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*Son of the Morning Star*
Son of the Morning Star
Based on	Son of the Morning Star; by Evan S. Connell
Written by	Melissa Mathison
Directed by	Mike Robe
Starring	Gary Cole
Music by	Craig Safan
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Preston Fischer; Thom Mount; Cyrus Yavneh
Cinematography	Kees Van Oostrum
Editor	Benjamin A. Weissman
Running time	187 minutes
Production companies	Preston Stephen Fischer Company; Republic Television; The Mount Company
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	February 3 –; February 4, 1991

Son of the Morning Star is a 1991 American two-part Western television miniseries released by Chrysalis based on Evan S. Connell's best-selling 1984 book of the same name.^[1] It starred Gary Cole (George Armstrong Custer) and featured Dean Stockwell (General Philip Sheridan), Rosanna Arquette (Elizabeth Custer), Rodney A. Grant (Crazy Horse), Nick Ramus (Red Cloud), Buffy Sainte-Marie (voice of Kate Bighead), and Floyd Red Crow Westerman (Sitting Bull).

Plot

The film, in two parts, begins in 1876 when the Terry-Gibbon column relieves the remnants of the 7th Cavalry that had survived the Battle of the Little Bighorn. They discover Custer's Squadron has been annihilated, and the film 'flashes back' and tells Custer's story from the point of view/narrative of his wife, Elizabeth, beginning with the Kansas campaign of the mid-1860s.^[2]

Concurrently, the Indian perspective is told through the narrative of Kate Bighead, a young Cheyenne woman, who encountered Custer on several occasions. Kate Bighead's narrative is also used to describe events like the Fetterman Massacre and the Battle of Washita River, as is Elizabeth Custer's, to provide a balanced point of view.^[2]

Cast

Gary Cole as Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
Rosanna Arquette as Libby Custer
Stanley Anderson as Ulysses S. Grant
Edward Blatchford as Lt. Col. William W. Cooke
George Dickerson as William Tecumseh Sherman
Rodney A. Grant as Crazy Horse
Tom O'Brien as Charley Reynolds
Terry O'Quinn as Alfred Terry
Nick Ramus as Red Cloud
Tim Ransom as Thomas Custer
Robert Schenkkan as Thomas Weir
David Strathairn as Frederick William Benteen
Kimberly Guerrero as Kate Bighead
Buffy Sainte-Marie as Kate Bighead (voice)
Demina Becker as young Kate Bighead
Dean Stockwell as General Philip Sheridan
George K. Sullivan as General Winfield Scott Hancock
Michael Medeiros as Major Marcus Reno
George American Horse as Stone Forehead
Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Sitting Bull
Sheldon Peters Wolfchild as Bloody Knife
Rion Hunter as Sioux Interpreter
Russ Walks as Autie Reed
Bryce Chamberlain as Parsons
Peter Leitner as Dr. Coates
Mike Casey as Charles Varnum
Sav Farrow as Giovanni Martinii
Wendy Feder as Maggie Calhoun
Patrick Johnston as Boston Custer
Eric Lawson as Fred Gerard
Jay Bernard as Congressman
Mike Bacarella as Adjutant at Ft. Lincoln (uncredited)

Production

The release of the mini-series closely followed the theatrical release of Dances with Wolves. Although Kevin Costner was the first choice to play Custer, the role eventually went to Gary Cole.^[1] The movie was partially filmed on private property near the Little Bighorn National Monument in Montana near Billings, where a fort was built at a cost of $200,000.^[3] Filming also took place in South Dakota at Buffalo Gap and Badlands National Park.^[4] 400 horses and 150 Native Americans were employed for the shoot. The 7th Cavalry consisted of 100 historical re-enactors who also doubled as technical advisers for the film.^[3]

Reception

Variety praised the production as "a master work", with special mentions of quality in production, direction, cinematography and editing.^[5] New York magazine drew a comparison with the recently released Dances with Wolves, stating that Son of the Morning Star "deals in delusions instead of dreams".^[2]

The mini-series won four 1991 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement In Costuming for a Miniseries or a Special, Outstanding Achievement In Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Special. It was also nominated for, but did not win, Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Niemi, Robert (2006). History in the Media: Film and Television. ABC-CLIO. p. 29,30. ISBN 978-1576079522.
^ ^a ^b ^c Leonard, John (February 4, 1991). "Home of the Braves". New York: 41.
^ ^a ^b King, Susan (February 3, 1991). "Dances With Custer : ABC's miniseries leading up to the famous last stand called for endurance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
^ "Filming Locations of Son of the Morning Star". IMDb. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
^ "ABC Miniseries Son of the Morning Star". Variety. February 1, 1991.
^ "1991 Emmys for Son of the Morning Star". Primetime Emmys. Retrieved August 9, 2013.