The best-known dramatization of the pilgrims journey is 1952s Plymouth Adventure, starring Spencer Tracy as Captain Christopher Jones, Gene Tierney as the ill-fated Dorothy Bradford, Van Johnson as John Alden, Leo Genn as William Bradford, Barry Jones as William Brewster, Dawn Addams as Priscilla Mullins, and Lloyd Bridges as ships mate Coppin. Theres even Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver) as a child on the Mayflower. As I recall, it won an Oscar for special effects. It is shown regularly on TCM and is also available on DVD. Much harder to find is the TV-film Mayflower: The Pilgrims Adventure. As far as I know, it was only broadcast once (21 Nov. 1979) and has never been released on home video. I watched it on YouTube the other night and was mostly impressed by Anthony Hopkins, then still mostly appearing in television roles, as Captain Jones. Rounding out the cast were Richard Crenna as William Brewster, the beautiful Jenny Agutter (Walkabout, Equs, Logans Run) as Priscilla Mullins, Michael Beck (The Warriors, Xanadu) as John Alden, future miniseries staple David Dukes as Myles Standish, and George C. Scotts wife Trish Van Devere as Rose Standish. There was an attempt to channel Longfellows 1858 poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish. Take a look. Also worth noting is the very good 2006 production from The History Channel (back when they still did history) titled Desperate Crossing: The True Story of the Mayflower. Its also available on DVD.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 20:37:42 +0000