November 2016 Edition of Nostalgia USA November 2016 Editon of Nostalgia USA | Page 4

This 1979 f eat ure is one of t he rare at t empt s t o dramat ize a chapt er
of America's f ormat ion. Set in 1620, t he st ory concerns t he rel igious
persecut ion of t he Purit ans in Engl and and t heir decision t o emigrat e
t o Pl ymout h Col ony in America. This is a f airl y st urdy and enjoyabl e
piece of hist orical drama, wit h t he most import ant det ail s about who,
what , where, and why inf ormat ivel y answered. Richard Crenna is f ine
as t he Reverend Wil l iam Brewst er, one of t he Pil grim Fat hers and a
vet eran of rel ocat ing rel igious minorit ies t o more hospit abl e pl aces.
David Dukes is ef f ect ive as Mil es St andish, giving us some insight int o
how t his mil it ary man came t o be an essent ial part of t he Pl ymout h
communit y.
Original l y t it l ed The Voyage of t he Mayf l ower, t his made-f or-TV
hist orical drama was, not surprisingl y, f irst t el ecast as a Thanksgiving
special . In t he t radit ion of t he 1952 t heat rical f eat ure Pl ymout h
Advent ure, t he f il m met icul ousl y recount [s] t he journey of 103
Pil grim "separat ist s" f rom t heir rel igiousl y rest rict ive Engl ish
homel and t o t he shores of t he New Worl d. The dramat ic crux of t he
f il m [is] manif est ed in t he conf l ict bet ween mercenary,
unt rust wort hy Mayf l ower capt ain Christ opher Jones (Ant hony
Hopkins) and ideal ist ic but t ough Pil grim l eader Wil l iam Brewst er
(Richard Crenna). Al so incorporat ed in t he narrat ive are t he
int ert wining rel at ionships bet ween Mil es and Rose St andish (David
Dukes, Trish Van Devere), John Al den (Michael Beck), and Priscil l a
Mul l ens (Jenny Agut t er).