'' is a 1986 American television miniseries starring

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...

and directed by

Dick Lowry Dick Lowry (born 15 September 1944 in Oklahoma) is an American director and film producer. Productions List films were all made for television unless otherwise indicated. *1975: ''The Drought (film), The Drought'' (theatrical film) *1980: '' ...

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.Holston, Noel (11 April 1986)
Cbs' 'Dream West' Spirited Miniseries
''Orlando Sentinel'' It was the 16th most-watched show of that week.(17 April 1986)
Nielsen Ratings
''Chicago Tribune'' 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 Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

(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.(24 April 1986)
Nielsen Ratings
''Chicago Tribune''

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.Hevesi, Dennis (29 March 2011)
David Nevin, 83, author of epic novel 'Dream West'
''The Boston Globe'' (reprint of New York Times obituary)(13 April 1986)
"Dream West' has Oklahoma flavor
''Oklahoman''(11 April 1986)
Up-and-down `Dream West` Tosses And Turns With Script
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''Jarvis, Jeff (14 April 1986)
Picks and Pans Review: Dream West
''People'' (giving the series a D minus rating)Shales, Tom (12 April 1986)
TV Preview
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''Bobbin, Jay (13 April 1986)
Miniseries Kingpin Richard Chamberlain Blazes Another Trail As Adventurer In Cbs Drama
''Orlando Sentinel''

Cast

as John Charles Fremont *

Alice Krige Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley i ...

as Jessie Benton Fremont * F. Murray Abraham as President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

René Enríquez René Enríquez (November 24, 1933 – March 23, 1990) was a Nicaraguan-born American television actor of the 1970s and 1980s. He is best remembered for his role as Lt. Ray Calletano in the long-running television series ''Hill Street Blues'' (1 ...

as General Castro *

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...

as Jim Bridger *

Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...

as Capt.

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

* G. D. Spradlin as General Steven Watts Kearney * Rip Torn as

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

Fritz Weaver Fritz William Weaver (January 19, 1926 − November 26, 2016) was an American actor in television, stage, and motion pictures. He portrayed Dr. Josef Weiss in the 1978 epic television drama, ''Holocaust'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime ...

as Senator Thomas Hart Benton *

Anthony Zerbe Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936) is an American actor. His notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in ''The Omega Man'', a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, '' I Am Legend''; as an Irish C ...

as Bill Williams * Claude Akins as Tom Fitzpatrick * John Anderson as Brig. Gen. Brooke *

Lee Bergere Lee Bergere (born Solomon Bergelson; April 10, 1918 – January 31, 2007) was an American actor, known for his role as Joseph Anders in the 1980s television series ''Dynasty''. Stage Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bergere began his career in ...

as 'Papa Joe' Nicollet * Jeff East as Tim Donovan *

Michael Ensign Michael Ensign (born February 13, 1944) is an American actor who mostly played very small roles. One of his most-known roles was Benjamin Guggenheim in the 1997 film ''Titanic''. Early life Ensign was raised in both the United States and Englan ...

as Karl Preuss *

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', '' Lili'' and ''Knights of the Roun ...

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."Roberts, Jerry
Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors, Part I
p. 350 (2009) The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

as part of the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

in 2012.(13 November 2012)
Dream West (mini-series) - Only Broadcast Once, This 1986 Richard Chamberlain Miniseries Comes to DVD
, tvshowsondvd.com, Retrieved 6 September 2017

References

External links

* {{Ed McBain 1980s American television miniseries Films based on American novels American television films 1986 television films 1986 films Films directed by Dick Lowry Films scored by Fred Karlin Depictions of Abraham Lincoln on film Cultural depictions of Kit Carson Films with screenplays by Evan Hunter