"Ellis Island" (1984) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jerry London

Writers:

Christopher Newman (writer)
Fred Mustard Stewart (novel)

Release Date:

11 November 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series | Immigrant | American Dream | Extramarital Affair | Florenz Ziegfeld

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Peter Riegert	...	Jacob Rubinstein (Jake Rubin)
Gregory Paul Martin	...	Marco Santorelli (as Greg Martyn)
Claire Bloom	...	Rebecca Weiler
Judi Bowker	...	Georgiana 'Georgie' O'Donnell
Kate Burton	...	Vanessa Ogden
Joan Greenwood	...	Madame Levitska
Ann Jillian	...	Nellie Byfield
Lila Kaye	...	Kathleen O'Donnell
Stubby Kaye	...	Abe Shulman
Alice Krige	...	Bridget O'Donnell
Cherie Lunghi	...	Una Marbury
Melba Moore	...	Flora Mitchum
Milo O'Shea	...	Casey O'Donnell
Emma Samms	...	Violet Weiler
Ben Vereen	...	Roscoe Haines

Runtime:

420 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Billingsgate, Trafalgar Way, Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK

Trivia:

The final on screen role of Richard Burton.

Nothing "mini" about this mini-series

Here, from the Golden Age of the Mini-Series, is one of those big, multi-star affairs which spans decades and which blends a number of sub-plots into a kind of historical panorama. True, it's all a bit superficial and there's more than a touch of soap-opera in the proceedings, but when one says, "They don't make 'em like this anymore," one says it with regret.

The story-line runs from just after the turn-of-the-century through World War I and it centers on a Jewish immigrant from Russia who becomes a successful Broadway songwriter, a handsome Italian who moves from gigolo to politician, and two young women from Ireland, one of whom becomes blind and one of whom has a dark secret in her past.

Curious is the case of the actor billed as "Greg Martyn" who plays the Italian immigrant. He's a tall, good-looking man with a lot of presence and he has one of the show's more memorable scenes: he's tied shirtless to a hot radiator by a loan-shark angry that his money hasn't been re-paid. Who can forget that "sizzling" sound made when the Italian's naked, sweaty back is pressed against the scorching metal?

Yet, despite all this, Greg Martyn's career went absolutely nowhere after "Ellis Island."

Performances are uniformly good throughout but notwithstanding his prominent billing, Richard Burton has little to do and seems to be running on "auto-pilot."