Studio: A David L. Wolper Production in Association with Warner Bros. Television
Running time: 561 minutes
North and South (1985)
“One is from a Northern industrial family, one from a Southern plantation family. They’re West Point graduates whose tried-and-true loyalty helps them survive the Mexican-American War. But their bond faces sterner tests. The issues dividing North and South can also set friend against friend.
“John Jakes’ bestseller about the pre-Civil War decades thunders to the screen in a lavish, six-part miniseries … presented by award-winning executive producer David L. Wolper. In all, 140 actors, numerous extras, 100 production workers, 8,700 pieces of wardrobe and 15,000 set decorators and hand props were used in the five-month, five-state location shoot that brings history—and gripping drama—thrillingly alive.” [From the DVD]
Cast
George Hazard: James Read
Orry Main: Patrick Swayze
Virgilia Hazard: Kirstie Alley
Madeline Fabray LaMotte: Leslie-Anne Down
Constance Flynn Hazard: Wendy Kilbourne
Ashton Main Huntoon: Terri Garber
Brett Main: Genie Francis
Elkanah Bent: Philip Casnoff
Justin LaMotte: David Carradine
Madam Conti: Elizabeth Taylor
Crew
Music by Bill Conti
Executive Producers David L. Wolper and Chuck McLain
Produced by Paul Freeman
Developed for television by Douglas Heyes
Written for television by Paul F. Edwards, Patricia Green, Douglas Heyes, Kathleen A. Shelley
Directed by Richard T. Heffron
Did You Know?
Elizabeth was one of a handful of legendary stars who made cameos in the iconic 1985 TV miniseries North and South and its subsequent installments. She played Madame Conti, and wore a beautiful silk velvet period costume designed by Nolan Miller.
Philip Casnoff, who appeared in the series as the villainous Elkanah Bent and and played opposite Elizabeth in her short guest appearance, was a good friend of her stepdaughter, Kate Burton, who asked the actor to say hello.
Elizabeth was paid $100,000 for a day’s work on the film. When Entertainment Tonight’s Mary Hart asked Elizabeth about her preparation for her cameo as a madam, she responded with her characteristic sense of humour: “I could say I’ve been preparing all my life!”
