''Pearl'' is a 1978 American

television miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

about events leading up to the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, written by

Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...

. It starred a large cast, notably

Dennis Weaver Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...

, Tiana Alexandra,

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor. He is known for starring in the television shows ''It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series), It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch (American TV series), Switch'' (1975–1978), ...

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles i ...

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She made her Broadway debut in '' 110 in the Shade'' in 1963. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical product ...

, Gregg Henry,

Max Gail Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. (born April 5, 1943) is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982 ...

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. One of his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in ...

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Eileen Ross; October 25, 1928) is an American actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham (Happy Days), Marion Cunningham on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television sitcom ''Happy Days'', on which ...

Audra Lindley Audra Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom '' Three's Company'' and its spin-off '' The Ropers''. Life and career Audra Lindley was born in L ...

Char Fontane Char "Kaci" Fontane (January 12, 1952 – April 1, 2007) was an American actress and singer. She was born in Los Angeles, to singer Tony Fontane and his wife, actress Kerry Vaughn Fontane. Early in her career, Fontane worked as an assistant t ...

Katherine Helmond Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over an acting career spanning six decades, she was best known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and her co-starring ro ...

and

Adam Arkin Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the role of Aaron Shutt on ''Chicago Hope''. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony Award, Tony (Best Actor, 1991, ''I Hate Ha ...

. The miniseries aired in three installments on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on November 16, 17 and 19, 1978. All three parts were among the top ten most watched prime time shows of the week, with the series watched all or in part by about 80 million people.Brown, Les (22 November 1978)
80 Million Saw TV 'Pearl'
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Cast

as Midge Forrest *

as Colonel Jason Forrest *

as Captain Cal Lankford *

as Dr. Carol Lang * Tiana Alexandra as Holly Nagata * Gregg Henry as Lieutenant Doug North *

as Mrs. Sally Colton *

as Private Billy Zylowski *

as Sergeant Otto Chain *

as 1st Sergeant Walder *

as Shirley *

as Lily, General's Wife *

as Commander Michael North *

as Ellie North *

Allan Miller Allan Miller (born February 14, 1929) is an American stage, film, and television actor. Biography Miller served in the U.S. Army after World War II during the occupation of Japan.Miller, Daryl H"Stages of Development" ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

as Harrison * Christian Vance as Private John Finger *

Mary Crosby Mary Frances Crosby (born September 14, 1959) is an American actress, the only daughter of actor/singer Bing Crosby and his second wife Kathryn Grant. She played Kristin Shepard in the television series ''Dallas'' (1979–1981, 1991).

as Patricia North * Charles Lucia as Lieutenant Christopher *

Les Lannom Leslie Thomas "Les" Lannom (born November 4, 1946, Johnston City, Illinois) is an American voice artist and musician, and retired film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Lester Hodges in the American Detective fiction, pr ...

as Chief Looper * Fred Stromsoe as Corporal Perkins * Joseph Campanella as The Narrator *

So Yamamura , sometimes credited as Satoshi Yamamura, was a Japanese actor and film director. Biography Yamamura was born Koga Hirosada in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, and graduated from the University of Tokyo. In 1942, Yamamura and Isao Yamagata formed the B ...

as Commander of The Japanese Carrier Force (uncredited)

Plot summary

While the Japanese First Air Fleet sails toward Hawaii, personnel at the varied bases as well as civilians go about their lives. Primary protagonists are hard scrabble and bigoted Army MP Colonel Jason Forrest and his clashes with his bitter wife Midge, his well-to-do XO Captain Calvin Lankford, and briefly with local news writer Holly Nagata and punkish MP Sergeant Otto Chain. On the Navy side are Lieutenant Douglas North and his father (Commander Michael North) and mother and also his reacquaintance with former classmate Holly Nagata, a friendship she successfully makes a romantic relationship (right to seducing Doug in her car; though unstated in the miniseries their lovemaking results in pregnancy). Everyone's lives are torn asunder when the Japanese attack strikes the island.

Production

To keep production costs manageable, the scenes of the attack were footage originally shot for the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' () is a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, from both American and Japanese positions. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard F ...

''. The miniseries also used newly dubbed footage of

to portray Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese commander of the attack.

Novelization

Some sources erroneously cite the miniseries as based on a novel by dramatist Sterling Silliphant, but in fact the reverse is true. As the copyright and publication dates indicate, Silliphant novelized his scripts for a paperback original, intended in part to promote the miniseries. (Silliphant had similarly novelized his screenplay for '' The Slender Thread''.) With a timing typical of the era, it was released by

Dell Books Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, I Confess (magazine), ...

as a tie-in edition six months in advance of the mini-series airing. The novelization is more graphic than the miniseries (such as when Doug North and Holly Nagata make love in her car) and includes a subplot involving a Japanese fighter pilot who eventually strafes Doug North's ship.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0077059 American Broadcasting Company television dramas 1970s American television miniseries Attack on Pearl Harbor 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings Television shows set in Hawaii World War II television series Pearl Harbor films Films directed by Hy Averback Films with screenplays by Stirling Silliphant