The Sacketts

If you think epic-scale westerns on TV began with Lonesome Dove, we refer you to this exemplary miniseries, adapted from a series of novels by Louis L'Amour, that first aired on NBC in May 1979, nearly a decade earlier. The Sacketts chronicles the adventures of three brothers who rise above their humble circumstances and become men to be reckoned with. The eldest, Tell (Sam Elliott), sets the plot in motion when he kills a card cheat named Bigelow, whose siblings swear to wreak vengeance on the Sacketts no matter how long it takes. Tell's younger brothers, Orrin (Tom Selleck) and Tyrell (Jeff Osterhage), fall in with a couple of grizzled old-time cowboys (Glenn Ford and Ben Johnson) who see that the Sackett boys get an education and a stake in the cattle business. This sprawling saga builds to a lengthy climax set in Santa Fe, where the brothers are united and the long-simmering feud with the Bigelows comes to a boil. Although Robert Totten's direction is professional and the production extremely well mounted, the best thing about this four-hour epic is its cast, which includes a slew of top pros including Gilbert Roland, Gene Evans, Ruth Roman, Mercedes McCambridge, Jack Elam, L. Q. Jones, and Slim Pickens, among others. Elliott and Selleck -- both of whom would frequently return to the western in years to come -- already seem at home in the saddle, and even though they're overshadowed by the supporting cast, each has ample opportunity to distinguish himself. The story line gets a little thin here and there, but The Sacketts has a relentless narrative drive that quickly steamrolls over the weak spots. Overall, it's a wonderful miniseries, one of the best to play network TV during the '70s.




Info:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079840/