Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 127, Greencastle, Putnam County, 1 February 1991 — Page 15

ABC musters up Custer controversy

By JERRY BUCK AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) On June 25, 1876, Gen. George Armstrong Custer rode into battle at the Little Bighorn and achieved a dubious immortality that still provokes controversy. On a grassy ridge, overlooking the meandering river in Montana, Custer and 265 members of the 7th Cavalry died in a clash with an overwhelming force of Plains Indians, mostly Sioux and Cheyenne. THE STORY OF CUSTER, the battle, and his equally legendary opponent, Crazy Horse, is retold in the ABC miniseries “Son of the Morning Star.” The title comes from the name Custer’s Indian scouts gave him. The two-part, four-hour drama will be televised Sunday and Monday. Gary Cole stars as Custer, Rosanna Arquette as his wife, Elizabeth, Rodney A. Grant as Crazy Horse and Dean Stockwell as Gen. Phil Sheridan. Grant, a Native American, was Wind in His Hair in “Dances With Wolves.” “I think this is a less heroic and reverential version of the battle,” says Evan S. Connell, author of the book, “Son of the Morning Star.” Custer, one of America’s first media stars, was the most photographed man in America in his time, according to producer Preston Fischer. Even before his death the legend had already begun to take shape. CUSTER WAS A PROLIFIC writer, and he polished his reputation in such books as “My Life on the Plains.” His detractors, including some of his own regimental officers, called it, “My Lie on the Plains.” I have more than a casual interest since I grew up hearing the story. My great-grandfather, James Curtis Watson, was in the battle and is cited in many histories. Watson had earlier been awarded the Medal of Honor in 1870 for action in Texas with the 6th Cavalry. At Little Bighorn, Watson’s horse died while riding in with Custer, and instead he joined Maj. Marcus Reno in a second battle group. Reno led a part of the regiment that had been split by Custer prior to the battle. Reno, Watson and most of the cavalrymen led by Reno survived a hilltop battle while Custer and all

War coverage focus on advisers, speculation

LOS ANGELES (AP) Everyone has an opinion, and the networks appear to be broadcasting all of them. From Gen. Richard Secord of Iran-Contra note to the übiquitous Jesse Jackson, television news has held forth with an endless stream of talkers who feel comfortable speculating on everything from the inner thoughts of Saddam Hussein to whether Iraq is torturing its allied POWs. This unrelenting use of on-air speculators provides a revision of Andy Warhol’s famous maxim: When it comes to TV experts, anyone can be famous for hours on end. SPECULATORS fall into two categories: Paid consultants and unpaid talking heads. In the former group, the networks have a total of 13 military consultants, most of them retired generals (no one will say how much they’re paid. Recent reports said one unidentified former general was rumored to be receiving SIO,OOO a month for the duration of the war). The unpaid category includes

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of his men on that day died on the nearby ridge. Connell says in his book that Watson and another soldier, Peter Thompson, observed from a distance and may have been the last soldiers to see Custer alive. HISTORIANS AND WRITERS have picked the bones of the controversy for the past 115 ye.trs in scores of books and at least 12 motion pictures and have rarely agreed. Was Custer a tragic hero or a reckless glory hunter? You wuh t find a definitive answer in “Son of the Morning Star,” which tells of the 10 years leading to the battle. Fischer, screenwriter Melissa Mathison and Connell fought their own battle to preserve the historical integrity of their story. It examines both views, but leaves judgment to the viewer. “1 think the two extremes are ridiculous, that he

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an eclectic blend of former advisers, past cabinet members, journalists, politicians and the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Ali Bhutto. THE BOTTOM line is that only one person knows the thoughts of Saddam Hussein. The only people who know whether the allied POWS have been tortured are not available for ABC’s “Nightline” or other

GARY COLE: As Gen. Custer

network shows. This lack of knowledge has not stopped television from talking ad nauseum. It has, however, generated a mountain of criticism that ranges from the tongue-in-cheek to charges that the experts’ pronouncements are biased and one-sided. Rick Kogan of the Chicago Tribune wrote,, that TV hasshown enough retired military

was a hero or that he was foolhardy,” Connell said from his home in Santa Fe, N.M. “He was an unusually aggressive officer, and he was an unusually strict disciplinarian. He was a professional soldier who was sent out to pacify the Indians and protect the people. In his view this meant to carry the attack to the Indians. “Custer was a professional military man and a highly aggressive individual. Perhaps he didn’t undertake as much reconnaissance as he should have. He was more inclined to charge than to reconnoiter. In response to that charge in the past he always said he knew what he was doing, which is debatable. His instinct in a questionable situation was to attack, which can be disastrous.” FISCHER CONTENDS THAT “Son of the Morning Star” is more accurate than any previous film version. “More than half the dialogue is taken from records,” he says. “We didn’t add any major scenes for dramatic purposes. We did an enormous amount of research, and we didn’t go in either direction like ‘They Died With Their Boots On’ or ‘Little Big Man.’ We made a great effort to make the costumes and locale accurate. We couldn’t film on the site in Montana, but we found an area 40 miles away that had all the same terrain.” Connell says he is troubled that several characters, particularly Custer’s guide Sam Rivers, were fabricated for dramatic reasons. “But by and large they stuck very close to the historical truth and did a good job,” he says. “ANOTHER THING, THE day of the battle was a very hot day. Many of the soldiers rolled up their coats and went into battle in shirts and undershirts. Some had on cooler straw hats they had bought from a trader on the Yellowstone River. Every other film version of the battle had them riding into battle wearing their blue coats. Some in the miniseries were in shirt sleeves, but I would like to have seen more.” Fischer says the project was first at NBC and CBS, where Mathison resisted pressure to make Custer into a traditional hero and emphasize the love story between Custer and his wife. Connell is more blunt: “Both wanted to turn the script into a piece of trash.”

officers to staff a new cable network: “The Old Generals Channel.” TO A NETWORK, all defended their use of military and civilian experts as a needed complement to sparse Pentagon reports. “They are military men. They know what they’re talking about,’’ said Suzanne Allen, the senior producer on CBS.

“I’m curious as to what the alternative is,” she said. “Throwing a bunch of stuff on the air that may or may not be important?” WITH 24 HOURS of daily coverage to provide, CNN has the largest number of experts. Retired Maj. Gen. Perry Smith and James Blackwell of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a conservative think tank in Washington D.C., are its paid consultants. Gail Evans, CNN’s vice president of booking, said there also arc self-promoting analysis who call up and offer their services. “We said no and they’re still out there,” she said. Like her counterparts at ABC, CBS and NBC, Evans steadfastly asserts that using analysts and experts gives depth and breadth to news stories. “I want an expert like (CNN’s) Smith who can say this is exactly what this is and this is,” she said. “Because he’s been in the cockpit himself, I feel like. I’m in the cockpit with him.”

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