REUNION AT FAIRBOROUGH (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television production is about a rekindled romance between a World War II U.S. Air Force officer and his former lover in England. As the program opens, Carl Hostrup goes to his Chicago hotel room and pulls out a pistol as he contemplates suicide. Upon receiving a phone call, Carl instead meets with Dr. Nathan “Ski” Barsky and they discuss what’s happened to them since their days as part of the Air Force’s eighth division. Ski tells Carl of a reunion being held for their squadron in England and asks Carl to track down their old colleague Jiggs Quealy. Carl finds that Jiggs is now a janitor and the two address their war memories over drinks. Upon getting cleaned up, Jiggs agrees to accompany Carl to England. Once traveling by train through the English countryside, Carl recalls a romance he had during the war. At the reunion ceremony in Fairborough, Carl and Jiggs reunite with Ski and Colonel Bigard. The colonel mentions how Jiggs once saved Carl’s life. Later, Carl goes to the home of his old love, Sally Wells Grant, and finds that she’s out. Sally’s granddaughter, Sheila Sawyer, gives Carl a ride into town and arranges for him to see Sally. Upon the pair’s meeting, Carl is told that Sheila is his granddaughter. Meanwhile, Jiggs gets drunk and is thrown out of a pub. That night, Carl and Sally discuss why she never told him that she was pregnant before he returned to America. Carl learns that his daughter, Susan, and her husband were killed in a motorbike accident when Susan was twenty-three. Sally says that she raised Sheila on her own. That night, Carl runs into his old buddies Joe Szyluk and George Kloss. Carl and Joe then rescue Jiggs after he’s thrown out of another establishment.
The next morning, Carl has breakfast with Sally and he asks her to the reunion dance that night. Later, Carl tries to get to know Sheila. She takes him to an office where she helps with demonstrations against nuclear weapons, stating that she’ll be protesting at his old missile base. After some sparring, Sheila accompanies Carl and Ski to their former barracks, where they relive more war memories. Ski talks about his post-war life, after which Sally joins them. While visiting a war memorial, Carl is taken aback to discover the fate of one of his former fliers. In the veterans’ graveyard, Ski and Sheila debate their philosophies on war. Afterward, Sheila tells Carl that all soldiers are “insane”; he responds that she’s “all mouth.” That night at the dance, Carl voices his regrets at having walked away from Sally. He asks her to spend the night with him. Later, Jiggs confronts the tavern owner that threw him out and admits to being an alcoholic. At an inn in Cambridge, Carl and Sally spend the night together. The next morning, Jiggs tells Carl and Joe that he’s turned over a new leaf after admitting his problem. Later, Carl confronts Sheila at her demonstration headquarters and tells her group that all Americans aren’t warmongers. Upon going for a drive, Carl and Sheila reach an understanding and Carl says that he’s proud of her. Afterward, Sheila returns to Sally and states that her grandfather is “wonderful.” Meanwhile, Jiggs is worried when Carl doesn’t show up for the trip home, at least until seeing him take off in flight in one of his old planes. Carl pilots the craft to Sheila’s nuclear demonstration. To Sheila’s delight, Carl flies in formation with two nuclear jets and forces them down. Upon landing, Carl is arrested. However, Sally assures him that she’ll have tea made as soon as he’s released, prompting Carl to kiss her.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: May 12, 1985 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:75945
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Romance; World War II
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 1985
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Alan King … Executive Producer
- Alan Wagner … Executive Producer
- William Hill … Producer
- Herbert Wise … Director
- Albert Ruben … Writer
- Nigel Hess … Music by
- Robert Mitchum … Cast, Carl Hostrup
- Deborah Kerr … Cast, Sally Wells Grant
- Judi Trott … Cast, Sheila Sawyer
- Barry Morse … Cast, Nathan "Ski" Barsky
- Red Buttons … Cast, Jiggs Quealy
- Shane Rimmer … Cast, Joe Szyluk
- Don Fellows … Cast, Duffy
- Manning Redwood … Cast, Colonel Bigard
- Ed Devereaux … Cast, George Kloss
- Helen Horton … Cast, Mrs. Bigard
- George A. Cooper … Cast, Bartender
- Thomasine Heiner … Cast
- Bill Hutchinson … Cast
- John Alderson … Cast
- Peter Carlisle … Cast
- Leo Kharibian … Cast
- Bill Kearns … Cast
- Philip O'Brien … Cast
- Robert Arden … Cast
- John Sterland … Cast
- Bill Reimbold … Cast
- Diana Ricardo … Cast
- Alan Tilvern … Cast
- Richard Pearson … Cast
- Eve Pearce … Cast
- Celestine Randall … Cast
- Eira Griffiths … Cast
- Dorian Healy … Cast
- Jane Sumner … Cast