''White Mile'' is a 1994 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 fo ...

thriller-drama film directed by Robert Butler and starring

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recu ...

and

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

. It originally premiered on HBO on May 21, 1994.

Plot summary

Dan Cutler, the head of an advertising agency, invites his colleagues to a

whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

trip. The invitation feels more like an order to some, Cutler considering the outing a test of his employees' confidence, courage and skills. Retired agency executive Nick Karas is a last minute addition, wanting to help Cutler secure some clients and believing that it is a simple fishing trip. Tragedy occurs along Canada's " White Mile," when the inflatable carrying the large group capsizes, and all are swept away by the raging current. Two agency executives, retiree Karas and two clients die. Later, Cutler becomes at odds with Jack Robbins, one of his top executives, over how the aftermath should be portrayed to authorities and to relatives who are suing the company.

Cast

as Dan Cutler *

as Jack Robbins *

as Nick Karas *

Bruce Altman Bruce Altman (born July 3, 1955) is an American film and television actor. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Early life Altman was born in The Bronx, New York. He is of Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish ...

as David Koenig *

Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known f ...

as Gena Karas *

Jack Gilpin John Mitchell "Jack" Gilpin (born May 31, 1951) is an American actor. He currently portrays Church the Butler in HBO's historical drama series ''The Gilded Age''. He is the father of actress Betty Gilpin. Early life Gilpin was born on May 31 ...

as Peter Wiederhorn *

Ken Jenkins Ken Jenkins (born August 28, 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the chief of medicine on the American comedy series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2009). He has also had notable appearances in many popular TV shows. Ea ...

as Jerry Taggart *

Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. Best known as Herb Kelcher in ''My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) ...

as Andy Thornell *

Don McManus Don McManus (born November 8, 1959) (sometimes credited as Don R. McManus) is an American character actor of film and television. He became better known after his performance as Duncan in the ''Seinfeld'' episode “The Race”. Born in San Dieg ...

as Art Stefanoff *

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' S ...

as Tom Horton

Background

The film is loosely based on a rafting accident, on August 1, 1987, on the White Mile rapids in the Bidwell Canyon section of the

Chilko River The Chilko River is a river in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast from Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River. The Chilko is the Chilcotin River's ma ...

, in the Central Interior of British Columbia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Current and retired executives of Chicago agency

DDB Needham DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

(DDB), along with clients from Kraft,

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

(P&G), Drug Free America Foundation (DFAF) and other major companies, were involved in the incident. Like the film, five men died that day—two current and one retired DDB executives, and one executive each from P&G and DFAF. As in the film, the court assigned a payout of $1.1 million to the family of the retired DDB executive who died that day.

Awards and honors

*The film was nominated for two

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

: "Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV" and

was nominated for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV" *The film was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special" *John Duffy was nominated for an

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

for "Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television"

Soundtrack

*"The Song of the Marines" by Harry Warren and Al Dubin

References

External links

* {{Robert Butler 1994 television films 1994 films 1994 action thriller films 1990s English-language films Action films based on actual events Action television films American films based on actual events American business films American thriller films American thriller television films Drama films based on actual events American drama television films Films about businesspeople Films directed by Robert Butler Films set in British Columbia HBO Films films Rafting films Television films based on actual events Thriller films based on actual events 1990s American films