Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, based on
Clancy Carlile
Clancy Carlile (January 18, 1930 – June 4, 1998) was an American novelist and screenwriter of Cherokee descent. He is perhaps best known for his 1980 novel '' Honkytonk Man'', made into a film by Clint Eastwood.
Early years
Carlile was born i ...
's 1995 novel of the same name. Featuring an ensemble cast led by Sidney Poitier, ''Children of the Dust'' was originally broadcast by
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on February 26 and 28,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
.
Plot summary
In the
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...
of the late 1880s, Gypsy Smith (Poitier) is a
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
and
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
descent. Smith helps African American homesteaders to settle the territory under the specter of
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
Whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as " ...
(Wirth) must choose between the woman that he loves (Going) or his
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaust'' ...
as John Maxwell
*
Joanna Going
Joanna Catherine Going (born July 22, 1963) is an American actress known for the television series ''Kingdom'', ''House of Cards'', ''Mad Men'' and the movie ''Wyatt Earp''.
Early life
Going was born in Washington, DC, the eldest of six childre ...
as Rachel Maxwell
*
Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner (born October 3, 1956) is a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He has appeared in films such as ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Terror Train'' (1980), '' Rich and Famous'' (1981), '' The Wild Life'' (1984) ...
as Shelby Hornbeck
*
Regina Taylor
Regina Annette Taylor ''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American
as Drusilla
*
Billy Wirth
William E. Wirth (born June 23, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and artist, perhaps best known for his role as Dwayne in the 1987 film, ''The Lost Boys''.
Life and career
Wirth was born in New York City to a lawyer father and an art ...
as Corby White / White Wolf
*
Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...
as Aunt Bertha
*
Grace Zabriskie
Grace Zabriskie (' Caplinger; born May 17, 1941) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sarah Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Lois Henrickson in '' ...
as Rose
*
James Caviezel
James Patrick Caviezel Jr. (; born September 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor who played Jesus Christ in ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004) and starred as John Reese on the CBS series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016). He ...
John Pyper-Ferguson
John Pyper-Ferguson (born February 27, 1964) is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in a wide range of films and television shows. His notable works include playing Sonny Hamilton on '' Hamilton's Quest'', Peter Hutter on '' The A ...
as Sonny Boy
*
Katharine Isabelle
Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing ...
as Young Rachel (as Katherine Isobel)
*
Byron Chief-Moon Byron Chief-Moon is an Aboriginal Canadian actor, choreographer, dancer, playwright, and founder of the Coyote Arts Percussive Performance Association, a dance theatre company.
Early life and education
Chief-Moon was born in Carlsbad, California, ...
as Chief Walks-The-Clouds
*
Jesse Lipscombe
Jesse Lipscombe (born 1980) is a Canadian actor. He won a Rosie Awards, Rosie Award for Best Performance by an Alberta Actor for his performance in the 2017 film, ''It's Not My Fault and I Don't Care Anyway''. and was one of the executive produ ...
as Clarence
DVD
On September 20, 1999, the miniseries was released on DVD, under the title ''A Good Day to Die''. However, it was pared down to 120 minutes, and significant portions of the production were omitted.