The Awakening Land
| The Awakening Land | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Written by |
Conrad Richter (Novels) James Lee Barrett Liam O'Brien |
| Directed by | Boris Sagal |
| Starring |
Elizabeth Montgomery Hal Holbrook Jane Seymour |
| Theme music composer | Fred Karlin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Harry Bernsen Robert E. Relyea |
| Editor(s) | Bernard J. Small |
| Running time | 420 mins. |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | February 19 – February 21, 1978 |
The Awakening Land is a 1978 television miniseries based on Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels: The Trees; The Fields; and The Town, published from 1940 to 1950. The series originally aired on NBC in three installments from February 19 to February 21, 1978; directed by Boris Sagal, it starred Elizabeth Montgomery and Hal Holbrook.
The storyline follows the struggle of Sayward Luckett (Montgomery) after she travels to the unsettled Ohio Valley frontier from post-revolutionary Pennsylvania. She and her family carve out a homestead in the forest, and a community with other settlers. The series follows Sayward from a young single woman, left with three sisters to raise after their mother dies and their father abandons the family, to a married woman who has her own family of seven. Her faithful devotion to her family is recounted against the day-to-day struggle for survival.
The series was shot in historic New Salem, Illinois. Interiors were filmed in a set constructed in a gymnasium in Springfield, the state capital. The gym was also used to house the prop and wardrobe departments. Filming took 2-½ months. As an incentive for the production company to choose the area, the Springfield city council agreed to fill a nearby lake so it would resemble the Ohio River. The city arranged for animals from the Elgin Zoo to be transported to the set.
The production was faithful to Richter's use of language characteristic of the Ohio Valley in those years. Actress/choreographer Marge Champion instructed the actors in both speech and body language of the region to add to the authenticity of the historical drama.
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