Harry Morgan trades M*A*S*H scrubs for oil rigs in this forgotten 3-hour TV epic.
Ida McBride decides to drill for oil on her ranch, against her son Tom's wishes. A contentious crew of wildcatters arrives, including a stalwart drilling magnate, his tool-pusher and a young roughneck associate, who endeavor to save the ranching empire by trying to bring in a methane gas well.
Acting
Harry Morgan somehow makes 'Plug Champion' feel like real human name.
Production
Genuine oil rig footage elevates the melodrama into accidental documentary.
Director
Bernard McEveety
Cathy Lee Crosby
Tracy Carter
Steve Forrest
Paul Marshall
Stephen McHattie
Roy Bethke
Sam Melville
O'Dell Hartman
Vera Miles
Ida McBride
Harry Morgan
Plug Champion
Wilford Brimley
Willie Clayton
A Martinez
Sal Espinoza
Ana Alicia
Yolanda Suarez
Andrew Rubin
George Harris
Timothy Scott
Boone Maddox
Rockne Tarkington
Lenny Booker
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This aired as a CBS 'Monday Night Movie' in two parts, competing against Monday Night Football—explaining its desperate macho energy.
Released months after the MGM Grand fire and during the Iran hostage crisis, its 'energy independence' propaganda feels almost aggressively of its moment.
US
