''In Love and War'' (1987) is a

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

-based thriller/drama television film starring

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off-Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in '' The Trial of the ...

and

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 1997 ...

. It was directed by

Paul Aaron Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. The film is based on the true story of

James Stockdale James Bond "Jim" Stockdale (December 23, 1923 – July 5, 2005) was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator, awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years. Stockdale was the mos ...

and

Sybil Stockdale Sybil Elizabeth Stockdale (; November 25, 1924 – October 10, 2015) was an American campaigner for families of Americans missing in South East Asia. Sybil was the founder and first national coordinator of the National League of Families of ...

. James Stockdale, a highest-ranking naval officer, was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, whilst Sybil Stockdale became a co-founder, and then later served as the national coordinator of the National League of Families, a nonprofit organization that worked on behalf of American Vietnam-era Missing in Action and Prisoner of War Families. The film's screenplay was written by Carol Schreder, who was also one of the film's producers. The screenplay was based on the book ''In Love and War: The Story of a Family's Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam Years'', which was written by James and Sybil Stockdale themselves. The film's production companies were Carol Schneider Productions and Tisch/Avnet Productions Inc.

Plot

''In Love and War'' is an account of US Navy Commander James Stockdale's eight year imprisonment in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. During his confinement in sub-human living conditions within such camps as the infamous "

Hanoi Hilton Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

", Stockdale, amongst other American prisoners, led a resistance group against the North Vietnamese, facing torture, isolation, and starvation in attempts to break their wills. Meanwhile, back in America, Stockdale's wife, Sybil, begins working with other POW wives to try to get information on their husbands and to inform the world on their treatment.

Cast

Concetta Tomei Concetta Tomei (born December 30, 1945) is an American theatre, film and television character actress, best known for her roles as Major Lila Garreau on the ABC series ''China Beach'' (1988–1991) and as Lynda Hansen on the NBC series ''Provi ...

as Doyen Salsig * Richard McKenzie as Boroughs *

James Pax James Pax (Born December 21, 1961) is an American actor who has acted in films produced in Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Japan. He is born to an English father and a Chinese mother. Career Once Pax turned his attention to acting, he took on role ...

as Rabbit *

Haing S. Ngor Haing Somnang Ngor ( Khmer: ហាំង សំណាង ង៉ោ; ; March 22, 1940 – February 25, 1996) was a Cambodian American gynecologist, obstetrician, actor and author. He is best remembered for winning the Academy Award for Best Suppor ...

as Major Bui *

Jon Cedar Jon Cedar (January 22, 1931 – April 14, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in more than sixty television and film roles during his career. Career Cedar began his acting career in high school theater productions at Detroit High School. ...

as Bud Salsig * Sally Klein as Allison Decker *

Stephen Dorff Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Roland West in the third season of HBO's crime drama anthology series ''True Detective'', PK in '' The Power of One'', Stuart Sutcliffe in ''Backbe ...

as Stan Stockdale (age 9) *

Lillian Lehman Lillian Lehman is an American actress. The daughter of a Lutheran minister, Lehman was born in Oak Hill, Alabama, but moved with her family to Buffalo, New York, when she was five years old. She was named actress of the year while she attended K ...

as News Anchorwoman *

Lou Fant Lou Fant (December 13, 1931 – June 11, 2001) was a pioneering teacher, author and expert on American Sign Language (ASL). He was also an actor in film, television, and the stage. Natively bilingual in ASL and English, he often played roles rela ...

as Sidney Bailey * Leo Geter as Mike Haggerty * Raymond Ma as Pig Eye * Steven Vincent Leigh as Big Ugh *

James Lashly James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

as Chaplain * George Milan - Averell Harriman * Christopher Michael Moore - Intelligence * Brad Finefrock - Sid Stockdale (age 10) *

Christian Hoff Christian Hoff (born April 21, 1968) is an American actor. Biography Hoff was born in San Francisco, California, and later moved with his family to San Diego. At eight years old he began acting at the San Diego Junior Theater, and not long after ...

- Sid Stockdale (age 18) * Jamie McEnnan - Stan Stockdale (age 6) *

Christian Jacobs Christian Richards Jacobs (born January 11, 1972) is an American musician, television producer, and actor. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. TV show ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', on which he additionally serves a ...

- Jimmy Stockdale (age 14) * Matt Graber - Taylor Stockdale (age 10) * John Posey - Pasquarelli

Background

The film stars James Woods as James B. 'Jim' Stockdale and Jane Alexander as Sybil Stockdale. Others in the film include

as Doyen Salsig,

as Major Bui,

as Bud Salsig and

as Bud Salsig. Reportedly, the film's original broadcast had 45 million viewers. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1988, for James Woods under the category "Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV". In the Stockdale's own book ''In Love and War: The Story of a Family's Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam Years'', a 1990 Naval Institute Press updated edition featured a quote each from Woods and Alexander on the book and the Stockdale's story. Woods was quoted ''"Heroes are hard to come by these days. When they exist there are those who inspire us with their quiet fortitude. Jim and Sybil do both."'' Alexander was quoted "One of the finest stories of a true marriage ever told."''

Release

The film first aired on March 16, 1987, on the National Broadcasting Company Network. It was released in America on VHS via Vidmark Entertainment, and in 1992 via StarMaker Entertainment, Inc. Lions Gate Home Entertainment released a VHS version on May 17, 1993. It was also released on Laserdisc. The only American DVD release was on November 16, 2009, via FremantleMedia. In the UK it was released on DVD twice; on 11 August 2003 via Consolidated and on 11 September 2006 via Boulevard Entertainment Ltd. In Germany, the film's Cinema VHS release was re-titled ''P.O.W. - Prisoner of War''. The film was also released on VHS in the Netherlands via Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) in 2000, and the company released a DVD version in 2007. Globo Vídeo released the film on VHS in Brazil. The film made its first showing in Greece on Aquarius TV in 2001.

Critical reception

Sandra Brennan of Allmovie gave the film two and a half out of five stars. John J. O'Connor of the New York Times reviewed the film on March 16, 1987, essentially giving an unfavorable rating, stating ''"The film - directed by Paul Aaron for Tisch/Avnet Productions - shuttles between the American prisoner in North Vietnam and his distraught wife back home, and the effect creates two stories that rarely seem connected. Mr. Woods, a fine actor who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Salvador and will undoubtedly get an Emmy nomination for '' Promise,'' is harrowingly persuasive in the prison scenes (one of his interrogators is played by Dr. Haing S. Ngor of

The Killing Fields A killing field is a concept in military science. Killing field may also refer to: * Killing Fields, a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of ...

). And Ms. Alexander is quietly effective. But neither actor is served well by the fuzzy script, and when they do get to play a few brief scenes together, Mr. Woods and Ms. Alexander convey the unfortunate impression that they have just met in passing on the set. They do not make a very credible husband and wife. But then this version of ''In Love and War'' is not very credible on several levels."'' Also on March 16, 1987, Jeff Jarvis of People magazine wrote a review of the film under the "Picks and Pans Review" section of the magazine issue, giving the film an A grade, stating ''"Not since Friendly Fire have I seen a movie that so effectively portrays the tragic pain and folly of Vietnam — and does so without a single battle scene. A spectacular story superbly told."'' On the day of the film's original American broadcast, Daniel Ruth of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a favorable review, stating ''"With marvelous performances from Woods, Alexander and Ngor, "In Love and War" may be another unpleasant reminder of one of our darker chapters."'' In a 1991 Chicago Sun-Times review by Mary Houlihan-Skilton, the author gave a positive review, stating ''"In Love and War James Woods delivers a riveting performance as Cmdr. Jim Stockdale, who holds the dubious honor of being the longest-held American POW during the Vietnam War. With Jane Alexander and Haing S. Ngor, this is a disturbing, intense drama."'' In the 1995 book ''Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second'' by Jeremy M. Devine, the author spoke of the film, stating ''"The made-for-television features had also become sources of tape cassettes. Broadcast for the previous calendar year, In Love and War was such a release. Despite a stellar cast including James Woods, Jane Alexander, and Haing S. Ngor, this Paul Aaron-directed feature was rather flat."'' In the 2009 book ''Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors Volume 1'' by Jerry Roberts, the section of director Paul Aaron stated ''"The director added adroitly to the Vietnam War cannon with In Love and War, which dramatized - via James Woods' exceptional portrayal - U.S. pilot Jim Stockdale's imprisonment for eight years in the prisoner-of-war camp known as the Hanoi Hilton."''

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0093249 1987 television films 1987 films 1980s thriller drama films 1980s war films Vietnam War films NBC network original films Films directed by Paul Aaron 1980s English-language films