''Ordinary Heroes'' is a 1986 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Peter H. Cooper. It premiered on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on October 19, 1986. The film is a remake of the 1945 film ''

Pride of the Marines ''Pride of the Marines'' is a 1945 American biographical war film starring John Garfield and Eleanor Parker. It tells the story of U.S. Marine Al Schmid in World War II, his heroic stand against a Japanese attack during the Battle of Guadalc ...

'', but set in the

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 ...

instead of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Plot

In 1971, Tony (

Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series ''General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead a ...

) fell in love with Maria (

Valerie Bertinelli Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress. She first achieved recognition as a child actress, portraying Barbara Cooper Royer on the sitcom ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984) for w ...

), but their future was abruptly put on hold when Tony was drafted to fight in the

. When he returned to the country two years later, she was still waiting for him, but he was no longer the same.

Cast and characters

as Tony Kaiser *

as Maria Pezzo *

Doris Roberts Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...

as Edith Burnside * Jesse D. Goins as Ken Bryant *

Matthew Laurance Matthew Laurance (born Matthew Dycoff) is an American film and television actor best known for starring as Ben Coleman in the Fox sitcom ''Duet'' and for his recurring role as Mel Silver on ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. Early life, family and edu ...

as Dr. Farber *Richard Baxter as Steve Burnside *Emily Love as Tina Burnside *

Liz Torres Elizabeth Larrieu Torres (born September 27, 1947) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Torres is best known for her role as Mahalia Sanchez in the NBC comedy series ''The John Larroquette Show'' (1993–1996), for which she received two ...

as Miss Cortez

Production

Parts of the film were shot in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

and

Magna, Utah Magna ( ) is a metro township in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The current population of the township stands at 29,251 according to the 2020 census, a 10.4% increase over 26,505 in 2010. History Settlement Settlement of the area began ...

References

External links

* * 1986 television films 1986 films 1986 drama films 1980s war drama films Films set in the 1970s Films shot in Salt Lake City American war drama films Vietnam War films Films set in 1971 Films set in 1973 Films shot in Utah American drama television films 1980s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub