Arthur Miller's The American Clock

Plot

This made-for-cable version of Arthur Miller's play The American Clock was adapted for television by Frank Galati. Inspired partly by Studs Terkel's oral history Hard Times, and partly by Miller's own recollections, the film is set at the beginning of the Depression. When the stock market crashes, the well-to-do Baumler family (John Rubinstein, Mary McDonnell, Loren Dean) loses everything. The Baumlers are forced to move from their plush penthouse apartment to the less-attractive Brooklyn digs of Mrs. Baumler's sister (Joanna Miles). Twelve-year-old Lee Baumler (Dean), the Arthur Miller counterpart, hits the road to find out how others are coping with the Long National Nightmare. The alternately depressing and uplifting storyline moves along briskly to a surprisingly abrupt climax. Kelly Preston, David Strathairn, Eddie Bracken, Darren McGavin, and Estelle Parson co-star in The American Clock, which premiered over the TNT Cable Network on August 23, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cast

Lloyd Battista - Tony; Roberts Blossom - Old Wayne Taylor; Alex Bookston - Frank; Eddie Bracken - Grandpa; Michael Carter - Piano Man; Jim Dale - Ted Quinn; Loren Dean - Young Lee Baumler; Loretta Devine - Irene; Robert Dickman - Bidder; Adrienne Hampton - Mrs. Taylor; Art Hindle - Rich Friend; John M. Jackson - Brewster; Wyatt Knight - Clayton; Yaphet Kotto - Isaac; Jack Kruschen - Kapush; Ron Kuhlman - Young Wayne Taylor; Al Mancini - Dugan; Mary McDonnell - Rose Baumler; Randle Mell - Sheriff; Joanna Miles - Fanny; Rebecca Miller - Edie; Dick O'Neill - Ryan; Estelle Parsons - Older Doris; Felton Perry - Clarence; Kelly Preston - Diana Marley; John Randolph - Older Lee Baumler; Wynn Reichert - Bartender; Tony Roberts - Jesse Livermore; Ivette Soler - Lucille; David Strathairn - Young Arthur Huntington; J.T. Walsh - Judge Bradley; Bill Wiley - Hank Howard; Darren McGavin - Older Arthur Huntington; John Rubinstein - Moe Baumler; Benjamin Clark - Second Piano Man; Shae D'Lyn - Young Doris

Credit

Betty Pecha Madden - Costume Designer, Bob Clark - Director, Stan Cole - Editor, Paul Zaza - Composer (Music Score), Vaughan Edwards - Production Designer, Stephen M. Katz - Cinematographer, Frank Galati - Screenwriter

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