Backstairs At The White House (Mini-Series)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: C+     Episodes: B-

 

 

At TV’s peak in the 1970s, many fascinating productions occurred, especially with the pull of talent that was on hand.  Sometimes, these became camp pieces, and other times classics.  They were always good television, even at their oddest.  Michael O’Herlihy’s 1979 Mini-Series Backstairs At The White House is a case of things being unintentionally funny and campy, while the material is still decent.

 

Based on the book about two generations of maids who worked for 50 years of presidents, you have to see this just for the cast:  Leslie Uggams, Olivia Cole, Louis Gossett, Jr., Cloris Leachman, Leslie Nielsen (when he was still doing “serious” work), Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks, Julie Harris, Victor Buono, Robert Vaughn, Kim Hunter, Claire Bloom, Celeste Holm, George Kennedy, Ed Flanders, Lee Grant, Jan Sterling, Eileen Heckart, Harry Morgan, Estelle Parsons, Andrew Duggan, Barry Sullivan and other actors you know by name and not face, plus many you know by face and not by name.

 

It is a unique look at a history from behind the scenes, though it is a drama.  As a matter of fact, it is very melodramatic and sometimes sappier than expected.  However, the teleplays by Gwen Bagni & Paul Dubov are smart enough, though post-Spike Lee, you can tell this was produced by White Americans with limited knowledge of the Black Experience.  That does not make it any less interesting and the four parts running 444 minutes (equal to four TV movies) offer the eras of two presidents each as follows:

 

1)     Taft/Wilson

2)     Harding/Coolidge

3)     Hoover/Roosevelt

4)     Truman/Eisenhower

 

 

If you can get into the spirit in which this show was produced, it can be entertaining and just seeing these stars in a program not seen for a while is in itself fun.  The full frame 1.33 X 1 transfer is from an older analog source, explaining in part its hazy appearance, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is a bit smaller than expected.  This is still fine for playback, but will be interesting to compare to HD versions a few years ahead.  Extras include a very text-heavy booklet inside the case with the four slender cases included with it the box, plus some DVD 1 has both stills and text biographies.  The rest also have the bios.

 

If you are sick of bad current TV, Backstairs At The White House is a nice throwback to a time when television was more ambitious.  With DVD hitting a new stride, more surprises like this should be on the way.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo