''Dress Gray'' is a 1986 American television miniseries starring Alec Baldwin,

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

and

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called '' Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...

. The program, about a cadet at a

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

-like military academy who investigates the murder of a fellow cadet, was adapted for the screen by

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

from the novel of the same name by

Lucian Truscott IV Lucian King Truscott IV (born April 11, 1947) is an American writer and journalist. A former staff writer for ''The Village Voice'', he is the author of several military-themed novels including ''Dress Gray,'' which was adapted into Dress Gray, ...

. ''Dress Gray'' originally aired March 9–10, 1986 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Plot

''Dress Gray'' is set during the era of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by 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 Vietnam a ...

. A new class of cadets arrives at the Ulysses S. Grant Military Academy for its 100th anniversary. Ten months later one of those new cadets, David Hand ( Patrick Cassidy), is found dead, apparently drowned despite being a top swimmer. Following an autopsy, academy physician Major Consor ( Ron Rifkin) informs the investigating officer, Colonel King (

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in '' Son in Law'', co ...

), that Hand was murdered and possibly raped. With the school under public scrutiny in the wake of recent drug and cheating scandals, the commandant, Brigadier General Charles Hedges (

), initiates a cover-up. Upper classman Rysam Slaight ( Alec Baldwin) learns of the cover-up and soon finds himself not only the prime suspect in Hand's murder but also the target of a false honor code violation accusation as well as an independent investigation implemented by Judge Hand (

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

), Cadet Hand's wealthy and powerful father. As Slaight seeks to clear his name, he learns that the manipulative Hand was gay and in love with him, a fact David revealed to his sister Elizabeth ( Susan Hess), whom Slaight used to date. Elizabeth and Ry rekindle their romance and work together to solve David's murder. They discover that a USGA cadet had visited David's high school on a recruiting trip. David got the cadet drunk, took him to a hotel and took sexual advantage of him. General Hedges threatens to have Slaight charged with murder, but Slaight counters that he will have the general charged with obstruction of justice. Stymied, the General induces a member of the academy's Honor Court to file a charge of lying against Slaight. Elizabeth visits the hotel where David took the cadet and the manager signs an affidavit identifying the cadet from his photograph. Over her father's objections, Elizabeth has the affidavit delivered to Ry, who is before the Court. Slaight identifies Cadet Winant as the man who was with David in the hotel and who later raped and killed him. Slaight is cleared by the Honor Court and reports to Elizabeth that Winant will be locked in a mental institution for a year or two. General Hedges tenders his resignation as Commandant of Students. Slaight plans to resign from the academy but following a talk with Superintendent Axel Rylander (

) decides to stay and graduate.

Cast

as Judge Hand * Alec Baldwin as Rysam 'Ry' Slaight *

as Major General Axel Rylander, Superintendent, USGA * Patrick Cassidy as David Hand * Susan Hess as Elizabeth Hand *

as Gen. Charles Hedges * Alexis Smith as Mrs. Iris Rylander *

as Col. King *

James Sikking James Barrie Sikking (born March 5, 1934) is a former American actor, most known for his role as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s TV series ''Hill Street Blues''. Early years Sikking was born in Los Angeles on March 5, 1934 to Andy and Sue (né ...

as Maj. Clifford Bassett *

Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...

as Sgt. Oliphant * Ron Rifkin as Maj. Consor *

Timothy Van Patten Timothy Van Patten (born June 10, 1959) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed episodes of '' Perry Mason'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', '' Black Mirror'', '' Deadwood'', '' Ed'', ''Game of Thrones'', '' The Pacific ...

as Lugar * Cameron Dye as Buck * Peter Nelson as Barnes *

Louise Latham Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film ''Marnie''. Early years Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fam ...

as Mrs. Loerna Tutwiler *

Jason Beghe Jason Deneen Beghe (; born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Since 2014, he has starred in the NBC TV series '' Chicago P.D.'' as sergeant Hank Voight. He is also known for starring in the 1988 George A. Romero film '' Monkey Shines'', play ...

as Hank Beaumont * Gary Kasper as Cullinan *

Joseph Kell John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork O ...

as Winant

Production

Truscott, who attended West Point, reportedly based ''Dress Gray'' on fact. The project was first adapted by Vidal in 1979 as a planned theatrical film, with

Herbert Ross Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in theater and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He is known for directing ...

attached to direct. Ultimately Glenn Jordan, who also produced, directed the series. The project filmed on location at the

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to the G ...

in Roswell.

Critical and popular response

Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', John J. O'Connor described ''Dress Gray'' as "absorbing, but...never quite as powerful as it clearly intends". He questioned the casting of Holbrook and Albert while singling out Baldwin, Hess, Cassidy and Bridges for particular praise. While perceiving some weaknesses in the overall story, the ''

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 ...

'' found that ''Dress Gray'' was "entertaining and a cut above most mini-series" although declaring Baldwin to be not a strong enough actor to carry off the heroics required of the lead role.'Dress Gray' Doesn't Quite Fit, but Has Some Appeal
/ref> The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' sharply criticized Vidal's script, calling the program "turbid" and "unpleasant" in large measure because of Vidal's "wooden, often inscrutable dialogue that makes some fine actors...look silly". Part one of the miniseries finished 24th for the week in the Nielsen ratings.

Awards and nominations

''Dress Gray'' was nominated for three Emmy Awards: Outstanding Miniseries; Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or Special; and Outstanding Achievement in Costuming For a Miniseries or Special.Dress Gray
/ref>

References

Notes Bibliography * Russo, Vito (1981, rev. ed. 1987). ''The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality In the Movies''. New York, HarperPerennial (a division of HarperCollins). .

External links

* {{Gore Vidal 1986 American television series debuts 1980s American drama television series 1980s American LGBT-related drama television series 1986 LGBT-related films American LGBT-related films 1980s American television miniseries NBC original programming Films directed by Glenn Jordan Films with screenplays by Gore Vidal 1986 television films 1986 films 1980s American films