GREAT PERFORMANCES/THEATER IN AMERICA: THE MOUND BUILDERS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of regional theater productions. This episode presents a film production of “The Mound Builders,” a play about incidents surrounding an archaeological dig in the American Midwest, presented by the Circle Repertory Company in New York City.
Amateur archaeologist August “Auggie” Howe recalls and makes notes about the excavation of a dig site somewhere in Illinois, near a lake basin and the construction site of a new dam. The team discovers evidence of an old Native American village buried beneath the silt. During the dig the team lives together in a small farmhouse owned by Chad Jasker, who is selling some of his family’s land soon to the government to build an interstate highway. They are assisted by a number of field archaeology students and Auggie has to deal with the arrival of his sister Delia, or “D.K.,” as he calls her, a notorious drunk who was once a popular novelist. She was hospitalized for cirrhosis of the liver, but checked out when she insisted that the staff was attempting to kill her. Also on the dig are archaeologist Dan Loggins and his wife Jean, a gynecologist who has taken time off to have a baby. Chad speaks to Jean about the ancient earthen mounds constructed by the former inhabitants of the area, many of which will soon be destroyed to make room for the new interstate. Chad hopes to make a great deal of money selling his land, hoping to keep a few acres for himself; he hopes to share that life with Jean, but she is happy with her marriage to Dan and wants nothing to do with Chad.
D.K., settling down somewhat, talks about her husband and their travels throughout the Middle East together before she separated from him. Auggie recalls their excavation of one of the mounds, which contained remnants of fire pits and pottery shards. Dan shows Jean around the site, pointing out the various remnants of civilization and explaining the purpose of the mounds constructed by the early Mississippian cultures circa 700 A.D. Jean is quite fascinated with the mysteries surrounding ancient cultures such as this one and other Mesoamerican peoples. Jean discusses her insecurities with D.K., and D.K. tries to offer her some advice about looking forward to her future. In particular she feels her life is losing purpose, and D.K. notes a similar feeling about her own life. Chad comes home late one night, quite drunk. Dan goes to investigate but only finds D.K. sleeping in the living room. Dan admits that D.K.’s novels were required reading in his literature class in college, and D.K. recalls the writing process for the novel and her dissatisfaction with it. Dan talks about his experiences in college at Columbia University in New York City, including an incident when he walked the streets in a drunken stupor.
Chad and Dan go out drinking and fishing together by the lake at night, and Dan briefly falls in, getting soaked. They return to the house to clean their catch. They engage in some drunken antics out on the porch, waking up Jean. He drunkenly converses with her, attempting to tell her about the lovely view of the moon he and Chad were witness to out on the lake. He also recalls that Chad saved him from drowning once before. Jean stays out on the porch with D.K. for a while and talks with her some more. The next day, Jean talks to Auggie’s wife Cynthia about her pregnancy. Dan reviews photographs of artifacts and skeletons found at the dig sites and theorizes about a possible caste system the native people may have practiced. It starts raining and Dan heads out to make sure the site is properly covered. Chad again tries to convince Jean to run away with him, but again she refuses. Dan returns from the site and talks to D.K. again about her novel, which she refers to as a “Chinese puzzle-box.” She compares the nature of her narrative style to Dan’s archaeological work, i.e. layers of discovery which continually pose more questions to be solved. D.K. reveals that she was writing another book but stopped when her father died.
The expedition discovers a bone awl, dated to about 1100 A.D., which Dan believes represents an important find. The constant rain begins to wear on his nerves. Cynthia, Jean, and D.K. have a conversation, subtly alluding to Cynthia’s affair with Chad. D.K. recalls some bar brawls she was a part of during her travels through Europe. One day Dan and his team discover the burial site of the god-king of the tribe, much to his excitement. The find represents unprecedented insight into the early Mississippian culture, and Dan and his team carefully extract artifacts from the site. Chad watches the excavation and seems to take an interest in their finds, pointing out that they have little in the way of monetary significance. Chad finally learns that Jean is pregnant, much to his surprise. He becomes angry and goes on a rant about the archaeologists’ presence, and gets into an argument with Dan about the land rights surrounding the dig site and the upcoming construction. Dan asserts that the interstate has been redirected to the other side of the lake in accordance with laws preventing the destruction of Indian burial grounds. Furthermore, he tries to get Chad to see that his ideas for developing his land are folly, but Chad has a breakdown and screams at them before storming out.
Late that night, Chad returns and dons the death mask of the god-king found at the dig site. He confronts Dan and brings him outside. Chad operates a bulldozer, burying the entire dig site. The next morning, the others discover Chad’s handiwork and realize that Dan is missing. After a few months, the lake level rises to the point where the site and the house are mostly submerged. Cynthia nearly destroys her photographs of the site but Auggie desperately struggles to take the film away from her. The police find an oar from Chad’s boat floating in the middle of the lake. Jean becomes increasingly unhinged as more police are called in to search for Dan and Chad. The story ends inconclusively, implying that Dan and Chad were never found.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: February 11, 1976 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 01:25:48
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:87228
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1974-1979
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- Ken Campbell … Producer, Director
- Ronald F. Maxwell … Associate Producer
- Marshall W. Mason … Director
- Lanford Wilson … Writer
- Tanya Berezin … Cast, D.K. Eriksen
- Brad Dourif … Cast, Chad Jasker
- Stephanie Gordon … Cast, Cynthia
- Trish Hawkins … Cast, Dr. Jean Loggins
- Jonathan Hogan … Cast, Dr. Dan Loggins
- Lauren Jacobs … Cast, Kirsten
- Rob Thirkeld … Cast, Dr. August Howe