| Eleanor and Franklin | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Genre | Biography Drama Romance |
| Based on | Eleanor and Franklin byJoseph P. Lash |
| Written by | James Costigan |
| Directed by | Daniel Petrie |
| Starring | Edward Herrmann Jane Alexander |
| Theme music composer | John Barry |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | David Susskind |
| Producers | Audrey Maas Harry R. Sherman |
| Editor | Michael Kahn |
| Running time | 240 minutes |
| Production company | Talent Associates |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 11 (1976-01-11) – January 12, 1976 (1976-01-12) |
| Related | |
Eleanor and Franklin is a 1976 Americantelevision miniseries starringEdward Herrmann asFranklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) andJane Alexander asEleanor Roosevelt which was broadcast onABC on January 11 and 12, 1976.[1] It is the first part in a two-part "biopic" miniseries (with a later sequel telecast the following year) based onJoseph P. Lash's biography and history from 1971,Eleanor and Franklin, based on their correspondence and recently opened archives.[2] Joseph Lash was Eleanor's personal secretary and confidant.[3] He wrote several books on the Roosevelts including some on both Eleanor and Franklin individually and was also a controversial activist in his own right inleftist,liberalism,social and labor issues of the era.
Directed byDaniel Petrie, the film follows Franklin and Eleanor's lives told inflashback from her perspective after her husband's death, from the time they were children as cousins who met briefly, their courtship and marriage, bearing and raising a large family, her social efforts as he rises toAssistant Secretary of the Navy inWorld War I, the hidden affair withLucy Mercer, (1891–1948), (portrayed for the first time by actressLinda Kelsey), her help and encouragement with his1921 paralytic illness, and her campaigning withLouis Howe, (1871–1936), their mentor, crony and campaign manager during his runs for political offices in theNew York state legislature, the unsuccessful effort forVice President in1920, later winning asGovernor of New York and his rivalry with fellow politicianAl Smith, (1873–1944), until his election to the Presidency in1932 in the darkest times faced by the nation since theCivil War with the deepening "Great Depression".
A second film miniseries,Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977), was made the following year which detailed Roosevelt's terms as president during theGreat Depression andWorld War II, told as a series of flashback episodes as Eleanor sits with her husband's body in the back bedroom during a legendary private moment in the cottage, the "Little White House" inWarm Springs, Georgia, on April 12, 1945.
The film won numerous awards, including 11Primetime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Television Movie andOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie forRosemary Murphy), theGolden Globe Award for Best TV Movie, and thePeabody Award. The directorDaniel Petrie, (1920–2004), won forDirector of the Year – Special,[4] as he would again the next year with"The White House Years". The film is noted for being almost entirely historically accurate.
Eleanor and Franklin was released on DVD byHBO Video in 2005 as a single disc feature, and in 2013 as a two-disc set withEleanor and Franklin: The White House Years featured on the second disc.
